Hyderabad,July 10: A high-level Australian delegation on Thursday assured Indian students and their parents that the Australian government and police had taken strict measures to apprehend the perpetrators of attacks on Indian students there and were working hard to prevent a repeat of such incidents.
The delegation, consisting of high ranking government, police and Australian University officials, is visiting eight Indian cities and addressed the press in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Colin Walters, a senior official in the Australian Department of Education, said, “We don’t believe that a majority of the attacks are racially motivated, though some may be. Instead they are largely crimes of opportunity.” He added that there was zero tolerance for racism and that the perpetrators would be punished.
The government will hold an International Students Roundtable in September to hear students views. Other steps include developing a students strategy to improve international students with pre and post arrival information, facilitate greater interaction between students and local communities through social and sporting events, distribution of third edition of Living and Studying in Australia guide and establishment of two government task forces.
Paul Evans, Assistant Commissioner of Police of Victoria State said that his force had increased surveillance, including installing more CCTVs and increased police patrolling by uniformed and plainclothes officers and started helicopter patrolling. Further a Police Multicultural Liaison Office had increased the interaction between police and students. “There has been a significant reduction in assaults and robberies in the last one month,” he said.
Some of the steps to keep in mind are: dial 0003 to get straight to the police. The bus or train will be stopped at the next station and the police will arrive. The delegation said that students should get to know the neighbourhoods where they stayed and also use ‘common sense’ and avoid certain parts of the city at certain times of the day.
The number of Indian students in Australia has increased tremendously in the last two years. Of the 5 lakh overseas students, one lakh are Indian. There are 46,000 in Victoria alone, where Melbourne, where a majority of attacks were reported from, is situated. Indian students tend to work part time in ‘dangerous’ jobs as taxi drivers, convenience stores, etc. This makes them more vulnerable. “Please do not carry expensive equipment with you,” said Colin Walters.
ACP Evans declined to give statistics on how many people had been apprehended saying that it would affect the trials of these people. He also said that the police did not keep records of the ethnicity or nationality of the victims. “The attackers are very young, typically 14-18 years old and under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The attacks are unrelated, so we can rule out a gang targeting Indians,” he said.
The delegation stressed that Australia was overall a safe country and that a majority of Indian students felt safe. Arun Sharma, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Queensland University of Technology said that most Indians in Australia – there are 2,50,000 – felt safe and that the universities were working with the police to advice students on where to live and what precautions to take.
The delegation hoped that student inflow into Australian Universities from India would not be affected.
–Agencies