By Ian Ortega
Most children are joining school when words like teasing and bullying all seem like legends from story-books. But for those who went to school back then, bullying was a must school initiation activity. It was accepted as school culture, these days, bullying invites an immediate expulsion from many schools.
The senior one student always suffered these experiences. They were known by all sorts of names-miyongo, nyongos, and Bunsen burners. And when strikes came up, the senior ones were expected to be on the front lines. So here are some of the memories of what bullying meant back then:
Sam Ugandan notes; “I pity those who are just joining secondary school because they missed out on so many things like bullying in particular which am sure no longer exists…
Our prefects by then would come to the dorm fully equipped with sticks, punches, kicks and slaps, you would have to show them your wet sponge, just in order for them to be sure that you always bathe and you are not a certified member of the Anti-Bathing Club commonly known as ABC by then…
It was judgment day for people who would always bathe but decided to chop for only that day….
When the chief judge reached on my bed he asked me to show him my sponge and I answered confidently that “someone stole my sponge after I had just bathed”, then with anger in his face he said, “okay… Sam just show me your basin if the sponge was stolen” then I responded hurriedly that “am not lying but they stole my basin as well because I don’t remember how it disappeared…. I woke up the next day in the sick bay with a very swollen eye.”
1. Drinking Water Using a Fork
This was another safe-house method. A senior student would find you with juice or water and kindly asks you to drink it using a fork. And he had the guts to request that you do so as fast as possible since he had lessons to attend.
2. Collect Sunshine
It seems these people were into physics experiments. You would be handled a basin or a cup and asked to go out and collect sunshine from the football pitch. Failure to come back with sunshine would result in a maximum sentence.
3. The Impossible Financial Maths
This involved an old student, let’s call him Brian, he would hand you money and ask to buy him things that cost more than the money you had and also appeal that you bring back his change. Isaac Bigirwenkya had this to say; “A fat boy came and he gave me 500/= that I should buy for him 2kg of sugar and a bar of soap and bring his balance of 6k n he was serious”.
4. Miscellaneous bullying stunts
Someone could ask that you carry him to the bathroom and shower him properly then do his laundry. Older boys would ask senior one students to do their laundry. Boys without pubic hair would be asked to go collect some hair from home before they could be allowed to use the shower areas.
Then we had moments of whipping. Other moments, students could be locked in toilets for a whole day and asked to entertain as invisible radios. There was the registration fee on one’s first day in school. This involved parting with a big share of your pocket money to the big boys. It also involved giving up your entire ‘grab’ and other kinds of edibles to these demi-gods.
As days progressed, dorm fee was introduced and no one could be allowed to enter their bed before paying the dorm fee.
5 Top Bullying Schools:
These were schools where it was automatic that you had to be bullied without fear or favour. These schools included:
• St.Charles Lwanga Kasasa
• St.Leo’s Kyegobe (bullying still goes on)
• Mbarara high (bullying still active)
• Ntare
• St.Mary’s Kisubi
• St.Joseph’s College-Layibi
• Nabisunsa
• Nabingo
• Namagunga
In conclusion, it seems that single sex schools resonated more with the maximum bullying methods. The number one reason why bullying could not end, was because most teachers were in support of it, and then when senior one students who had been bullied joined Senior two and other higher classes, they felt a huge desire to avenge and have someone to pay for the torture they went through and thus, a vicious circle of bullying was created. Some students would die in the process, many would drop out of school, and others would be sodomized and made lesbian wives. But all in all, despite the uncountable demerits of bullying, it was a direct way to maturing and knowing that life is never fair.
You can go ahead and share your bullying memories with our readers!
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