Secondary schools throughout the Netherlands can visit the Fataal School Tour until April 2018. School pupils can watch the film in the cinema at a reduced price and can take part in a Q&A with different guest speakers. Margo, the mother of a mindless violence perpetrator, also tells her story.
In 2011 Margo’s sixteen-year-old son stabbed another person. ‘My world came crashing down. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that my child would do such a thing as attempted manslaughter.’ Over the past years Margo has visited schools giving guest lessons on mindless violence so that people can put a face to the mother of a perpetrator. She sums it up as follows: ‘It is easy to make judgements based on a newspaper article. But what is the background story? How does the mother of the victim feel? What is it like for the sister of the perpetrator when she has to return to school? What are the consequences of the incident for both parties? What is a fair punishment and why?’. In her account she examines all aspects of the crime without immediately explaining who she is. She bases her story on the newspaper article that was published in 2011. Margo asks the pupils questions, compelling them to consider the position of the victim, the perpetrator and the other people involved. During her story Margo gives additional information on the cause and the consequences, and finally she reveals her identity. ‘That has quite an effect on the pupils. If they tell me after the lesson that they will now consider the hows and whys before passing judgement, my goal has been achieved.’