The land down under has always been one of the top
studying destinations in the world. Australia has been widely and
popularly known to host a number of major universities that are
offering quality and standard degrees and programs that are attractive
and helpful to foreign students. Within the past several years, the
country has ranked amongst the top nations where international students
are coming to enroll for under-grad and post-graduate degrees.
However,
there is an increasing concern that is alarming not just to foreign
students but also Australian education officials. There are a rising
number of reported cases of discrimination. Such cases range from the
simple unlikely glances when one wears accessories or clothes that are
not ordinary, to the more severe and complex situations of being beaten
up and verbally abused. Researchers also found that most Australian
students are having racist tendencies, especially after class, in
university hallways.
Particularly, women are more prone to
suffering or experiencing racist comments and action from Australian
students. Female foreign students are more bullied than their male
counterparts, probably because men tend to resist and defend themselves
aggressively against any form of racist attacks.
Racial remarks
almost always go unnoticed and unreported. Many racist Australian
students almost always get away with their misdeeds because foreign
students do not resist or report incidences to the proper authorities.
Indeed,
Australia has a long way to go in improving the behaviour of its local
students towards international ones; this is a strange fact because
foreign students have always been around. In the past, foreign and
Australian students were living and interacting harmoniously. It is
still not clear where the racial sentiments are rooting, but initial
hypotheses point out global terrorism. Thus, Asians, particularly from
Muslim countries, are more prone to discrimination within Australian
campuses.
