2 Senegalese boys beaten and called ‘Ebola’ at US school

Two brothers were sent to hospital after they were attacked by a gang of 15 children at their school, who kicked and punched them and called them “Ebola”.

The American-born boys, who returned from living in Senegal a month ago, were attacked last Friday. DNAinfo reported that 11-year-old Amadou Drame was set upon by his classmates during a lunch break, when his 13-year-old brother Pape tried to step in and help, but also became a victim to the violence.

The boys’ father picked up his sons, who were reportedly badly bruised, swollen and bleeding, and took them to hospital. They were released on the same day with minor injuries.

The attack follows weeks of harassment experienced by the boys at their school in the Bronx, New York.

“If they go to play in the gym, the kids tell them ‘Don’t touch the ball. If you touch the ball we will all get Ebola,” the boys’ father, Ousmane Drame, told DNAinfo.

The attack has been called a “hate crime” by New York’s senator Bill Perkins, Buzzfeed reported.


Credit: Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith