Michael Leathem, 15, a Children's Express member and pupil at the Boys Model in north Belfast, relates his experiences of attacks on school buses.
| I felt terrified. If they managed to stop the bus, I am sure the mob would have beaten me up. |
For some young people attacks on school buses are nothing out of the ordinary. It is a common phenomenon.
Pupils accept it as a routine encounter that happens on the way to or from school.
The most recent spate of stoning and abuse is aimed at pupils from two Protestant schools in north Belfast. The route from the Model Boys and Girl's Schools winds through both Catholic and Protestant communities before reaching the city centre.
I take the bus regularly to and from school and, while attacks are nothing new, they are still frightening.
I saw a police Land Rover at one end of Old Park Road and a foot patrol at the other end; in between there were young people, some still in school uniform, and adults.
They were a lot of people who began picking up stones and bottles. They stuck their fingers up at the bus.
Passengers on the bus fell quiet and watched to see what would happen. People were ready to duck down, to avoid showering glass and missiles. Stones and bottles were thrown as the bus drove past but they missed the target.
I felt terrified. There were a lot of people out there and, if they managed to stop the bus, I am sure the mob would have beaten me up.
Damage to Translink's fleet during September has risen to more than £100,000 and public service buses have borne the brunt of attacks.
"Since the beginning of summer, the number of attacks have steadily climbed to an all-time high. The attacks are not restricted to a particular community they are coming from everywhere," said a spokeswoman for Translink.
"That is the irony, we provide a service to all sections of the community and also come under attack from some of those people."
Translink denied claims made by a Model Girls pupil, that since attacks flared at the beginning of the week, some City Bus drivers have been refusing to let some pupils wearing that uniform onto their buses.
"They did not want us on there to avoid trouble but it means we have to walk home from school instead," the pupil said.
The impact of such sectarian violence has led some young people to mask their identity.
Every-time I take a bus into town, I take off my school tie and cover my blazer pocket with my bag, I don't want people to make assumptions; I don't want people to know anything about me, I just want to get on with my life.
About the team
This article was written by Michael Leathem, 15. It was published in the News Letter in Belfast.
