Reflection on the Fajr Atiya William's Case
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This week, Living With Disabilities will be reflecting on Fajr Atiya William's Case.
We write so much about multiple topics that awareness needs to be brought to them. And yes, we hope the message is bringing some kind of awareness to the point where society is getting the message and shining the light. But it does not just stop there; if there is a topic that has hit the news and it needs to be spoken up more, you will hear Living With Disabilities thoughts on it. Like The bus incident in Franklin Township, New Jersey, that took a young and innocent six-year-old girl's life.
The life of Fajr could have been prevented, and Living With Disabilities agrees with Fajr's mother. As stated by her mother, it was neglect, and the policies and procedures weren't handled correctly. She was absolutely correct on that, The bus aide should have been paying close attention to the child, and less attention to her headphone and music.
Yet, there are two workers here on shift, and both are held reliable for anything that happens on a bus. The bus driver's job is to also remain focused on the road, while also every once in a while check-up in the mirror even if there is a bus aide. This death could have been prevented if the bus aide pay less attention to the music that she was listening to at the time, and signal for help. Therefore, the bus driver could have come to a halt and helped the aide lose up the safety harness a tad bit. As they say, it takes two to tango; it takes two to help protect a child on a bus. If the bus has an aide, it takes the bus driver and the aide to help keep a child safe.
Now why isn't the bus driver being held accountable for Fajr's death too? It's not just the aide who is held responsible for her death. We agree the aide shouldn't have been paying more attention to her music; there should have been some kind of music playing on the bus for everyone to hear. Some buses have it where music can be played. But listening to music while you're supposed to be watching over students and their safety should be a complete no. As we have mentioned, music should have been playing for everyone on the bus.
Living With Disabilities believes the driver should be held accountable, and why weren't they held? Yet the aide gets slammed with second-degree manslaughter and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child in the death.
The cause of Fajr's death was strangulation, cause the harness became tight and cut off her circulation. And in a lot of cases could have been prevented. Now her mother is speaking up and will continue to advocate for a change. As Living With Disabilities, we hope things do change, and change for the better. Change shouldn't only happen when something negative happens; Change because you want your business or job to feel better. And when you do better, you feel better.
If you are a bus driver or a bus aide, what are some things that you can change on your bus to prevent another child from losing their life? Living With Disabilities would like to hear from you, even if you are not a bus driver or a bus aide, what do you think should change on buses to prevent another child from death?
Living With Disabilities Presents: The Advocacy Table
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