Bullied girl with Down’s syndrome walked to school by North Macedonia’s president

A girl who had been bullied and discriminated against because she has Down’s Syndrome was supported by her country’s president as he walked her to school.

North Macedonia’s Stevo Pendarovski joined the youngster and her family for the school-run after some parents petitioned for her to be removed from class.

Embla Ademi, 11, from Gostivar, held hands with Mr Pendaror who said ‘Inclusion is a basic principle that we must support in such cases’.

Speaking after they had arrived, Pendarovski added that he had come to show support to Ademi and her family and to show that everyone in North Macedonia was equal.

‘I came to offer my help and support that I can in this position that I am in. If we can, if we raise the awareness people who have special needs are a part of us and we cannot discard them,’ he said.

Local media reported parents of children in the same class as Ademi had petitioned for her removal and for her to be educated separately from other children.

She has now returned to her classroom with other students and has been assigned a personal assistant.

Children living with disabilities in the Western Balkans are often unable to access help and opportunities and face entrenched social discrimination and stigma, according to a 2018 report by UNICEF and the European Disability Forum.

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