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Voices of International Students
A Response to the September 11th Bombings"a feeling of awe, fear, and disbelief . . ."
Esther, a graduate student from Nigeria, was at her home in Eugene when she found out about the bombings. She described her reaction as a "feeling of awe and fear and disbelief." Mei, a Taiwanese student, was in Taiwan when she heard. "At first, I said, ' is that real?' It was. I became angry and freaked out." Bendou arrived in Eugene from Mainland China on September 6th and was still adjusting to functioning in English. "I was at a bus station on the way to campus. A girl tried to explain what happened, but I didnŐt know exactly what happened until I went to the computer room and looked at [a] Chinese website." Kumi, a Sri Lankan student, was in Sri Lanka visiting her family. Now back in the United States, she said, "I changed the way I dress. If anything makes me look other than Americanized, then I donŐt wear it." The fear, grief, and shock that so many Americans are experiencing are also being felt throughout the world. This disaster has affected the University of OregonŐs campus in many ways, not the least of which is the lives of the many international students attending the university. Both Mei and Bendou were surprised by the reaction, or lack of reaction, from UO students. "I expected more of a dramatic reaction," said Bendou. "The reaction is very rational." Mei agreed.
"No Americans talk to me about this," she said. Kumi, though, had another explanation for the lack of reaction international students are observing. International students, Kumi said, have nothing to offer the 'polylogue' because, she added, "they are not American and not Middle Eastern. There is this assumption that you have nothing to offer if you are from another country." With the winter break approaching, these students will have a hard time traveling back home to reunite with their families. For these students, visa restrictions extended beyond traveling. Esther said, "I need to change my visa status to F1 to keep my student status, and the first time I applied, I was not approved. Now I feel uncertain." Kumi, who is in her third year of the phD program in the school of Communications, focused even further into the future. When Kumi graduates, she will be looking for university-level teaching jobs. "I am sure this will affect me," Kumi said. The job will have to sponsor Kumi for her to maintain a current visa. But these four students are determined not to let this tragedy run their lives. "Anything can happen anywhere," Esther said. At the end of the interview, Bendou stated, "I am sympathetic to people from the Middle East here." He continues with a reference to a Middle Eastern man he saw on the bus. "I feel he was nervous sitting there." Bendou demonstrates how the man looked by sitting rigid with his eyes focused on the floor. "Maybe we should give him a smile," he added. Kumi, though, believes many Americans are focusing so intensely on the September 11th tragedy that it is causing them to ignore the more everyday tragedies that minorities and many international students have had to face and still have to face. "There is a false sense of one nation indivisible, but they are forgetting all the other racist acts are still going on. There is a false sense of community, so these become less important." |
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