Fabian was an 8 year old boy, a boy with very white skin and who had to move at an early age from one country to another to start afresh.
For him people were not different colours, they were just people, because he had many siblings and they were all different, or as he said, God had painted them differently, so that his parents would not confuse them.
Fabian era un niño de 8 años, un niño con una piel muy blanca y a quien le tocó mudarse a temprana edad de un país a otro para comenzar de nuevo.
Para él las personas no eran de colores distintos, solo eran personas, pues tenía muchos hermanos y todos eran diferentes o como decía él, Dios los había pintando distinto, para que sus padres no los confundieran.
Arriving in another country was not easy, having to adapt to the customs, having to learn new words, avoiding saying many that he already knew and even feeling obliged to forget them, was not easy for a boy of his age.
Having to go to the shop and being looked at strangely not only because he spoke differently, but also because of his skin tone, as well as listening to the mockery and whispers not only from other children, but also from older people towards him. It was one of the things that made him want to stay at home.
Every morning before going to school, where his parents had enrolled him, he would stand right in front of the window and looking outside, he only wished he didn't want to go out and on the other hand he asked to be strong because he knew it would be in vain to want to stay, because he wouldn't make it.
Llegar a otro país no fue nada fácil, tener que adaptarse a las costumbres, el tener que aprender nuevas palabras, evitar decir muchas que ya conocía e incluso sentirse obligado a olvidarlas, no era nada fácil para un chico de su edad.
Tener que ir a la tienda y que le miraran raro no solo por hablar distinto, si no tambien por su tono de piel, además escuchar las burlas y murmullos no solo de otros niños, si no también de personas mayores hacía él. Fue una de las cosas que lo hacían querer quedarse en casa.
Cada mañana antes de ir al colegio, donde sus padres le habían inscrito, se paraba justo frente a la ventana y mirando hacía afuera, solo deseaba no querer salir y por otro lado pedía ser fuerte por que sabía que sería en vano querer quedarse, pues no lo lograría.
He never forgot his first day at school, the teacher put a multiplication of several figures which he was able to answer and everyone turned to look at him in silence, until one boy said: "It turns out that he is not a ghost, he is just a very white boy", to which everyone made fun of him.
There were days when nicknames were superfluous, when he didn't even want to go out for recess. There were other days when he would start crying and ask the teacher to let him go home, he would make up stories to get the teacher to let him go home and only sometimes did he get her to let him go home.
Nobody knew anything, nobody wondered why Fabian was now so quiet and lonely. His mother asked him to go to the shop and he couldn't refuse, so he ran to the shop and one day on his way back he tripped and dropped his eggs.
His mother was really upset, it was the only thing she had for the week, she didn't ask him why he was running, she just punished him and gave him a new nickname, just for the fact that he couldn't hold his dinner in his hands and let it fall.
At school things were getting worse every day, he was treated badly because he was a foreigner, because his skin was very white and because he lived far away, sometimes he would arrive a few minutes late for class, and it was at that moment that the other children would hide the chairs, so that he would be left without a seat.
Nunca olvidó su primer día de clases, la maestra puso una multiplicación de varias cifras la cual él pudo responder y todos voltearon a mirarle en silencio, hasta que un niño dijo: –Resulta que no es un fantasma, es solo un niño muy blanco—, a lo que todos de él se burlaron.
Habían días donde los apodos sobraban, donde no quería salir ni al recreo. Habían otros días donde comenzaba a llorar y le pedía a la maestra lo dejara ir a casa, le inventaba historias para que esta lo dejara ir y solo algunas veces consiguió que así fuera.
Nadie sabía nada, nadie se preguntaba el por qué Fabian ahora era tan callado y solitario. Su mamá le pedía ir a la tienda y él al no poder negarse iba corriendo, un día al regresar se tropezó y se le cayeron los huevos.
Su madre estaba realmente molesta, era lo único que tenía para la semana, no le preguntó porqué corría, solo le castigó y le puso un nuevo apodo, solo por el hecho de no haber podido sostener la cena en sus manos y dejar que se cayera.
