On February 24, A.F., a Romanian 13-year old boy in Civitavecchia, near Rome, passed out at home. The doctors examined him and found that he is not sick, but beaten. At the emergency room of the Sao Paolo hospital, he admitted he was bullied in school. He couldn't feel his arm and his shoulder. A 15-year old pupil for the second year in the same class was beating him every day. But the number of extreme violent acts against Romanian kids is much larger. Many mothers in the same city complained about their children being bullied.

A.F. may be crippled for life. The others are beaten once in a while, but are the kids that everyone makes fun of: "You'll become a house painter, like all Romanians", Italian kids say to Romanians.

A mother was forced to demand her son's name to be changed. The child was accepted directly in the second grade and learned Italian within weeks a few years ago. Now, when he is 14, his name is the only reason to be abused everyday. Lately, his colleagues even begun shouting "To death!" and "To the funeral pile!" when they see him.

The phenomenon, widely spread in Italy, is called bullismo. Even though its existence can not be denied, authorities refused to answer any questions asked by HotNews.ro.