An Australian mother took to Facebook earlier this week to make an emotional plea against bullying as her 9-year-old son, Quaden, begged to die after years of abuse over his dwarfism.
Immediately, Quaden’s country and the rest of the world reacted, sending love to a child whose pain was visibly present and deeply felt.
What are the details?
Yarrak Bayles, Quaden’s mom, posted a video on social media with the message:
“This is the impacts of bullying! I seriously don’t know what else to do!”
The camera is focused on Quaden, begging for a rope or a knife and at one point sobs as he says:
“I want to die right now. I want someone to kill me, and get it out of me.”
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On the video, Ms. Bayles said that their family has kept Quaden’s struggles abuse private for many years, but that she has hit a breaking point. The mother made an impassioned plea for parents and teachers to be pro-active in educating their children and students on the dangers of bullying — particularly when it comes to individuals who have a disability. She mentioned that the anti-bullying campaign is not working and more needs to be done.
The footage of Quaden went viral within hours, and as it continued to spread the following day, messages of encouragement and love for the Australian boy poured in. The Blaze noted:
A 13-year-old girl sent Quaden a message telling him that watching his video made her cry, too, and shared her own experience of being bullied “almost every day” because of her stutter. One woman wrote on the Facebook page, “Love you dude, all the way in Texas we stand with you! You’re stronger than any bully, remember that sweet boy.”
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Conservative scholar Dan Bongino tweeted the video of Quaden, saying:
“I thought I was a generally tough guy. I’m not. This video broke me. I cannot fathom the pain this young man has been put through. God bless all of the people who reached out to help him and his family.”
Hollywood actor and Australian native Hugh Jackman recorded a video telling the little boy:
“Quaden, you are stronger than you know, and no matter what, you’ve got a friend in me.”
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Quaden’s favorite rugby team, the Indigenous All-Stars, also sent him a video message with the players gathered, telling him:
“Hey Quadey…Just wanted to wish you all the best brother, we know you’re going through a hard time right now but the boys are here.”
Quaden will be leading the team onto the pitch this weekend.
Ms. Bayles noted on her Facebook feed that a GoFundMe had been set up by comedian Brad Williams, who also has dwarfism, to send Quaden to Disneyland. He also let followers know that other fake GoFundMe accounts had been set up.
As of this writing, the legitimate GoFundMe for sending Quaden to Disneyland had raised over $294,000 with a goal of raising $10,000.
