A 23-year-old student from Hyderabad, A Sai
Kiran was shot dead by his assailants after he refused to give in to a robbery
attempt in Miami, Florida. Sai Kiran, who had moved to the US approximately 45
days ago to join his course, was one of many Indians who travel across shores
in a bid to pursue studies in foreign countries like the US, UK and Australia,
to name a few. Goans too, make a significant contribution to this ever-growing
list of students travelling abroad for studies. It may be interesting to note
that the incident mentioned above comes in the wake of another unfortunate
incident that made headlines about a month ago. Earlier in April, a 22-year-old
Goldman Sachs analyst was found dead under suspicious circumstances in the
backdrop of him complaining of high work pressure. On May 17, the father of the
deceased Sarvshreshth Gupta wrote about how the pressure-cooker work
environment took a toll on his son’s life, which went viral.
Alexandre Noronha from Raia is all excited
to begin a new chapter in his life. With dreams of pursuing Masters in Business
Administration from the University of Tampa, Florida, Alexandre cannot wait for
his academic career in America to begin in August. When asked whether or not
such incidents can deter students like him from opting for studies in foreign
countries, Alexandre says, “Such incidents have been happening occasionally for
a long time. That will not stop me from making use of the better quality of
life and education that the US offers.” Prajyot Nadkarni, a Goan originally
from Mapusa, now studying in University College London, says, “We have to be
prepared at all times for such situations. Being a student in a foreign
country, it is challenging to concentrate on studies whilst being on guard.
Having said that, the overall life of a student here is really good. The
relationship of students with the professors is great and teachers are like
friends, which contributes a lot in making the overall experience of studying
better.”
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While most of the students are in agreement
that unfortunate incidents such as the one mentioned above are random and need
not be focused towards only Indians, they also agree that this does put additional
pressure on the students and more so on their parents back home. Mamta
Tivrekar, whose daughter Shanti is studying at the New York Film Academy in the
US, says, “We do get stressed whenever such incidents come to light. As
parents, we cannot help but worry about the safety of our children living away
from us. As selfish as it may sound, we can only hope that ‘our children’ are
spared from any unfortunate incident and that they return to Goa after the
completion of their studies.”
“I am of the opinion that it was not a
targeted act. It could’ve happened to anyone really, it seems like an
unfortunate random act. I am currently enrolled in a Bachelor of Primary
Education course and these incidents intrigue me. If something like that
happened to me in Australia, I would rather hand over my phone as I treasure my
life. I have always been cautious and vigilant wherever I go.”
Gayle D’Souza,
Brisbane, Australia
“As a part of work project, I had to
spend a few months in Amsterdam, recently. The experience in Amsterdam was
good, but in France, when we were shopping in a supermarket, the person at the
cash register looked at us as if we were thieves or guys who are going to cause
some issue sooner or later. I’ve heard it is common for people with brown skin to
experience this.”
Aditya Ganesh K,
Porvorim
