A new family from the Philippines has started using the community centre. They were settling in until one of the boys told my colleague that in the Philippines he used to eat domestic pets. As a result, he has been given a number of rather nasty nicknames. I don't know what to do about this and I feel really sorry for him.
Since this information was presumably given by the boy in confidence to your colleague, then the first question to ask is how did this become common knowledge? It sounds like there's a real issue here regarding confidentiality and professionalism.
That aside, this is a straightforward case of bullying stemming from ignorance of cultures other than our own. So as ever, zero tolerance is key. It must be made clear to the bullies that the boy no longer eats animals. In fact, it sounds like he is sorry that he ever did, which probably explains why he revealed this information to your colleague. It should also be made clear that in some developing countries extreme poverty understandably forces people to eat whatever is available. When you cannot afford to feed your children, you cannot afford to have Western levels of sentiment towards pets.
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