A 12-year-old Irish lad, whose family moved from Dublin to Chicago five years ago, has made a powerful video about bullying that is now being shown in schools across the globe.
Jonah Maxwell wrote and directed the six-minute, anti-bullying film that has been viewed more than half a million times online, BreakingNews.ie reports.
The short video, which looks at the effects bullying has on children as well as the bullying that can take place across social media, has been shown in schools in Brazil, Australia and Ireland.
The film contains first-person accounts and lets students know what they can do to help others who may be struggling with bullying.
“We all knew what was going on — we knew about the beatings, and we knew who was doing it — we knew who locked him in a cupboard, and we know who sent him really bad tweets and messages,” the video begins.
“But I think we all expected somebody else to do something about it.”
The 7th grader was inspired to create the film, which took him seven months to make, after he himself was bullied.
Jenny Maxwell, Jonah’s mother, told the NY Daily News: “He has been bullied in elementary school and has seen kids get bullied in middle school and via social media.”
“He feels very strongly about this topic and he wants to try encourage kids to speak up if it's happening to you or if you're doing the bullying, to stop!” she said.
“If it helps one child it will have been worth it.”
Read more: Bullied to death Staten Island teen was proud of his Irish roots
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