This article comes from WeChat public account: Mustard heap education (ID: jiemoedu) , author: a house, the original title: “blocked epidemic in the country outside of international students”
At the moment of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, postponed resumption of work and postponed school starts, except for the scarcity of masks, it seems that everything is full of uncertainty.
According to the official data of the National Health and Construction Commission, as of 24:00 on February 9, according to reports from 31 provinces and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, there were 35,982 confirmed cases, 3,281 cured and discharged patients, and 908 deaths. In addition to China, imported cases have been found in many countries around the world.
In the evening of January 30th local time, the World Health Organization listed the new coronavirus epidemic as an “public health emergency of international concern”, and emphasized that travel and trade restrictions are not recommended .
But even so, some countries, such as the United States, Australia, New Zealand, announced that from the stipulated date, non-nationals who have visited China in the past 14 days will be temporarily banned from entering, and some flights will be cancelled, and visa services in China will be postponed The exact date of restoration is uncertain. Canada and some other countries have not implemented such “strict” bans.
But for Chinese students who have not yet returned to school, the sudden ban has mercilessly blocked them from the school gate. The study abroad programs in other countries have also been greatly affected.
△ Image source: Pixabay
Status: Travel ban, flight cancellation, visa suspension …
On the afternoon of February 1, Sydney University student Karen was waiting at Qingdao International Airport to prepare to return to Australia, but she was told that she could not check in. The airport staff asked her to wait in the lobby. My flight was cancelled.
Airline staff explained that the Australian government has announced a travel ban, prohibiting entry from mainland China for 14 days from now. (Australian citizens, permanent residents And their immediate family members, legal guardians or spouses) [1] .
Many international students have the same experience as Karen. On February 2, 70 international students were reportedly detained upon arrival at Sydney Airport, some of whom were already on their way to Australia when the travel ban was announced [2] .
Australia also stated on the morning of January 31 that “it will never ban Chinese students from flying in other countries”, but a ban was issued suddenly on February 1. And according to the information from the National Immigration Administration on February 8, Australia has deleted the wording of 14 days and barred entry indefinitely .
From the announcement of the ban to the implementation of the ban, the Australian government has not set aside sufficient response time, preventing students from preparing in advance and being caught off guard. For international students who have not yet returned to school, visas, studies, accommodation, and employment have become outstanding issues.
Like Australia, New Zealand has imposed a 14-day travel ban .
Mars Cai, who is studying at Victoria University in New Zealand, said his biggest concern is that if they can’t arrive in New Zealand on time, their visas will either expire or be cancelled. This is the main problem at present. He doesn’t know if he can’t arrive on time, can’t participate in the orientation, can’t take the first two weeks course, what will be waiting for him [3] .
Ritsu, an Australian student from Xiaogan, Hubei, said, “In the beginning, grandparents worried that the virus would spread too fast, but now they are still very worried about my studies.”
Ritsu’s internships, accommodations, and studies at the university have been affected. However, even if the Australian government lifted the travel ban, it is still difficult for him from Hubei Province to return to Australia because China has a strict ban.
Ray, an Australian student studying in Beijing, said that if the travel ban is extended, she is concerned that she will not find a job in Sydney. “It is already difficult for international students to find a job in Australia, even if your academic performance is excellent.”
At the same time, travel bans have also fuelled racist sentiments among the Australian Chinese community.
On February 1, Jiawei Zhu, a high school teacher teaching in Sydney, returned to Sydney by flight from Wenzhou. But the landlord who shared her asked her to move out of the apartment because the landlord was concerned she might be infected with the new coronavirus. So she had to find another place to live.
Although the landlord agreed to help her pay for half of the temporary accommodation costs, she still had a bad idea about her own experience. “It’s unclear how to solve this situation. When I live elsewhere, who should pay for my current rent?”
On February 2, Jono Gu, a Chinese-Australian man, saw racist graffiti in Melbourne. A driver shouted at him wearing a mask, “Stay home!”.
He said, “This all adds to the tension between the races. [4] ”
How to protect the rights and interests of international students
The Chinese Ministry of Education has recently postponed the opening of schools, and many schools have adopted online teaching to protect them.To verify the student ’s normal learning progress, other departments have also taken corresponding measures based on the epidemic situation, such as 12306 waive the refund fee, in order to to minimize the loss caused by uncontrollable epidemic factors .
However, although some countries have implemented travel bans, they have not introduced a series of measures in time to protect the rights and interests of international students.
New Zealand International Student Association (International Students’ Association) believes that the university is not adequately prepared to take care of students affected by the epidemic.
Mars Cai, an international student at the University of Victoria in New Zealand, said that it usually takes time for students to communicate with the school by mail. It may take two days to get back, which is very inefficient. Members of the Chinese Student Union currently in New Zealand are contacting universities on certain issues and providing feedback to students stranded in China via WeChat. Some New Zealand universities have stated that they will contact affected students directly [5] within the next week.
In response to the current situation, the Secretary-General of the University of Sydney Student Representative Committee Abbey Shi and friends created a chat group to help students stranded in China, help them reschedule flights, and The lease agreement helps them to contact a legal counseling professional [6] .
Mars Cai, who is preparing to return to New Zealand, has booked a flight ticket for February 21. Although he is not within the 14-day travel ban, he is concerned that the ban may be extended. He said: “If the ban is extended, I need to know the exact news so that I can have time to change the plan. [7] ”
In response to the ban, Abbey Shi also initiated a petition , hoping that the University of Sydney could extend the start date from February 24 to March 9. As of February 5, more than 4,000 students have signed the petition [8] .