Beware of junkies Down under

As the news of attacks on young Indians in Australia reached the city, it only added to the anxiety of those aspiring to study in Australia. After a group of four Indian students were attacked by teenagers Down Under, which left one Hyderabadi youth grievously injured, another 25-year-old was stabbed in the abdomen by two men in the same country.

This has naturally shaken those who were planning to pursue academics in Australia.
“I am thinking of doing my MBA and have been looking at some of the universities in Australia. However, after reading about all that’s been going on there, my parents want me to reconsider the decision,” said Rajat BS, student.

Recently, nearly 100 representatives from 23 Australian universities had held a road-show in the city to attract students to various programmes offered by colleges there.
According to officials of educational consultancies, the attacks haven’t affected the popularity of Australia as a destination for higher education.

“The number of Indians going to Australia has grown by around 35 per cent this year. Students are still keen on going there for doing their further studies,” said Almas Madarwala, manager, IDP Education India. IDP is part owned by Australian institutions and offers counselling to interested students.

There has been a steady out-flow of Indian students to Australia in the past few years. Around 40,000 Indians have reportedly gone to Australia to pursue education in 2008.
Most of the students leaving India are briefed about matters relating to etiquette, social mores, slang and cultural differences of the host countries.

Two of the attacks happened when students were travelling alone. “This is about being at the wrong place at the wrong time. In some cases, the students have been involved in something shoddy and in many cases they just don’t know how to behave. They are not used to the culture, thus they keep flashing i-pods and expensive gadgets, travelling in dangerous parts of the city where their chances of getting mugged are high,” Almas added.

Experts say that foreigners need to be careful about the small details. Starting from the language Indian students speak among themselves to the manner in which they respond — all these could invite trouble. “Most of the people are friendly. In Aussie slang, there are groups of people who are called ‘junkies’ who indulge in mugging and such incidents to derive cheap thrills at the cost of foreign students. There are simple things Indian students unwittingly do which can lead to trouble like talking in regional languages on the Tube or not offering seats to senior citizens (there is priority seating given for senior citizens.) Locals take offence to these things,” said Alwin Lawrence, a former student of RMIT University, Melbourne.

Nearly 80 per cent of the Indian students heading to Australia are male students. An orientation programme or session is often advisable for newbies. “We advise them to initially find accommodation with other Indian students. Also they are advised to travel in groups and avoid commuting at night to certain areas which have a bad reputation,” said Dilip Rai, director, Overseas Educational Services, an educational consultancy.

The poll question posed on the website of the Federation of Indian Students of Australia, an association of Indian students, “Is there an increase in racism in Australia?” clearly shows that even though not many have cancelled their education plans Down Under, it has nevertheless left the aspiring student community shaken.