12-Year-Old Blamed for the Swine Flu
May 13, 2009 by Eliza Ferree
Filed under Family, Parenting
Phoebe Wyburd is only 12 years old but already has a ton of enemies and it is all over something she had no control over. She came down with the ….. swine flu, errr H1N1 disease as did a few other of her classmates in London.
IMG: Zuma Press
Normally when a child gets sick and stays home that’s it, but that was not the case for this little girl. The classmates found out and realized she had it and she soon got text messages telling her they hated her, she’d die and a bunch of other things. They didn’t stop there though she also got phone calls, emails and messages on her facebook page. The threats even went to Phoebe’s three other sisters that weren’t yet sick, threats they’d be next and would get sick and die too.
According to The Daily Mail, her father she was very upset after getting those first few texts stating she’d die from this virus. Thankfully they’ve talked her through it, she’s feeling fine now and is waiting to go back to school. However, if this was your daughter how would you feel? What about the text messages? Would you ignore them or be writing back to some parents?
The bigger question is, what would you do if you found out you were a parent of one of these abusers? You know the ones leaving this little girl threatening emails/facebook messages?
This is rubbish
I appreciate that you want to start a debate about an important issue but please choose another story. Indeed I would ask you to delete this story forthwith. It is not only factually incorrect , it actually serves to put Phoebe in a worse light than she has already been put by the media. And ironically, your innacuracies increase the chances of her being bullied.
Phoebe did not infect children in her school. It has been widely reported that a girl at her school came back from the US with flu and that she may well have infected a large number of Year 7 children at Alleyns. Phoebe contracted swine flu at the same time as several children and there is no evidence whatsoever that she infected anyone else. To report that she did is not just innacurate but damaging to her.
The reporting of the bullying was completley blown out of all proportion – Phoebe received a couple of juvenile texts and that was about it. You have completely fabricated the idea that her three other sisters all got threats too – this is simply untrue.
Phoebe was not upset nor was anyone in my family affected by these incidents and your report about my reaction is again untrue.
In conclusion, however well intentioned, you have published a story founded on imagination and innacurate media reporting. You should check your facts in future.
Francis-
First I want to send you my biggest apology for what ya’ll are going through. When I first read reports that your daughter was getting harrassed by the other students I was sad but when I read about the threats I became angry and wrote the story. No child should ever have to feel like this and your comment (according to Daily Mail) on her asking you if she would die grabbed my heart. I pictured my own kids asking this.
I felt that your family was being targeted for something no one could prevent, this bug/virus/whatever they are calling it now has gone crazy and people are really showing a nasty side of themselves when they hear others have it. I pulled the story and quotes from your framily from many online resources, I’ve linked them above for you.
I feel horrible that you believe I’ve made this worse for your daughter, I was sad to read what happened to her and wanted others to know. Others that have wrote or emailed me in response to this post have told me how bad they feel for her. No one is angry at her for getting sick, it is something no one can help/prevent. Not to mention you stated you have kept her home, away from anyone else that could come down with it. My intentions were to show parents how cyber bullying could affect others, especially when we have something such as the swine flu and how children can be ruthless. I wanted to know how they’d feel as a parent that had a child that was getting this treatment and then see how they’d feel if they found out their own child was causing such pain.
I’m happy to hear Phoebe is feeling better and I’m happier to read that she didn’t go through as much bullying as reports were being stated.