[akhilesh51]

What happened in Australia was totally out of malice and may have had a racial touch to it. I totally agree that police should have protected them. But, as is with any country, Police are not 100% efficient and do miss. Only thing that can save us in foreign countries are few precautions. From my personal experiences in UK for over 6 years, these precautions would include:

1. Stay away from shady areas: This areas are cheaper to live but with a reason. One must decide upon saving a few buck over personal safety.

2. Dark streets / Abandoned stations : while I tend to avoid such places altogether, one must atleast never use them at nights.

3. Do a good survey of neighborhood : There are various sites offering Postcode verifications for free. Use them and could save yourself.

4. Verify landlord/flatmates : A Good landlord always verifies his/her tenant. A good tenant must also follow the same rule. If you are staying with independent flatmates. Get to know them over dinner/coffee. Most crimes happen when a person has access to your home.

5. Use Transport facilities : Walking is cheaper and healthier. But, not the best option all the time. When in doubt, use public transport.

6. Be Aware of surroundings : It is always wise to mingle into surroundings, whether abroad or in home country. If you stand out, you will most obviously be an easy target. If you are confused, approach people of trust, Information centers / Police officers/ Traffic Wardens will help you in better way than just any random person.

Most people would find the above points quite obvious, but, it is the obvious we miss out on many occasions and land ourselves in trouble.

Finally, Nothing can protect us better than ourselves, Be it India or Abroad. Be Safe and you will not be sorry.

[navin]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

What do you know of how foreigners are treated in your country?.

Originally Posted by pranava999

“Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is.”

People are people. We get all kinds. While we cannot condone such behaviour we must realise that we can only change the way the world sees us by changing ourselves.

Having lived both in the US and in Europe and having been accepted by the locals on both continents.

In these countries you can either choose to integrate with the local or live in a ethnic community. If you choose to integrate and accept them and their customs they will accept you and respect your customs as well.

It does not mean that you surrender your customs and festivals but that there is room to celebrate and enjoy both.

For example I found the Germans for example to be reasonably tolerant of immigrants. When I asked my German friends why they said that they have been conditioned to as long as they can remember. I lived in Germany in the early 1990s and the problems in Eastern Europe saw lots of immigrants coming to Germany. The German govt even set up camps for these people. If I remember correctly about 1.5 million immigrants entered and lived in Germany from 1990-1993 (the years I was there). The Danes dealt with a similar influx from Ethopia. And we all know that the US is really a 'country of immigrants'.

Today we (my German, Danish and American friends and I) exchange cards during Divali and Chirtsmas.

There will be people in the US/Germany/Australia/England etc.. who will take shelter in ridicule or worse but these are largely the exceptions. While we need to take a strong stand (both via diplomatic channels and by standing up for our rights locally) against these exceptions we must note that in the end these are indeed exceptions.

[Mpower]

Nobody is absolving the Ausses of the racist acts. Just pointing out that it happens everywhere.

Even after coming to the US, Indians ,instead of being united segregate themselves into organizations like Gujrati Samaj, Tamil Sangam, ATA etc etc.

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

A British girl was raped and killed by some Goan boys not long ago. It wasn't the first time.

There was another incident where a young white female tourist was gang raped by some youths ...was either Delhi or Chd

[CaliAtenza]

Originally Posted by aerohit

I dont know why Indians go begging and serving other country in the first place when they hardly accept them by true feelings. Face it, it is not your land, it is their land, you hardly belong their as a third class citizen.

Even as a foreign student, you are only helping their economy, by paying tution.
It is shame that newspapers like TOI encourage "study abroad" out of limits.
India has good education, books are same everywhere, 2+2 is same in India or AUS.

I feel proud living in India after returning from US. Now, I can look up, and bully as many foreigners i want. It is my country, my land, I am the boss.

yeah that last statement just puts u in league with the attackers in OZ. Racism exists everywhere, and not surprisingly, in india too

[chetan]

All the Indian students in Australia should start carrying pepper sprays with them if they come under any physical harm .

As far as foreigners visiting are concerned some are treated badly/raped, in some places they are treated like "kings" . I would like to given an example which i experienced about a year ago . My entire Family and my mum's family were returning from a trip to Chennai, since it was dinner time we stopped at a hotel called guestline i think this is three star hotel. We sat at our table and were waiting for someone to take our order , not one single waiter came and we were starving, then two foreigners who were already staying at that hotel came down for their dinner , then out of no where we see the hotel staff waiting to take their orders in spite of knowing that we were there before the goras when asked upon why they said " sir we didn't see you guys sitting" this is not true btw . My incle is a bit short tempered he some how controlled himself , then after ordering the food which they happily take their own time , we had ordered rotis naan , during this time i observed that the goras were getting their food much earlier and they too had rotis on their plates which were nice cooked and hot .By the time we got our roties and eat the first piece it felt like the worst thing i had ever tasted it wasnt even properly cooked i could feel the raw batter inside my mouth , my uncle just lost it after this he just blasted them saying " you guys are treating us like **** and serving better cooked food to the foreginers " , the manager was like " sire this is not true , since there are totally eight of you we thought of serving them first " , i felt like smashing his face with the plate, we were hungry like hell on top of this he says this . We just left the place and we proceded towards home.

