Hyderabad: Aspiring to make it big, several Hyderabadis rush to foreign lands despite knowing the ordeals they may have to face aboard. Many do part-time jobs to earn some money, but their experience in many cases quickly turns nightmarish. The challenges of racism, expensive living standards and gun culture especially in the US makes it tough for Indian students. It is also tough for the Indians who secured jobs there, said Mr Mohammad Ali, 28, who went to California to pursue his Masters degree in June 2016.
Recalling his days he said, “The US is a tough country to live in. I have worked as a dispatcher in a travel agency, while attending two days of classes during the weekends.” Mr Ali said that once when he was coming out of a convenience store and entering his car, a shabbily dressed person called him a ‘foreigner’ and asked him to get out of the country. Recounting the ordeal of his friend, he said Naresh who worked at a gas station during his college a year ago was robbed by a gunman. “Naresh had no other option but to pay up,” Mr Ali said.
On Saturday last week, Warangal native Sharath Koppu was shot dead in a restaurant in Kansas city reportedly by an armed robber. Ms Shyla Talluri, a resident of Florida, said many students work late at night and run the risk of being attacked by miscreants. On Sharath’s death, she said: “Such instances happen after 10 pm, but Sharath was killed in the evening, and it raises concern about the safety of students.” Eighth grader Abhiram Sai, who stays in the US, said he did not face any trouble.”But shootings which have happened in the past do scare me,” he said.
Mr B.V.K. Raj of the Leo group, a consultancy which helps students go abroad, said the cost of staying in the US came to about Rs 1 lakh a month for accommodation, food and subsidiary expenses. Despite being a tough country to get in due to stringent policies and high cost of living, the US attracts students as it is a brand. “America attracts despite the reality that students experience there,” Mr Raj said. Every state in the US has different taxation polices which makes the cost of living different from state to state, said Mr Ali, who has worked parttime himself. Giving one instance, he said rents could range from $3,000 in California to $1,000 in Florida.
