Bullying Victim Speaks Out

On Monday, we shared a story about the effects of bullying on kids in Belize. One of the cases we focused on was Dominick Alvarado, a thirteen-year-old, second-form student at Saint John’s College, who was seriously hurt in what appears to be a bullying incident. Tonight, Dominick and his mom are breaking their silence. News Five’s Britney Gordon caught up with Dominick to see how he’s doing. Here’s their story.

 

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Thirteen-year-old Dominick Alvarado used to love fishing and was a straight-A student at Saint John’s College. But now, instead of casting lines, he’s stuck in bed, twisting a Rubik’s cube to pass the time while his fishing rods gather dust in the corner. What should have been an exciting start to his sophomore year, filled with dreams of becoming a marine biologist, has turned into a painful recovery process. This is the harsh reality of bullying.

 

Dominick Alvarado, Bullying Victim

“I was up in front of my class by the door, standing up with my friend. And then because we could see them at the other side playing, they were playing this game with a cover, and if it goes in your, between your legs, they pat you. And we were there, and he just come out of nowhere and pat me.”

 

Dominick shares that when he first felt harassed, he tried to report it to a teacher, but the bully stopped him in his tracks.

 

Dominick Alvarado

“Before I reached to tell the teacher, he pushed me in the drain and at the time I didn’t feel the pain because I had meat, so I’m chunky, I didn’t feel the pain at the time, so then around a couple weeks now, when I was walking to go to school, it hurt so bad I couldn’t walk I had to limp, and it hurt, so I call, I text my mom on my laptop to come for me at school.”

 

After the incident was reported to the school administration, Dominick was initially facing suspension. However, two teachers stepped in to defend him, and he was spared from the punishment. Dominick revealed that this bully had been tormenting him since their primary school days. Natalie Alvarado, Dominick’s mother, got a frantic call from a relative whose child also goes to St. John’s College, urging her to come quickly. She remembers the shock of seeing her son, soaked and unaware of the severity of his injuries.

 

Natalie Alvarado, Mother of Victim

“When I saw him he was completely soaked with water. I mean completely head the toe. So books was wet, everything was wet.  And I went into the office and asked them what’s going on and they told me that they pushed him down. So I figure from, I did not think, take it serious that from then he already hit, had that injury. I just, I thought he was going to grow it out, then he started limping, then it started getting worse.”

 

Dominick did not immediately feel the pain of his injury, but the damage was already done. Over time, the muscle on his hip started to deteriorate. It only worsened by the distance he had to walk daily, since he takes the bus from Boston Village to Belize City and walks to school from there.

 

Natalie Alvarado

“It’s like when you go to the ice cream store and buy ice cream, you’re licking off the ice cream melt off and just the cone remain. So that was what was happening to him, just the  bone part was going to remain because the other piece is coming off.”

 

Dominick was rushed into emergency surgery and will need another one soon. At just thirteen, he now has a screw in his hip that will stay there for about a year. He’ll have to relearn how to walk, with his mom by his side every step of the way. This incident has turned Natalie and Dominick’s world upside down, forcing her to take time off work to care for him full-time while she looks for a caretaker.

 

Natalie Alvarado

“It is not a daily, it’s a twenty-four hours thing. It’s like a shift. Like a cycle now. So he’s thirteen, but now it’s just like he’s what, four or five all over because you have to teach him how to walk back. You have to learn how to sit up his back. So I have to help him sit on. I have to pick him up. I have to do everything for him. Bathroom. And he’s somebody that don’t like nobody to be watching at him. So his grandmother is here but he won’t call for his grandmother. He won’t call for his grandfather. He will call just for me.  So I have to be there twenty-four seven.”

 

The financial burden and stress have taken a toll on the family. Natalie’s parents have had to pitch in to help with Dominick’s treatment and care. When he returns to school, his family anticipates that transportation expenses and special accommodations will be costly.

 

Natalie Alvarado

“We don’t live in the city where it’s just five minutes away from the school.  We live twenty-six and three quarter miles away from the city. So gas and it’s going to be a sacrifice that  I have to meet. And I’m not a person that’s making all that money.  I’m a tour guide”

 

Natalie has penned a heartfelt letter to SJC, laying out her expectations for the school’s role in Dominick’s recovery. She starts by expressing her disappointment with the school’s initial lack of empathy and concern following the bullying incident that led to Dominick needing emergency surgery. As a parent, she believes every student deserves a safe and supportive environment, and it’s disheartening to see this wasn’t the case. To help Dominick fully recover, she’s asking St. John’s College High School for a detailed action plan covering several critical areas: mental and emotional well-being, spiritual support, physical rehabilitation, caregiver support, and academic accommodations. Natalie also urges all parents to act swiftly and decisively on behalf of their children.

 

Natalie Alvarado

“Don’t be afraid. Don’t be scared. If your son is going through something, speak up. Don’t wait too long until he gets what I am going through right now.”

 

Despite the adversities that Dominick is facing, he has decided to take the high road and ignore whatever mean comments people have to throw his way.

 

Dominick Alvarado

“I’m not gonna say nothing about it. I’m gonna let God deal with them.” 

 

Britney Gordon for News Five