http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/the-interviews-blog/african-students-fear-for-their-lives-in-india-authorities-accuse-us-of-taking-drugs-situation-cant-improve-by-tweets/
‘African students fear for their lives in India … authorities accuse us of taking drugs … situation can’t improve by tweets’ March 31, 2017, 2:00 AM IST Rohit E David in The Interviews Blog | Edit Page, India, Q&A | TOI Samuel T Jack, president, Association of African students in India, spoke with Rohit E David on the recent attacks on African students in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Samuel spoke of the challenges faced by African students and the pervasive feeling of discrimination among the community: What do you have to say about the attacks on Nigerian students? I think it’s barbaric. In fact we, the African student community in India, are very scared. We fear for our lives. We are not accepted in this country. I think we have to stop coming to India. There is so much of hatred towards African people in this country. This is not the first time such attacks have happened. Last year, we took it up with the government. Authorities had assured us of protection and that they will sensitise people. Nothing happened. The worst part is that when we go to a police station to file a complaint, cops don’t accept our report. In fact, authorities accuse us of taking drugs, which is not acceptable. I want to ask them to go to Subhash Nagar (Delhi), Munirka (Delhi) and Punjab, and see what’s happening. If there is a social problem, the government of India should address it and not accuse us. What response did the students get when they had gone to the police? The first time when we had gone to the police station on March 24, police refused to stamp the FIR. They had written our complaint, but were in denial about taking it up as a case. Now an FIR has been registered against the five Indian people who are in police custody. Tell us about the discrimination your community is facing. We are victims of abuses on roads. We are called names. I’m not talking about kids, even elderly people use foul language against us. India has not accepted the black community here. Is anyone listening? What is happening to our community in Kolkata and Gujarat? Has anyone even heard us? Let me tell you that when Indians come over to Africa, they are being protected. In India even a cow has more value than us. It’s as if living in a neighbourhood in India is taboo for us. People don’t accept our ‘hi’. Do you consider Indians as racists? Yes, absolutely. There is racial discrimination in this country. There is caste system. When i got admission into Delhi University, students called me names. We don’t want this. Let me tell you that most African people in India can speak Hindi. So, please don’t do this. What action are you taking within the community to deal with this situation? We are advising them to stay at home. We are also speaking with local African news channels, so that they can know what we are facing in India. Have you been in touch with the state and central governments? No, we are not in touch with them. They don’t have any sympathy. Government hasn’t sent even one official to see how African students are doing. Our situation cannot improve by mere tweets by ministers. Whatever the ministry of external affairs has said about our protection, is in writing only. African students studying in India are just like Indian kids. Government should take preventive measures and ensure that such incidents don’t happen again. I have no idea how they are going to do it. What is the implication of this incident and what is going to happen to India-Africa relations? There will be a huge impact. Some African students who are studying here, will be ministers in our respective countries. They are going to hold key positions. Since, government cannot secure our lives here, we see no reasons why Indians should reside in our country. If we want, we can flare the situation in our country and make it hard for Indians to live there. However, we don’t want that. We are against violence. We want peace. Most African students in India won’t come back again. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
