This is so interesting and confirms that accents rather than language are hegemonic. We came to SA when I was 3 and I learned to speak English in Yorkshire and my parents were English and Scottish. So when I went to school, I didn't sound like my peers and I noticed that, and so did they. For years I worked on making my accent "normal" but went home and had my pronounciation corrected by my English mother. My Glaswegian father didn't give a sh*t.
That said, children are unbelievably cruel. I was ostracised when I went to a new school in Sub B (grade 2), and experience that lasted some two years and about which I have rarely spoken. I still don't know why it happened and why I was bullied. I do remember by whom and nearly 50 years ago, I remember how humiliated and hurt I felt.
Back to language, and Afrikaans, particularly. I don't speak it very well, but now, much better than when we moved to McGregor some 6 and a bit years ago and there are certain words that have no equivalent in English!
I am so sorry to hear about your struggles and being bullied. Luckily no one ever physically bullied me because I was always bigger than the rest. It does leave a scar with lasting effects. I wonder if there is ever a reason why someone bullies. It's illogical and inhumane. I have thought reasons why certain things happened in my life and to be honest, I have found more peace in trying to forgive and forget (with emphasis on the forget) than trying to figure out why. By the way, growing up I was absolutely besotted by the english accent!