Kajal's been going to summer camp. Weekly outings to amusement parks, lakes and the zoo... swimming, dance and tennis lessons. She loves it, the kids and counselors have been so compassionate and so kind. She's been completely accepted and welcomed and she feels welcome.. she has a blast! Until today.

A girl at camp, someone who Kajal thinks of as a 'friend', rallied several girls around and called Kajal over to them. As they all snickered and giggled she pointed to a fire alarm and asked Kajal to pull it... telling her it was the fan. It was very hot afterall.. Kajal, will you turn on the fan? Kajal was nervous, something didn't feel right, so her hand froze over the handle. Are you sure? She asked them, yes... Kajal, turn on the fan. And they demonstrated how to pull the alarm. The fire alarm went off and the girls laughed, running away. The whole camp was evacuated from the community center building and as they were shuffled out side the fire trucks and local fire department showed up in all their gear. Kajal put it together, her action and the resulting chaos. She burst into tears and went straight up to one of the counselors... she told him what she had done and had the courage to tell him the truth, exactly who had told her to pull the alarm.

She cried in front of the entire camp, humiliated and worst of all... feeling like she was (in her own words) a bad child.

Thank God, the counselors and camp director were kind to Kajal and explained to the fire department what had happened. They understood Kajal wasn't to blame and had been cruelly, manipulated.

Although the director had a conversation with the girl who led the nasty actions, it doesn't seem like there was any real consequences. My heart and head about exploded with anger, fury, love and protectiveness. How could anyone be so incredibly cruel? Manipulating a child that doesn't understand English very well... playing with someone like that. Bullies... that's what they are. Cruel, nasty, little bullies.

Kajal was so upset, she was ashamed when I picked her up and very depressed. She kept asking if I was upset with her and I explained that it wasn't her fault that it was an accident. I talked with her of the dangers of letting other children tell her what to do and asked that the next time she speak to an adult before taking action. I'm not sure how much she understood... but I do know that tonight when I tucked her in she was so sad... she kept saying she was a bad, mean child and she didn't want to see the teachers again. She was humiliated and so very sad. But worst, she blamed herself and didn't completely understand that she was a victim, not the guilty party.

I want to rip that older girl apart... I want to threaten her beyond words, letting her know that I am aware of what she has done and terrify the daylights out of her that if she dares try something like that again I will make her life miserable!

I pray I find the right words because I know, I will not remain silent tomorrow.

Yesterday, my mother was rushed by ambulance to the hospital, she was very sick and has developed a nasty infection... she'll be hospitalized and on IV antibiodics for a few days until she's well enough to come home. As I came home from the hospital to pick up Kajal I was confronted with the news of what happened today.

I see my mother suffering physically and my daughter suffering emotionally... in some ways I've never felt so overwhelmed and in others... I've never felt so protective, or strong.