Meet our featured beauty with brains Malika Raina, a 24 year old Fijian Indian receptionist based in Sydney, Australia. She is a truly inspirational young lady who has overcome many setbacks in her life including bullying, parents’ divorce and losing a loved one to suicide, to become who she is today – a strong, independent woman. Here is an interview with her.
1. What forms do you think bullying can take and what is your advice to the parents of bullying victims?
Bullying can take many forms, some of
which are physical & psychological and
sometimes it’s not even a face to face
thing anymore, it may even be done online
or through word of mouth. My advice to
parents of bullying victims who are worried
and not sure what to do to help, is to
reassure your child that it is not any of
their own doing, also to be in contact with
the school about the matter. It’s best for
both parties, the parents of the bully as
well as the victim, to sit down and discuss
and work something out about the
behaviours displayed.
2. Have you ever been bullied? If so, please share your story and let us know how did the bullying affect you and how did you cope?
I have been bullied all through out my high
school years, a day in particular has
affected me the most. I wasn’t always
standing up to my bullies but this one day I
had decided to put my foot down. As a
result, I was attacked in class while all my
friends and teacher watched. My shoes
were taken off by a bigger girl and the two
who instigated this laughed and everyone
in the class was unsure of what to do. My
shoes were chucked out of class and I ran
to go get it but they took my shoe
elsewhere and I was left shoe less and got
kicked in the face after school. This
affected me tremendously and in a
negative way, because my family was not
understanding of the situation and my mum
blamed me for the incident, though my
father contacted the police and the school
also got the teacher who stood and did
nothing fired. I coped with self harm. Had I
gotten proper support things wouldn’t have
gone that way for me.
3. What are the emotional difficulties children experience when their parents divorce? Have you experienced it yourself? If so, how did you cope?
The emotional impact of divorce is harder
on kids than it is on the parents I believe.
Your parents are the only role models you
have known for a successful relationship
and when it doesn’t work out it leaves you
confused and shattered sometimes even
unable to trust. I have experienced it for
myself first hand. I ran away to friends for
hours, to be away from the chaos and
that’s how I coped but I was the back bone
of the family and I smartened up really
quick to be able to support my mother and
father emotionally during this time.
4. Research shows suicide rates among teenagers and young people is quite high. Has anyone close to you committed suicide? If so, did it cause you to have suicidal thoughts yourself?
It is indeed very high and I wish it wasn’t.
My cousin who lived in Fiji committed
suicide at the tender age of 16. She was a
bright girl and was at the top of all her
classes, not to mention beautiful as well
and an only child. Seeing the effects of her
suicide, how it hurt the whole family, I
stopped myself from having any suicidal
thoughts. All I had left was regret.
5. What is your advice to those, who has lost a loved one to suicide?
My advice to people who have lost loved
ones to suicide is to not hold any grudges
against them as you don’t know what your
loved one may have been feeling. Don’t
hold any regrets and think of the good
times. I want people to know that you are
not alone and there are ways to help
transition your life into a healing process
rather then holding it all inside by talking to
a psychologist and if you have suicidal
thoughts please call 13 11 14 for the suicide
helpline Australia.
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