Now what do you guys think of this ? , we are being treated like filth in our own country , why ? because the goras give more tips .

Our country will never come up , ever .

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by aerohit

Sirs, no one is bullying anyone. It is just a proud expression.

are you in politics by any chance?

Dear uncle with mustache,
.
.
(By the way, shave that mustache off, or else it could be dangerous, also, Aus woman find Indian men with mustache least attractive).

you need to visit Sam's thread about 'Sivaji'. I can not tolerate any attack on any of ours moush. Rememeber, the "indian" spirit you have been rambling about all this while?

[finneyp]

While I agree rascism exists everywhere including our country, but what is happening in Australia is simply not pardonable!

The hudlums there are targetting Indian students, taxi drivers etc and brutully assaulting them, some are in critical condition!

We need to stand together and strongly condemn such racial attacks!

[aerohit]

Thanks, atleast you are OK with rest of my statement

Originally Posted by CaliAtenza

yeah that last statement just puts u in league with the attackers in OZ. Racism exists everywhere, and not surprisingly, in india too

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

are you in politics by any chance?

If you knew how to read better, the world could be a better place to live. My statement says "I can bulley as much as i want" - Doesnt necessarily mean I am bullying anyone. I repeat - imaginative intent to bulley any aggression from an outsider dwarfs the intent to murder Indians kids in Aus.

Originally Posted by vivekiny2k

you need to visit Sam's thread about 'Sivaji'. I can not tolerate any attack on any of ours moush. Rememeber, the "indian" spirit you have been rambling about all this while?

Thats why you get beat up when you go to other country. You fail to respect the local culture. Say that to blond Aussie woman or man. I have no problem with Moush either. God Damn, Russell Peters comes to mind.




The fact is Aussies dont come begging to India, it is Indians who go begging. The very fact that they are shaking and sweating during visa interview proves it. This puts Indians in tough situation unfortunately. Wish India was a little more united.

[aaggoswami]

Well lets get a bit back to basics.

What is the state of judicial system in India ?
Is it possible for a disciplined common man with no influence/contacts to get justice ?

Now this is our own HOME, our Country India.

In our very own homes, a disciplined common man suffers.

So what can you expect from others when you enter other's homes ?



And what we as a " Cultured " nation do to others ?
Rape of British girl ? A tourist raped at some other place ?
And we expect that when we enter their country, they must not touch us ?

There had been more than on story of these tourist genre.


The overall image of India has gone in for a tizzy for sure, and why not ? Just look over shoulder and observe rather than ignore, and its not difficult to know why.

And what we are at the core as a nation ?
Well, " Roads indicate culture of the nation ".

[mustang89]

i went through this topic and i feel that people are really not seeing the seriousness of the issue.yup foreigners are raped in our country but there is no organized trend towards a particular community or people of one country.what has happened in Australia is definitely condemnable.it was particularly targeted against Indians and the police did nothing to protect them.the police can be left for once as back here in our country it is no better.but the incidents definitely call upon unity from our fellow countrymen to protest against these attacks.i don't really know what racism is all about but i think this is happening as these aussies are insecure of us indians in the time of global meltdown.
what i am trying to say is that we need to stand up and support the case of every indian who has been a victim there.saying that foreigners are also fooled here is really no excuse to overlook what has happened.we cant just say that it happens here so let those foreigners eat our people.its tit for tat.if we dont support our own fellow men then who will?
why are we forgetting that parents send their children with such dreams in their eyes to foreign lands and what will be their condition seeing this happening to thier kids with they being helpless.

[sgiitk]

Are you surprised. They banned non-white immigrants until not so long ago.

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by mustang89

what i am trying to say is that we need to stand up and support the case of every indian who has been a victim there.saying that foreigners are also fooled here is really no excuse to overlook what has happened.we cant just say that it happens here so let those foreigners eat our people.its tit for tat.if we dont support our own fellow men then who will?
why are we forgetting that parents send their children with such dreams in their eyes to foreign lands and what will be their condition seeing this happening to thier kids with they being helpless.

We want Australian government to act fast and criticize the incidents, right ?
Remember Goa incident of British girl ? Did we give them justice ? The culprit being someone with high contact/influence got away with impunity.
They arranged for some " Dharna " or some group of people who were gathered as if it was rally and indeed blamed the British family members of the girl.
Her mother lastly said " She does not want further investigation as already they are put under a lot of pressure ".

