To the editor: Apart from the obvious horror of the incidents described in this tale of teenage bullying and torture, these “parachute” kids represent the merging of a Dickens novel and a Marx Brothers movie. (“Adolescence in free fall,” July 2)
Any parent who would send his or her child off alone to a foreign country — even if the intent is to obtain a better education or a better life for the child — has missed a few vital chapters in the book of parenting.
And any government department that allows this practice is hopelessly trapped in a tragic, slapstick comedy of incompetence.