International students respond to 9-11
The events on Tuesday, Sept. 11 affected American and International Students. Thankfully, Georgia College & State University has an International Club to help the international students cope.
Simon Valderrabano, the president of the International Club, said, ” I really think all internationals feel affected because of what has happened. Being so far away from home made the situation even more difficult.”
Valderrabano believes that the international students felt safe.
“I do think so. The faculty, public safety, and, in general, the complete town has been concerned of our well being from the beginning. Although we already sent an email to all the community with our most sincere thank you, I definitely want to thank everybody again for being worried about our individual situations. Believe me, it is not easy for us; the same that it is not easy for all our American friends.”
Mitra Sinanan said, “I think the international students are more wary of their surroundings, where they go, whom they are around, and what they say to Americans in public now that this tragic event has happened. On campus, however, most Americans I have been in contact with have been very pleasant and have not showed any aggression towards international students.”
GC&SU is making efforts to help international students.
Sinanan said, “I was approached by the SGA president and an officer of Public Safety to speak to the international students on the current situation, re-assuring us of our safety and giving us advice as to what to do if a threatening situation arises.”
The members of the international club are lending each other a helping hand. “There is a big and great support among all of us, so if anybody needs something,definitely he or she has all the rest of the members helping him or her,” said Valderrabano.
The international students from the Middle East seem to be the most affected, especially “students from Arabian countries and countries that are of an Islamic dominance,” said Sinanan.
Dr. Dwight Call, the advisor for the International Club, said, “In times of crisis, the public tends to target those who are ‘different.’ Witness the hysteria that Hitler used to whip up Kristallnacht, which was turned against the Jewish community in 1938, and the U.S. incarceration of Japanese-Americans in 1941 following Pearl Harbor. At this time, we definitely don’t want history to repeat itself! The attack on the World Trade Center was an attack on the world, and the international community is as upset as traditional Americans.”
Valderrabano said, “These irrational and terrible acts affected not only Americans but also every person in the world that believes in peace, justice and freedom.”
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Sep 28 2001. Filed under News.
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