Reket (school bullying) in Kyrgyzstan

First year law students (college freshman) in northern Kyrgyzstan wrote the following essays on reket (school bullying) in Kyrgyzstan:

"Reket. One girl in high school requested 100 som from a small girl. Becasue the big girl needed money the small girl stole money from her mother, because the big girl said: If you don't give me money I will fight you when you go home. The small girl was afraid because she gave money to the big girl. I think it is worse because the inspector doesn't have an advantage. If the government is worried then maybe it should change the system."

"In the schools of Kyrgyzstan school boys or girls take money or phone of the younger ones. Younger school boys or girls give money or telephones because they are afraid of the senior children. Inspectors cannot solve this problem in the school. In my opinion this problem is very developed in the schools of Kyrgyzstan. Reket interferes with learning at school."

"In the school, high school, people take money from children and they must save money and give it to them. If little school children don't give money to guys they will be hit. This makes children afraid because if they complain the high school guys maybe will be able to kill. The police don't fix it. This is all a bad system."

"Bullying is very developed in Kyrgyzstan. The most developed place is in school. At school senior pupils demand from elementary grades a small sum of money and children find the told sum of money. Bullying is a very bad business. It is necessary to struggle with bullying. Bullying is a bad system."

"Bullying is Reket. It's when one or a group of bad boys take money or mobile phones from children. These children take money from smaller children. Little children maybe can steal this money from their parents or other people. Then the policeman records these bad boys. It is a bad system."

"My opinion about Reket or bullying. In our school and in the streets big boys have an illegal work. They take money or something from young children. For example, in school, where I was studying I saw many situations when the Reket gangs who were studying in the 10th or 11th classes take phones or money from young school boys who were studying in the 8th or 9th classes. If they don't give money they hit them. Reket is not only with boys, it is also with girls. I think it is very bad because it is illegal. It is a problematic situation."

"I think bullying is bad! Because of this bullys require money and phones and if you don't give money or phones  then you are beaten. That will happen. In the school one of the senior class students demanded money from those younger who could not raise money and they shot them down a lot. I think it's very bad for a teenager and you have to deal with this problem."

"In every school of Kyrgyzstan we have bulllying. Every pupil and high school pupils take money from little and weak guys. Sometimes they take 200 som, sometimes 500 in one class in every week. They do it by group. If somebody tells about them to the police the police are sometimes afraid of these little rekets. It's awful, I think because weak and little people must steal money from their parents and give it to a gang of bullys. I think it's the parent's problem because they don't do anything with their children who give money by illegal ways. I think they must punish their child and bosses of schools must do something with this problem and not close their eyes. I think if these little reketeers don't stop, in the future they can do something real awful and there will be bad implications."

"In our country many schools have Reket. For example in my school big boys make a big group and ask money from children. They ask 1000 som or 2000 som, it depends on the interest of the big boys. In my mind this problem is global in our Kyrgyzstan school and to finish it is very hard. But, I think teachers must punish these big boys or expel them from school."