Being there
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ARJUN SUDHIR, a creative writing student at La Trobe University, Melbourne, gives us a glimpse of the feelings and reactions of the Indian student community in Melbourne.
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PHOTO: AFP
Help at hand: (from left) Raju Malek, Amit Menghani, Puneet Gulati and Jay Philip of the Federation of Indian Students in Australia (FISA) displaying the new helpline for students in Melbourne.
I was on my way back home from my part-time job in a call centre when a hefty guy, about 16, came and sat in front of me. We were the only two people in the carriage. He was twice my size and smelled strongly of beer. He asked me a few questions, most of them making no sense. I knew he was drunk and responded to his questions patiently. He touched the pattern on my t-shirt and said he liked it. I thanked him. He gave me a drunken smile, waved and got off the train at the next stop.
The situation could easily have got out of control. Had he approached an Indian student who took him seriously, it would have ended in a fight. The abuse would have become racial, and the Indian student (who may not be physically as strong) could have become the victim of yet another assault.
There have been four life-threatening attacks on Indian students in Melbourne in the last few weeks. Hospitality graduate Rajesh Kumar suffered burns from a petrol bomb; Sravan Kumar Theerthala was attacked with a screwdriver; Baljinder Singh was robbed and stabbed in the abdomen; and Sourabh Sharma was beaten up on a train. Three of the four incidents were reported from the western suburbs of Melbourne.
Psychological scars
A 22-year old student of Hospitality from Andhra Pradesh says a recent incidence of abuse has left him mentally wounded. “I got off the train when a group of drunken teenagers came up to me asking for a cigarette. I could not follow their accent. Looking at my blank expression, a girl stepped forward and slapped me. They demanded money. I said I only had two dollars. They took it, along with my jacket and hurled my wallet on to the train tracks,” he says, recounting the experience.
But students in trouble are not speaking up, says Gautam Gupta of The Federation of Indian Students of Australia that was formed here in 2002. “There have been instances of people suffering badly at work, but they won’t even tell us where they work. This is our culture. We don’t discuss things unless we are proud of them. And many students are ashamed,” he says.
A Cookery student from rural Punjab, who requested anonymity, seemed hesitant, even ashamed, to reveal details of his living and working conditions. He concedes to working 48 hours a week (even though the visa permits only 20 hours) and earns as little as Aus $8 an hour. Living in Footscray, an unsafe neighbourhood, he shares a rundown house with seven of his friends, surviving on a diet of rotis and yoghurt. “I am used to getting abused, but I don’t fight back,” he says, adding that he has dependants back home to worry about.
A complex situation
Rita Surendar, a bank employee, who has been living in Melbourne for 15 years, says it is probably because many local jobs are being outsourced to India that Indians are being attacked.
Tracy Pereira, a Bengali student at La Trobe University, feels that a small percentage of students behaving indecently spoils the name of the entire Indian community. “They stare, pass comments in their native language and laugh loud,” she says, recounting instances of Indian boys behaving inappropriately in public areas. “There have hardly been any attacks on girls in Melbourne,” she points out.
Branavan Aruljothi, a student at RMIT, says he doesn’t find these attacks surprising. “The Chinese went through racist attacks before us, and the Greeks and Italians before that. It’s our turn now, that’s all.”
Some students feel that because they are hardworking and show the willingness to do late shifts, they are being targeted. “Some parts of Melbourne have drunk teenagers on weekend evenings, and Indian students become easy targets while travelling late in the night,” a student says.
The Victorian police say that Indian students “drawing attention by speaking loudly in their native tongue or displaying signs of wealth such as iPods” could get them targeted. They say they are planning to educate Indian students to keep a low profile. The proposal, however, has angered a number of Indian student groups because they have been singled out for this. “Almost every single person taking public transport in Melbourne has an iPod, and it is unfair to ask Indians to avoid displaying them,” fumes one student.
Responding to diplomatic pressure from India, the Australian government has assured that it will ensure Indian students are safe in Australia. The students, however, remain sceptical.
Corrections and Clarifications
A number of readers have pointed out that an article by Arjun Sudhir, on the
attacks on Indian students in Australia, appeared in the Open Page of the
main paper ("Violence against Indians in Melbourne") and the Sunday
Magazine ("Being there", page 4), both on June 7, 2009, with minor
variations in the two versions. The author apparently sent the material to
many desks in Chennai and the Sunday Magazine included it in the pages
(finalised on Tuesday). Generally articles in the magazine are commissioned
and unsolicited ones are rarely considered. This was one of the rare
occasions. The Open Page desk took it in later, unaware of the acceptance
by the magazine desk. Lack of communication led to this repetition, and the
lacuna has been rectified, it has been stated.
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