Belfast, Northern Ireland, with only about 10,000 Indian living there, is not as diverse as London.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nDr. Chatterjee goes on to talk about the impact of a student getting completely pulled into the culture they go into. \u201cFor such students, the transition is much easier than ones sticking to their roots. However, they often land in a struggle between two identities where they do not feel at home in either country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prakhar regretted being disappointed in his family while being away from them and drifting away from his old self while discovering a new place. \u201cThe time when international students are away from home, we only focus on the now instead of looking back at our homes. The homesickness sets in pretty late, and if someone gets detached from their culture like me, it would be very hard for them to find comfort in either of the countries,\u201d said Prakhar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Shivam Shah stopped having a normal university experience from the moment he got on a bus back to his accommodation from his university, an old Irishman asked him to get off the bus right before spitting on his face and yelling racial slurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was only his second month in the UK when he fell victim to this traumatic incident where no one other than the bus driver came to his help when the attack got almost physical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was in shock for a minute when the old white man spat on my face calling me names like paki and brown rat. My presence clearly triggered him from the moment he saw me getting on the bus,\u201d said Shivam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 25-year-old came to Belfast to begin his postgraduate studies, he did not expect Northern Ireland\u2019s capital to be so racist for him to fall victim to two abusive incidents within six months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The second incident occurred on a February night when he got out of a pub early without his friend who had accompanied him there. As he lit a cigarette while waiting for a bus, a voice came from behind: \u201cIndian guy, give me one of your cigarettes.\u201d In a matter of minutes, the local called five more people. When they bullied Shivam into giving them all cigarettes, he tried to politely refuse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt my refusal, they said, \u2018Stop stealing our jobs if you can\u2019t give us cigarettes\u2019 and ran away when they heard a siren from nearby. They were drunk and were determined to corner me into a fight. I am glad I could handle the situation before it got worse,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Between the occurrences of the two incidents, Shivam was not having a great time in Belfast either. He felt lonely and stuck in a mostly white city and had hardly encountered any international students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before coming to the UK, Shivam was an optimistic, kind and hardworking individual who was liked by his peers and co-workers anywhere he worked. With negativity around him, he felt his attitude and motivation change with each day he went to his university.<\/p>\n\n\n\nExperiences of racisms and discrimination often come forward as some of the evils of studying abroad. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cI felt left out in my university which mostly had locals or Europeans with a very small number of coloured people. My flat had four home students other than me who were not very welcoming either. It felt like they did not expect many international students to enrol this year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shivam got along with his classmate, Ze who was from China and was friendly with a Turkish international student in his student accommodation. He and Adem bonded over their common experiences in the city and having a smoke every night before going to bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDespite being an extrovert, I stopped trying to make friends after realising everyone\u2019s common attitude towards outsiders in the city,\u201d he said. \u201cThere weren\u2019t many South Asians around and Belfast did not have many Indian cultural associations that I knew of which made me isolated from my culture as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nAfter gaining some mental health support, I soon started taking anti-depressants and tried my hand at cannabis<\/p>Shivam Shah<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\nIn diverse cities like London, Birmingham, and Leicester, each with over 6% of its population as Indians, an international student from India would find ways to their people and find ways to connect with their culture. However, Belfast has minimal Indian influence with only 0.5% of its population being from India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shivam took a few trips to London and Birmingham with his friend Adem to break away from the routine of their lives in Belfast. Though he got some respite from the monotony by visiting various Indian neighbourhoods and social hubs, he found himself sinking deep into a depressive pit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAfter gaining some mental health support, I soon started taking anti-depressants and tried my hand at cannabis with my flatmates one evening which soon got me almost dependent on them,\u201d he recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His depression made him detached from his family and friends back home, with his addictions adversely affecting his appetite and well-being. \u201cI was just productive enough to complete all my coursework and submit them on deadline. Otherwise, I was simply smoking and meeting my Turkish friend for drinks on the weekends,\u201d said Shivam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following the second incident at the bus station, he was unable to concentrate on his assignments or chores and was desperate to go back home for the summer but felt stuck in his condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pallavi Bose, an employee at an overseas education guide group that aids students in applying to universities abroad and helps them through the process, shared insights about students who come back to India following their education instead of pursuing a Graduate Visa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cStudents normally have very distinct experiences in different parts of the UK with many facing challenges unlike others like racism and other forms of discrimination. It often discourages them from continuing in the UK to find jobs after facing repeated rejections,\u201d she said. \u201cThey prefer coming back to India and finding jobs in their fields instead of trying hard to get one in the UK which they consider increasingly competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cI could not earn much of a side income as I was unable to get a part-time job during my term time. Most places refused to hire me and some that did want to have a very low wage,\u201d Shivam said. \u201cI feel ashamed to ask my parents for money as I have been so out of touch with them in the past year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A bright, hopeful Shivam had come to the UK with aspirations and goals of excelling in his master\u2019s degree and making a life for himself away from home. However, his homesickness has made him decide to go home as soon as he finishes his degree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI miss my family and the warmth of my house for a long time and want to go back to India to get away from the negativity I have faced all this while. I hope to come back and visit a better side of the UK next time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Indians currently studying in the UK tell us about how their time abroad helped them think about themselves and the place they had come to.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1088,"featured_media":15510,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[370,320,303,105,7],"class_list":["post-15481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised","tag-britain","tag-cardiffuniversity","tag-india","tag-students","tag-uk"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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