Syrian refugee ‘waterboarded’ by teen bully says Huddersfield school is ‘like a WAR ZONE’ as family move out of ‘dangerous’ area
Jamal, 15, fled Syria with his family to get away from violence and has now had to move from Huddersfield for the same reason
A SYRIAN refugee who was "waterboarded" by a bully said going to school was like "entering a war zone".
The 15-year-old boy, known only as Jamal, made the comment about Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield after a sickening video of him being attacked there went viral in October.
Millions of people watched Jamal being violently thrown to the ground before another boy poured water over his face.
He has since moved with his family to a new home in the Midlands in the wake of the horrific attack to get away from danger.
Jamal told the : "We left Huddersfield because I felt like there was no future for us there.
"When we left Syria, I was told England was the future and that you can be anything you want to be as long as you study hard.
"Even though there were other dangers in Syria, school was normal. I studied hard and had friends. But outside of school, there was war.
"But in Huddersfield, I felt going to school was like entering a war zone."
In Huddersfield, I felt going to school was like entering a war zone."
Jamal
Jamal and his family originally came to the UK fleeing violence in Syria, where one of their loved ones was tortured and killed.
But when they arrived in West Yorkshire, Jamal and his sister were bullied almost immediately — and the torment lasted for their two-year stay in Huddersfield.
Jamal believes they were targeted because they are Muslims.
West Yorkshire Police said a 16-year-old boy had been charged with assault over the incident.
Jamal also slammed Tommy Robinson's involvement in the affair, after the English Defence League founder falsely said on Facebook that Jamal had attacked English girls.
In the aftermath of the appalling video, a fundraiser was created for Jamal which raised over £158,000.
He plans on using the money to create a charity to support children of all races and religions who are being bullied.
Jamal says he now feels safe in his new home and is trying to make a new life for himself.
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Meanwhile, inspectors deemed Almondbury Community School in Huddersfield where the attack took place as "inadequate".
Ofsted found fault with senior leaders at the school who lacked oversight of whole-school issues such as exclusions, racist incidents, bullying and behaviour, which limited their ability to identify and tackle patterns of concern.
A spokesperson for the school said: "There have been numerous changes and improvements, as well as a thorough review of safeguarding procedures, and these actions have already had a positive impact."
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