Controversial refugee story removed

A NEWSPAPER has pulled a story about refugee children attacking fellow students, saying it was “incomplete”.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers a speech at the Youville workshop of the Société des Transports de Montréal (STM), in Montreal, Quebec, on April 6, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / Alice CHICHE

A CANADIAN newspaper has been forced to pull a controversial story alleging refugee children attacked fellow students at an elementary school because it was “incomplete”.

The story from Halifax’s The Chronicle Herald on Friday, claimed reports of students “choking, pushing, slapping and verbally abusing” their classmates had caused concern among parents.

The story drew fire from readers on social media who accused the paper of “racism” and “spreading anti-refugee sentiment”.

It was removed after being picked up by a number of international news outlets.

The newspaper replaced the online version with a statement on Sunday.

“Bullying is a sensitive subject,” it said. “So is the integration of newcomers, particularly those who have faced challenges, even trauma, on their way here.

“Our story was incomplete. More work needs to be done and will be done before the story is republished. We should have done better and we will.”

News.com.au has asked The Chronicle Herald to clarify in what way the story was incomplete, and whether it was removed due to factual inaccuracies or reader complaints.

In a commentary piece, journalist Tim Bousquet of the Halifax Examiner said the piece “unfairly maligns kids in its attack on refugees”.

“They’re kids! Every kid screws up, acts inappropriately, has trouble,” he wrote.

“Beyond that, these particular children came from a war zone. The horrors they have seen by age eight likely exceed anything most of the readers of the Chronicle Herald article could even imagine.

“They then were removed from their friends and extended families and took a long journey that brought them to a strange land with different languages and customs.

“Is it believable that these kids might have some problems adjusting? Sure. But what kind of person uses traumatised children as pieces in a public relations game?”

The original story claimed a girl in the third grade was choked twice by two boys using a chain, with one boy allegedly yelling “Muslims will rule the world”.

Another mother told the paper her daughter was slapped after a disagreement in the schoolyard, and now begged not to go to school due to the bullying. A third parent raised concerns the language barrier was causing the problems.

A spokesman for the school board said he couldn’t confirm whether individual students had broken the behaviour code of conduct. “We have a long history of welcoming newcomers all over the world to Nova Scotia,” he said.

Originally published as Controversial refugee story removed