En la escuela cada día las cosas iban peor, le trataban mal por ser extranjero, por ser muy blanca su piel y como además vivía lejos, algunas veces llegaba unos minutos tarde a clases, y era en ese momento que los otros niños escondían las sillas, para que él se quedara sin puesto.
The teacher never noticed anything, she was just hard on him and often made him sit on the floor or on a damaged desk. Fabian also wore glasses and had to be in the front row, but he was left behind, the headaches were terrible and if he cried about it, he only got more teasing.
There were nights when he would wake up crying while he slept, screaming with anguish, his mother would hug him, but she didn't understand, she thought they were just nightmares and Fabian would ask her to go back home, to the country where they came from.
One day, while he was walking home from school, a lady stopped to look at him and looked at him strangely. Fabian, surprised, stopped in front of her and at that moment the lady spoke to him to ask him: "are you suffering from anaemia?" Fabian asked what that was, as he did not know the word, she replied that it was having low blood and he said no, that he was very healthy, she was surprised and told him that he was very white.
Fabian arrived home crying and asked his parents if he was sick, because people looked at him strangely and also made fun of his colour and that he spoke differently, he told them that he did not want to go out and they did not know how to handle the situation.
La maestra nunca notó nada, solo fue dura con él y muchas veces lo hizo hasta sentar en el piso o en pupitre dañado. Fabian además usaba lentes y debía estar en primera fila, pero lo dejaban atrás, los dolores de cabeza eran terribles y si lloraba por ello, solo recibía más burlas.
Habían noches que mientras dormía se levantaba llorando, gritando de angustia, su mamá lo abrazaba, pero no entendía, pensaba que solo eran pesadillas y Fabian le pedía volver a su casa, al país de donde venían.
Un día, mientras caminaba de la escuela a su casa, una señora se detuvo a mirarlo y lo veía raro. Fabian sorprendido se detuvo frente a ella y en ese momento la señora le habló para preguntarle: —¿sufres de anemia?—, Fabian preguntó que era eso, pues desconocía esa palabra, ella le respondió que era tener la sangre baja y él le dijo que no, que estaba muy sano, ella se sorprendió y le dijo que entonces era muy blanco.
Fabian llegó a su casa llorando y le pregunto a sus padres si él estaba enfermo, por que la gente lo miraban extraño y además se burlaban de su color y de que hablara diferente, les dijo que no quería salir y ellos no supieron como manejar la situación.
His mother found a drawing of Fabian, where there was a scared boy, she understood that it was her son and told him that we are all important and that he should not feel bad for being different, because that is what it is all about and in the end, although different, we all have the same value, but this did not prevent worse things from happening.
There was a boy who was very angry with Fabian, he harassed him wherever he went, he wouldn't let him go to the toilet, he wouldn't let him go shopping in the school canteen and together with his other friends, they always watched when Fabian went home, as if they were watching him and threatening him.
It was really exhausting, annoying and sad for a child to have to get up every morning to live the same life, to fight against what was his world, to remain silent, while he was insulted, pushed and forbidden things, to the point of making him more fragile.
One day when he left school his bullies were not there, Fabian felt for the first time and after a long time a great relief, there was a huge smile on his face, maybe it was an end of the school year gift, as it was the last day of school, so he was really happy not to have to go back there anymore.
Su madre, encontró un dibujo de Fabian, donde había un niño asustado, entendió que era su hijo y le dijo que todos somos importantes y que no debía sentirse mal por ser diferente, ya que de eso se trata y a la final aunque distintos, todos tenemos el mismo valor, sin embargo esto no evitó que cosas peores pasaran.
Había un niño que le tenía mucho rabia a Fabian, lo acosaba a donde él iba, no lo dejaba entrara al baño, no le dejaba comprar en la cantina de la escuela y junto a sus otros amigos, siempre veían cuando Fabian se iba a su casa, como vigilando y con amenazas.
Realmente era agotador, fastidioso y triste para un niño, tener que levantarse todas las mañanas para vivir lo mismo, para luchar contra lo que era su mundo, para seguir callado, mientras lo insultaban, empujaban y le prohibían cosas, al punto de hacerlo más frágil.
