‘Traumatic’ Suicide Passage Given As Part Of Arabic O Level Leaves Students Shocked
An Arabic paragraph given as part of a translation section in a recent exam in Malta has left some students shocked due to the graphic nature of its content.
The paragraph, which formed part of Arabic O Levels taken by 15/16 year olds, detailed a father’s suicide note to his family, explaining how they had left him without any money and that he was going to kill himself now.
The translation was part of an exam on the 15th June this year, and saw students asked to translate it. The note read:
“My dear wife and children, I’m so sad I can’t live anymore, when you read this letter I’ll be dead, and you won’t see me anymore. I gave you a lot when I was young but now I’m older and you left me alone and poor without money, therefore, I’ll leave this life and die.
Maybe I’ll find another different life. Maybe I’ll be happy there. Maybe I’ll live with poor people like me. I love you. Bye.
Then he ate the poison, then slept in his bed, and the next day he wakes up happy and his wife calls him and he laughs, his children call him and he laughs.”
So @UMmalta Arabic O level exam asking 15 years old to translate a text about a father sending a letter to his wife and kids about his intentions to commit suicide ! Wtf @edukazzjoni @LovinMalta @RobertaMetsola @TheTimesofMalta @mcaruanagalizia @MEDAC_Malta pic.twitter.com/JSQyQF59yE
— Aladdin Attiga (@alladdinno) June 16, 2021
Many took to social media to raised concerns over the passage potentially triggering students who may have experienced suicide-related trauma in their lives.
One native Arab speaker said told SideStreet Malta: “Imagine someone suffering from suicidal thought reads that, or perhaps even some who had a father that actually committed suicide. How would they deal with this?”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQOR45vnoGq/
“A paragraph like this should never have been placed in the hands of stressed children, posed as an innocent exam question no less,” youth activist group Għajjejt U Xbajt said in an Instagram story, tagging Education Minister Justyne Caruana. They warned the text may lead to trauma and scarring within vulnerable students.
Lovin Malta is informed that at least one family that had fled their country to Malta in search of a better life were left shaken up after their daughter took the exam.
“This was a failure on someone’s part,” the group said. “What is going to be done to ensure this never happens again?”
Do you think this passage was appropriate in an O’ Level exam?
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