Now imagine, they came here as tourist and what we gave them ?

Before pinpointing at others, let us consider what we are at the core. Every month we have to fight for domestic LPG cylinder as our vendor sells illegally to school van drivers and private vehicle owners. We have to pay to him and then we have to bring one cylinder every two months from some neighbor and pay them too. This is a small example of what we are.

Its simple : We are not so pure back at home too. So we have to move out for further studies and better future. Why ? Why the hell we are not having proper education in India ?

And please dont tell me that education in India is great. I have lost academic years and have seen many things that I cannot disclose.

Its not matter of top 10 institutions. I am talking about general education for average students. Do we have them in proper fashion ? NO.

The only way to stop all this is to improve ourselves.

[pgsagar]

So much fuss over an isolated incident! As though Indians are being beaten up on a daily basis. Such incidents can happen in any part of the world. The guys who did this look like subway punks. They can do this to even their own countrymen. A mugger never asks for your nationality before robbing you. I am not supporting the attacks. These crooks should be brought to justice.

But our own behaviour aborad also contributes in some way to such incidents. We are the loudest and rudest race on this planet. We talk very loudly in public places. Words like sorry/thank you/please do not exist in our dictionary. We step on other toes and move on without so much as a word of sorry. We speak irritatingly loud on cell phones even in close confines like an elevator, a coach. We laugh loudly and giggle without caring if it is disturbing to others. We fare worst when it comes to behaviour. We may excel in maths/science/computers etc. beating everyone else on this planet, but behaviour? I think we should be first taught how to behave in public places whether in India or abroad before we are taught A,B,C,D. People jumping queues, talking/laughing loudly in public places, pushing-jostling for space, addressing you in a tone and a manner which brings your blood to boil, ..... the list goes on and on and on. We have no concept of privacy, that individual personal space which we should not intrude into and no concept of silence in a public place. We just keep yapping, ranting, chatting endlessly. This was about behaviour.

And about being racist, we are the most hypocrite and racist people on this planet. Haven't you heard a Northerner saying "sala Madrasi, kala Madrasi", "UP/Bihari unpaddh" etc.? Aussie aborigines? Ok, how did we treat our tribals and SCs through the ages or are still continuing to treat them in villages. How do white Indians treat black Indians? Last week a friend of mine went to rent out a house in Hyderabad. The Landlord's son "interviewed" my freind and denied tenancy because my freind was a non-Brahmin. Isn't that racism? Incidentally, the Landlord's son is a tecchie in San Jose, Calif. This guy who openly practices racism in India probably complains about glass-ceiling up the corporate ladder in US as a racist gesture by WASPs. Beat this.


Once in train, I saw a Bengali getting offended by two Tamils' yapping. These Tamils were seated opposite and one told something in Tamil and the other Tamil burst out laughing. The Bengali thought they were joking about him. But it was not so. They were discussing their Chennai office affairs. But it upset the Bengali and he was not wrong. Anyone else in such a situation would react similarily. Morale of the story: whether in India or abroad, be careful when you talk in native tongue before someone who does not understand that language. When you are abroad you have to assimilate, blend in. Not stick out like a sore thumb.

In the end, who is asking these guys to go abroad? Why this craze to go abroad? They are not invited there. They went on their own, for a few green bucks. As long as they make moolah, everything is great. They come here, flaunt their dollars and phoney accent and never tire themselves out of saying, "you know in "my" US/UK/Can/Aus, things are sooo organized, sooo clean, sooo....blah, blah, blah." But the minute these guys get beaten up or something of that sort happens, they don tricolor and start singing "mera baharat mahan" and that Indian Govt. should rescue them. The same Indian Govt. which they joke and ridicule about all the time. What do we say to this?

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by aerohit

If you knew how to read better, the world could be a better place to live.

Or if you knew how to write better.....oh well.

Thats why you get beat up when you go to other country. You fail to respect the local culture. Say that to blond Aussie woman or man. I have no problem with Moush either. God Damn, Russell Peters comes to mind.

hain? which part of keeping the moush is disrespecting local culture? and what do I say to the blond aussi?

and I thought you wanted somebody to shave the moush....while not having any problem? let me repeat, if you knew how to write better

The fact is Aussies dont come begging to India, it is Indians who go begging. The very fact that they are shaking and sweating during visa interview proves it.

the repeated use of verb 'beg' sounds like a case of sour grapes to me. because you could not survive in another country since you are so used to capability of bullying (and not necessarily bullying as you say), you want to term everybody else as begger. just because we don't bully doesn't mean we beg.

how many indians have you seen at a visa interview?

[tsk1979]

Note from mod: Please keep the discussion civil and try not to veer off the topic, and also please do not type inflammatory posts. They just politicize the real discussion