In a first-hand account, a 23-year-old Sydney-based student of Indian origin shares some of his shocking experiences in Australia with MiD DAY on email
In a first-hand account, a 23-year-old Sydney-based student of Indian origin shares some of his shocking experiences in Australia with MiD DAY on email
My experiences in Australia (Sydney) date back to 2005. I was enrolled in Macquarie University in Sydney for a BBA course, specialising in Marketing and Economics. It was the cold morning of July 16 when I landed here. The only thing on my mind: OMG, it's so different. Many people back home think life in a foreign country is very easy; you have a lot of fun and enjoy. But to be there is a different story. Not many of us are fortunate financially, so a large population of Indian students work while they are studying, and I did the same.
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Anything can happen to anyone and that's how life is, in Sydney. Not that Sydney isn't safe. The motives behind this incident may not have been racist after all.u00a0
Every city has its good side and bad, but foreign students like me who work and study have a tough time, especially when you are aiming for higher grades in one of the better universities. Australians, in general, are warm human beings, and the fact that I believe in this has helped me survive. Every country has a minor population that is racist. I have also seen that a very common type of racism stems from various stereotypes that India is associated with. Yes we are loud, yes we have that Indian accent, but the fact that we are in a different country altogether calls for a change in our behaviour. We need to be more familiar with our surroundings and have to adapt accordingly. For instance, one of my last experiences shows how they aren't familiar with what we have achieved in all these years. Once, one of my classmates (an Australian) walked into my room, looked at my 12th class Maths books and said, 'I didn't know books in India are written in English!'
That was the most gobsmacking thing I have ever heard, and I gave him a 10-minute lesson on what Indian books are like. This shows that they still live in the dark about Indian culture, and so end up fanning their prejudices.
All said, I have been here for more that 4 years now, and still happy at the struggle, for it teaches you a lot.
The writer has requested anonymity for safety reasons
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Racial attacks (approximately) took place in May, 2009, in Sydney alone, says a report |
| Indians under attack |
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2008: A 26-year-old accounting student, Kanan Kharbanda, is now blind in his right eye after being assaulted by 10 people in Sunshine, Melbourne, in March 2008 |
| 'No one from Indian govt attended Nitin's cremation' |
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I do not have much idea about Nitin's death. All that I have heard about the racist attacks is from some friends in Australia, and media reports. It is a shocking thing that no one from the Australian or Indian governments told us or attended the ceremony. No one from either side has spoken |
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