A video of a terrified young girl crying after being told she might be bitten by a dog and warned she might miss her bus has stirred up an outrage online.
Kaniva News has not been able to confirm the authenticity of the video or who filmed it.
Facebook users appeared to believe the woman who filmed the video was the child’s mother.
The video appears to have been uploaded so it could be shared with friends and family members.
The video showed the terrified child, whose name on the video was given as Mele, listening to a woman who instructed her to walk to the bus stop.
The woman was overheard telling the child to walk away and be careful otherwise a huge dog in a neighbouring home might bite her.
She then told the girl to leave as she had texted the bus to come and pick her up.
The girl in the video looked scared, but was told to leave. She was crying while saying goodbye to the woman.
“Do not cry otherwise the dog will hear you,” the woman said.
The little girl sobbed and tried to compose herself, but the woman did not appear to do anything to calm her.
Instead she told Mele if she continued crying the bus would not stop for her.
The woman was overheard trying not to laugh at the girl and made fun of her by asking whether she was walking to Nomuka, an island in Ha’apai – a joke mostly made to refer to the place wherever someone who is being make fun of came from in Tonga.
In the video the girl walked about 20 metres before stopping. The woman talked to her, asking if she still wants to walk to the bus stop. The girl started crying again.
The girl continued walking again, but the woman could be overheard laughing. She called again to stop Mele and asked her to return to her, before asking if she wanted to go by bus or not.
Mele stopped but she was again told to walk to the bus stop by herself, which according to the video, it would take some time before she could arrive there.
The woman in the video has been severely criticised for her action, with some people labelling her as foolish and saying her action was uncalled for.
Some commentators were emotional and expressed support for the little girl.
“This is so sad! Got teary eyes watching this video! This is so my Sennan! Kids are so stubborn and scared sometimes, but seriously I’ll never let my little girl walk alone like this these days! when my mom and aunty are busy, i have to go drop my Sennan to school i always get out of the car, hold her hand and walk her down to her classroom! To see tears on my kids face always melt my heart! Our kids want to feel that we care. Mamas wake up, don’t let your kids walk alone cos these days are geting worst!! I heart this cute little girl!” a commentator wrote.
“Oh my gosh is this a joke? Not funny at all when I watch this I cried together with the little girl stupid mother,” another wrote.
“I think this is not funny at all….not funny….you really hurt the feeling of the child…..please….do not ever do that again to your own child…
“Whats funny about making a child cry?”
