PERTH: Devastated after again being targeted at school for his dwarfism, a sobbing Quaden Bayles repeatedly told his mother that he wanted to die.

The 9-year-old Australians deep distress went viral on social media after his mother, Yarraka Bayles, posted a six-minute video clip.

“This is what bullying is doing and I want people to know how much this is hurting us as a family,” she says in the video, which has been viewed more than 19 million times. This is the impact that bullying has on a 9-year-old kid that just wants to go to school, get an education and have fun.

Her appeal sparked an outpouring of worldwide support for the bullied boy, including from celebrities and athletes.

Australian actor Hugh Jackman said “you are stronger than you know, mate” and urged people to “be kind” to each other, while Eric Trump the son of US President Donald Trump said the video was absolutely heartbreaking.

This is one of the hardest videos I’ve watched, Boston Celtics basketball player Enes Kanter wrote on Twitter. No place in the world for bullies.

A GoFundMe page started by American comedian Brad Williams has raised more than $140,000 in an effort to send Bayles on a trip to Disneyland in California.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2020