Un día al salir del colegio sus acosadores no estaban, Fabian sintió por primera vez y luego de mucho un gran alivio, había una sonrisa enorme en su cara, quizás era un regalo de fin de año escolar, ya que era el último día de clases, así que estaba realmente feliz de ya no tener que volver allí.
The happiness was short-lived, as he crossed the block, behind a tree the little stalkers were waiting, with a backpack full of stones they hit him in the stomach, slowing him down. Fabian was shocked, but more than that his little body was filled with fear.
There were adults nearby, they watched and did nothing. One of the children hit him on the head, while the others just shouted derogatory insults at him for his skin colour and for being a foreigner. One of them shouted at him to go away, to go back to his own country, while spitting at him and telling him that he was disgusting.
Fabian returned home, locked himself in his room to cry, he didn't eat that day, he didn't want to go to his New Year's Eve party. His parents thought it was just boy stuff and left him alone, he would go to another school soon anyway.
La felicidad duró muy poco, al cruzar la cuadra, detrás de un árbol estaban los pequeños acosadores esperando, con un mochila cargada de piedras le pegaron en el estómago frenando su paso. Fabian quedó sorprendido, pero más que eso su pequeño cuerpo se llenó de temor.
Habían personas adultas cerca, observaron y no hicieron nada. Uno de los niños le golpeó en la cabeza, mientras los otros solo le gritaban con insultos despectivos por su color de piel y por ser extranjero. Uno de ellos le gritó que se fuera, que se fuera a su tierra y mientras le escupía diciéndole que le daba asco.
Fabian volvió a casa, se encerró a llorar en su cuarto, no comió aquel día, no quiso ir a su fiesta de fin año. Sus padres pensaban que eran solo cosas de muchachos y lo dejaron tranquilo, de igual forma ya iría a otro colegio pronto.
A new year began and there Fabian went, to another school, but with the same fears, shy and with a heart that beat a thousand beats per hour, it wasn't even the first day of classes and he just wished it was the last and that the nightmare that was just about to begin would end.
Something made a difference, although there were still taunts and insults, he began to feel stronger and more confident, he was so used to hearing them that they didn't affect him much. He made some friends in this new place and one of them confessed to him that he always saw him passing by his house and that he also thought Fabian was sick because he had never seen someone so white, so he apologised for thinking so.
And that was the first time that our little Fabian made a great friend and felt accepted in a place different from his home. Being a child is not easy and even less so in a world where many adults live with hatred, which is spread towards their children.
Fabian did not die as a victim of bullying, the same society that acts cruelly many times, taught him to be "strong" and he learned to defend himself, but a Fabian dies every time a child is abused, every time another child puts out his light as a result of mistreatment.
Un año nuevo comenzó y allí iba Fabian, a otro colegio, pero con los mismos miedo, tímido y con un corazón que latía a mil por horas, ni bien era el primer día de clases y él solo deseaba que ya fuera el último y la pesadilla que apenas iba a comenzar terminara.
Algo marcó la diferencia, aunque igual habían burlas e insultos, él comenzó a sentirse más fuerte y más seguro, ya estaba tan acostumbrado a oirlos que no le afectaban mucho. Hizo algunos amigos en este nuevo lugar y uno de ellos le confesó que siempre lo veía pasar por su casa y que él también llegó a pensar que Fabian estaba enfermo pues nunca había visto a alguien tan blanco, que lo disculpara por pensar así.
Y esa fue la primera vez que nuestro pequeño Fabian hizo a un gran amigo y se sintió aceptado en un lugar diferente a su casa. Ser niños no es fácil y mucho menos en un mundo donde muchos adultos viven cargados de odio, el cual es esparcido hacía sus hijos.
Fabian no murió siendo víctima del bullying, la misma sociedad que actua de manera cruel muchas veces, lo enseñó a ser "fuerte" y aprendió a defenderse, pero un Fabian muere cada vez que un niño es abusado, cada vez que otro niño apaga su luz a consecuencia del maltrato.
