Indian Students getting attacked in Australia particularly in Victoria State (in Melbourne Suburbs) is the news everywhere in the past weeks. And some people are blaming the Media for blowing this up.
I have couple of stories.
First one is mine happened last year. At this time I was in Melbourne. Melbourne Central Business District is a very small area which we can cover by an hours walk. Central Business District is the city part of Melbourne. The suburbs are surrounded as like other places. On 14th June 2008, a colleague of mine SenthilKumaran came back to India few days before me. I dropped him in Bus Depot to Airport with my friends Sudarshan, Bala and other Senthil and few more. Few of them had Australian PR too. It was midnight, I was coming alone to my Hotel by walk. Just near the hotel, I was about to cross the road and a car possibly a Toyota crossed very fast. A chewing white colored gum came out and fell near me. Someone from the car spitted a chewing gum and shouted something, due to the cars’ music system I couldn't hear what they said.
Second one, an incident happened few weeks back to my friend in Sheffield UK. When he was coming back to home in the evening few teenagers playing in the street shouted “Fu**ing Indian” and few days later one guy may be around 15 came and asked for some money to him. These things happened when he came via a dark road from the train station.
Coming back to the Australian Racism news… I just asked few of my friends in Melbourne and both of them immediately replied its just exaggerated. Even lot of “Indians” in Australia in have mentioned the same.
So what's the big deal ? If we go out of our own country or area we must always try to maintain low profile and adjusting with the new community. e.g.., In the trams/trains/buses shouting in some Indian language calling or communicating with a friend who is sitting four or five rows after , when mobile rings, without putting it on mute, making it to sing the latest bollywood song and thinking whether to attend the call or thinking who it is…. etc are very bad. Things like this will irritate the people. It doesn't mean that is the reason behind all these attacks. Wherever we go, we can find few miscreants in all the community. My friends in Melbourne say its not Racism, its business. Its the business the media is oiling up… It is happening for years. Just Bing. You will then know whether its a business or the real Racism.
It doesn't mean that if it happens for years its not Racism. Its the matter of “blowing up”…
Even I do agree with my friends. Medias in India is as usual playing the game after the Election 2009.We are going abroad just to study or to work or get settled. But whatever we do, will be called “Indians” did. Everyone of us have a morality when we represent some community.
ie.., if you go abroad
# on a business trip, in your client place you are representing your company (“The Companies in India”) in the customer place,
# to study, you are representing the “Indian Students” community &
# to settle we represent “The Indian Origins”.
likewise the list goes on and on…
So we must know the responsibility. Developed nations are not India. Shouting in a public place, cracking the rules etc will affect the whole big community called “Indians”.
Whatever the case may be, its our life, our near and dear ones are here in India looking for us. Even when we get attacked by words, its always better to leave the place as soon as we can. I do accept in few circumstances we cant do anything other than getting “attacked”, but lets be safe. We cant stop any unexpected happenings, lets only try to reduce that by not doing these mistakes which kindle those “miscreants” more….