Hi Sujil Like Anil said, there have been a few incidents of racism against Indians off late. Some Indian youngsters do speak loudly in native languages in Trains and Trams, which is annoying (especially to the locals), but others do that too. Asking Indians to not do it and asking us to keep a low profile is unfair targeting. Police should say as a general rule that everyone should desist as much as possible. Sadly there is a growing hatred for Indians in Melbourne off late. Indian Taxi Drivers are the most hated lot. A lot of students have taken up driving cabs as it a job they can get quickly, can work flexible-hours and pay is decent. Most of them do not know how to get to various destinations and some of them speak minimal English. I have heard from people that they were handed over the map by a Taxi Driver and were asked to show the driver the way to reach the destination. Taxi drivers are hated so much that one Indian taxi driver was killed by stabbing and recently one was stabbed but survived. Lot of people (especially the junkies/druggies traveling in the night as Anil mentioned) run away without paying the cab driver. The Govt estimates that about 10 million worth of cab fares are not paid by the so called runners. Recently they have introduced optional safety screens for Taxi Drivers and pre-paid fares after 10PM till 5AM, that might ensure safety and payment but the hatred is still there. I have lived in a rural town almost all the time in Melbourne and even Anil drives to work everyday since he has been in Melbourne. Hence we both have very positive experience in Australia. People who take Trains and Trams everyday have faced some isolated incidents of racism and people who travel in Public Transport at odd hours, like students or a few late shift workers, have faced a few incidents as that is when you come in contact with the riff-raffs. The recent developments although isolated, is very concerning. What is concerning is that you hear more and more of these incidents than we used to. I don't know what the solution is but maybe the Indians (like the Chinese) must be very actively involved in the community, form organizations for community support etc and that way they can even influence the electorate. It will not make them love you but the community can exert some pressure for quick action if there is an incident. Subu
Date: Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:45:02 +1100 Subject: Re: FW: Timesofindia.com: Australian police to Indian students: Don't speak loudly in public From: [email protected] To: [email protected] hi Sujil - I read this report in the national paper here. I am told that indian students were being targeted. sections of public have commented that this approach from police is racist, however police says its practical and they will at the same time use more resources in these specific areas (four or five suburbs/areas have been identified) where crimes against indian students have increased. and mostly these roberries are made by drugies who want money for their next fix. a typical aussie.....with some average eduction and charachter is a very polite person. .....upar upar se...gora log accha accha bolta hain. my experience in last 5 years in melbourne are all positive. infact overly positive. i have heard stories of racism where people have been targeted or been rudely talked to....but personally never experienced it. i think - if you have to interact with a rough character / sensless teenagers you cannot expect any politeness regardless of who you are or where you come from....being a black/brown would only give these people one more reason to talk/act rudely with you. chalega....bade bade deshon mein aise chotti chotti baatein hote rahte hain...... :):) Anil _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live™: E-mail. Chat. Share. Get more ways to connect. http://windowslive.com/online/hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_HM_AE_Faster_022009 --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VaniV88-89" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/VaniV88-89?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
