Xenophobic locals give foreign students a tough time

While students from Africa and Middle East come to the city in search of better education, locals refuse to rent their homes fearing their credentials

India is known for its unity in diversity. But how far is the country from this policy when it comes to welcoming foreign nationals who come to study? Naledi Petrus, a student from Botswana, says that she came to India to study as she was attracted to the study system.

“Getting a degree from an Indian institute is prestigious. But contrary to what is portrayed about India being a country which welcomes its visitors with open arms, the people here are not gentle or warm,” she laments.

Naledi had a tough time after landing here as people were not willing to rent their houses to foreigners.

“There could be issues with everyone in this world, but not everyone is the same,” comments Muntazar, a student from Iraq, and goes on to add that he had to face many problems dealing with flat owners, auto-wallahs, etc.

“We come here thinking that we may be in peace after living in war-torn countries but the scenario changes. There may be no wars but there is a lot of discrimination for students,” he says.However Rajesh Kumar, a resident of Tarnaka, has a different take on this. He says that he fears renting his home only for the reason that he can’t trust outsiders.

Having faced problems earlier, Rajesh believes that foreigners’ lifestyle is completely different. “They speak rudely. The boys roam around the streets on bikes late at nights and keep honking, which disturbs the people in the locality. Also there were many instances where the students were caught for smuggling drugs and other wrong doings,” says Rajesh.

A girl student from Afghanistan agrees with this situation and says that when she was on a home hunting spree, there were instances where people questioned her if she was a Muslim and whether she was a vegetarian or not.

“What is the problem if one eats non-veg or if one is a Muslim? There could have been people who created problems earlier, but not all five fingers are the same. If someone from a particular country has done something wrong, it doesn’t mean that everybody else does the same. India might be a great country but Indians are not living up to the expectations and are giving a wrong impression to the world. What shall I tell my people after going back to my country about the way I’m being treated here?” asks Xehra (name changed).