A Sudanese toddler was rejected from a nursery in Zouk Mikael after parents threatened to remove their children from the daycare facility if “a black kid” was enrolled, prompting an intervention Monday by the Health Ministry.
When 1-year-and-9-month-old Rizk arrived at the nursery, located near Jallad in Zouk Mikael, where he lives, he was excited to play with the many toys he didn’t have at home, according to his father, Fawzi Louis Kijjo, a registered Sudanese refugee and long-term Lebanon resident.
He ran in saying, “I want to play,” but was instead kicked out, upset and crying, Kijjo told The Daily Star.
Kijjo, who works in cleaning services in Lebanon, said he was looking to check his son into a nursery as both he and his wife work during the day. When he reached an agreement to enroll Rizk for $150 at a nursery close to home, the family was delighted.
“We were so happy. I came home and told my wife that we would take him the next day,” Kijjo recalled.
When the family reached the desk to register the child, he said one of the other parents started looking their way.
“A woman noticed my kid was black and told the staff, ‘If you enroll him at the garderie [nursery], I will pull my son out and let all the other mothers here take their kids out with mine',” Kijjo said, adding that the parents then took their complaints to the administration.
As the situation escalated, the nursery staff decided to reject Rizk, despite the initial agreement with his father. “The garderie considered its own interest and didn’t want to lose their profits from the other kids,” Kijjo said.
After a media report publicized the incident, the Health Ministry issued a statement Monday condemning the nursery’s actions without naming any of the parties involved. According to the statement, the nursery had violated “the most basic rights of humans and children.”
“The Health Ministry stresses the need to respect the [United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child] and reject all forms of racial discrimination,” the statement read.
It also noted that the Health Ministry would coordinate with the Social Affairs Ministry to support the child’s family members in order to help them “overcome the ... maltreatment they have suffered.”
When contacted by The Daily Star, a Health Ministry source would not reveal the name of the nursery, but said the nursery had acted on the complaints of parents. “Those who don’t like the situation can take their kids out, but they can’t impose [things on the nursery],” the source added. The Daily Star could not independently verify at which nursery the incident occurred. The source said that the Health Ministry had tasked the Social Affairs Ministry with following up on the issue with the parents who had objected, and to conduct racism awareness sessions.
Although the nursery later reached out to Kijjo, the upset father said he wasn’t satisfied with the sudden change of mind as he believed it was only brought about as a result of the intervention.
The Syndicate of Nursery Owners in Lebanon held an exceptional meeting in the evening, calling on the two ministries to press charges against the complaining parents.
“The syndicate hopes the Health Ministry, in cooperation with the Social Affairs Ministry, will take maximum legal action against parents who threaten nurseries and force them to violate the simplest rules of humanity,” a statement from the syndicate said, condemning the incident.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
