Hyderabad: Indian students abroad recount harrowing tales

Hyderabad: Caught between the devil and the deep sea, youth from Hyderabad pursuing studies abroad are facing an unusual predicament.

Unable to return home and make ends meet, students in France, Australia, Italy, England and USA, to name a few, are desperately seeking help to sustain their selves and reach home.

Amalaganti Sravan, 25, a student of Central Queensland University who works as an Uber delivery driver in Australia, said, "My family is unable to send money due to the lockdown and we are now stranded." There are 5,65,000 international students in Australia, mainly in higher education or vocational education sector.

Nikita Mendu, doing masters in media and communication at Swinburne University, says, "All students who were doing part-time jobs are now at home. There is a sense of helplessness and uncertainty. One needs at least 50,000 INR to survive here."

The directive from the acting Australian minister for immigration, citizenship, migrant services and multicultural affairs, Alan Tudge, asking people who are unable to support themselves to return has come as a bolt from the blue for many.

"Temporary visa holders who are unable to support themselves over the next six months are strongly encouraged to return home.

It's time to go home, and they should make arrangements as quickly as possible," a strongly worded communique by the immigration authorities has sent shivers down the spine of students.

"In France, many students stayed back as they could not afford the flight ticket that shot up from Rs 30,000 to Rs 92,000 and now with no services, we are forced to stay back," said Manideep, who is a part of 'Indiansinfrance' on social media.

In the case of Sai Deepak Goud, a resident of Alwal who went to London just a few months ago and enrolled for strategic marketing course in the University of Greenwich, the last few weeks have been terrible.

"I was just getting a hang of the place and culture and looking out to become self-reliant and then came Corona. Luckily, my parents can support me, but for many Indian students, these are testing times," he said.

The situation in Canada too is worrisome. Sai Teja Dhanush, a Hyderabadi now pursuing International Business Management at Centennial College in Canada, says, "All of us have been caught unawares.

I came here in January. We are just hoping things would get better, at the moment I am relying on my parents to get through this period."