How French private school humiliates and breaks children whose parents cannot pay

The practices of this French private school located in the capital, Tunis, tell a lot regarding the social relations which turn towards the balance of power, with the complete reign of symbolic violence, under the arbitration of money. And it is even more revolting and deadly for social bonds when it impacts children, the future of the nation. Attention…

This institution approved by the French State, which we will not name, charges the tidy sum of 15,000 dinars per year to educate a child. During “the good years”, shall we say, the parents settled the slate without flinching and everything went well, like in the best of all worlds. The private school was rolling in gold. But now, the crisis has hit the door not only in Tunisia. Then the bills began piling up and some parents discovered themselves unable to keep up with the payments. Their children will pay dearly for it.

The management of the establishment has pushed the savagery – there is no other word to describe it – to the point of picking up these children in the middle of class, in front of their classmates, to inform them that their parents have not paid. So we take them out of class to take them elsewhere – in other words, to go to prison in the mind of a child – until their parents come to pick them up. A malicious blackmail to retrieve unpaid debts. But that’s not the worst, the worst is the damage to the little ones.

O devil child psychology, the well-being and balance of kids and all that, what matters is money, period. These little ones were brutally plunged into our world, that of violence, the worst, that which destroys the innocence of childhood. Suddenly they learn that they are distinct from their peers, whose parents have the means to pay…

We will always look at them with those eyes, even after their parents have settled the debt. A child doesn’t forget anything and can be extremely cruel, but they have nothing to do with it, it’s age that dictates it. In this case, it is the administration of this school which bears responsibility.

Ostracizing a child for so little while ignoring the long-term psychological damage is truly criminal. There were other ways to get your hands on this money, with “civilized” means and more in line with the values of the French Republic: Liberty, Equality, Fraternity. Everyone whines about the cult of violence which has won minds and taken over social space, by doing so this private school fuels it.

There is no reason for falling so low for pennies. By acting in this way, this highly respected French establishment is converting itself to local colour, tinged with systemic symbolic violence, while it was supposed to boost the level, to show the way. This is very regrettable…