Australia foreign student abuse, Protestors in Action

When Indian students arrive in Australia, probably the last thing they think they will end up doing is taking to the streets in a series of boisterous protests.

First, they were voicing anger over a spate of muggings and attacks in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide. Police confirm there have been 97 attacks since late-May, although the true figure is probably much higher since many assaults go unreported.

Now, the ranks of disgruntled Indian students have been swelled by those who believe they are being ripped off by a private system keen to take their money, but unable to offer value for money or even a proper education.
Twin demands of protection from attacks, and safeguards from unscrupulous private education providers are now motivating what has fast become a student movement.
And it has drawn multiracial support not only from Australian students but also from Chinese and other nationalities too.
For the Australian government it is a particularly sensitive issue.
Australia is an educational powerhouse, with 70,000 Indian students alone.

After coal and iron ore, it is the country's third most lucrative industry, worth around £7.5m ($14.35m AUD).

Punched and kicked
It was the beauty of Sydney that drew Sumit Purdani from Delhi to study for an MBA, but he will remember his time here for the ugliness of the welcome.

Less than a month after arriving Sumit was set upon by a gang of three youths of Middle Eastern descent while he was on his way to a Hindu temple in broad daylight.

He was punched and kicked in an attack that lasted 10-15 minutes. His attackers only ran off when a local football team, who had just finished a match, came into view.
I asked him how he could be sure he was attacked because of his nationality.
There was no doubt, he said, "because of the comments they made, because I was carrying a bag with an Indian logo and because of the comments they made of my country and background".
More recently, Sumit was attacked for a second time. He says Indian students have come to expect being the victims of racist violence, and he knows a dozen friends who have been targeted.
'Curry diplomacy'
Back in India - a country determined to assert itself much more forcefully on the international stage, and unwilling to sit back while its citizens experience trouble abroad - the Indian student attacks have received extensive coverage on both cable news channels and special programmes devoted to the issue.

"So what will it take to get Mr Kevin Rudd to finally wake up?" asked one commentator, reproachfully.
Alert to the diplomatic, as well as the economic, fall-out from the controversy, Prime Minister Rudd spoke to Indian reporters, and tried to convey his respect and admiration for a country which Australia has traditionally tended to ignore.
"Our Indian community has been such a vital contributor to our culture, to our life, to our food, to our music," he said. He even opted for some curry diplomacy:
"Bollywood is a thing with all of our kids, they just love it," he said. "And I always say this too. Imagine if we never had Indian food in Australia. We would be sentenced to 100 years of English cuisine."
To some Indian tastes however, this only trivialised the issue.
Since Mr Rudd made those comments, in the midst of the southern winter, the debate has moved on.

See full article at BBC News