Posted on 05/28/2009 7:50:27 AM PDT by MyTwoCopperCoins
MELBOURNE (AFP) — Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith on Thursday condemned a wave of attacks on Indian students in Melbourne after the latest assault left a 25-year-old fighting for his life.
Indian student Sravan Kumar Theerthala was stabbed with a screwdriver early Sunday morning when a group of teenagers gatecrashed a party he was attending in the suburbs of Australia's second largest city.
He remains in intensive care at the Royal Melbourne Hospital following the attack, in which police said other men were also assaulted.
It was the latest in a series of attacks on students from the sub-continent which has prompted authorities here to set up a help line where victims can report incidents to Hindi and English-speaking operators.
"I'm appalled by these attacks and I condemn them absolutely," Smith said in a statement to AFP.
"Australia takes very seriously its reputation as a safe destination for Indian students."
Smith said the problem was centred around one location in Melbourne, which he did not identify.
...
Police set up a community liaison group in January to examine the issue after an armed robbery in a convenience store left an Indian man in a coma.
They have also boosted numbers on a robbery taskforce in Melbourne's western suburbs and are considering sending officers to Indian cities to educate Australia-bound students about how to minimise the risk of being attacked.
But police have played down any racial motive for the attacks, saying the Indian students, who often work late shifts to support their studies, were often in the wrong place at the wrong time.
(Excerpt) Read more at google.com ...
Absolutely no mention of the attacker. Makes you wonder if he was white or a Muslim immigrant.
Four Indian students attacked inAustralia
27 May 2009, 2054 hrs IST, PTI
MELBOURNE: A student from Andhra Pradesh who was among four students from India, assaulted by a group of teenagers this week, is battling for life
in a hospital here.
Shravan Kumar, the 25-year old student is in a critical condition, said one of his close friends who also had a narrow escape during that attack.
"Doctors are still unsure if Kumar will survive and if he does, he will lose his vision or memory", Kumar's friend, Sinivas Gandhi, said.
A group of teenagers attacked four Indian students while they were partying here over the weekend, leaving Kumar in a serious condition. Sinivas said the attackers abused them and said they should go back to India.
They were hit with a screwdriver by the attackers who apparently were in drunken state.
While three were discharged after medical treatment, Kumar is still fighting for his life.
Kumar, hailing from Andhra Pradesh, came to Australia two years ago and was a student of automotive engineering at Cambridge International College here.
Sinivas said, the police had asked them to take care of their own security and even said that they "can't go on protecting each and everyone".
He said they were also asked to change their residence in a bid to protect themselves.
Violent attacks on Indians have been growing over the last few years and has raised serious concern for aspiring students who wish to study in Australia.
Houses of assaulted Indians burgled in Australia
28 May 2009, 1335 hrs IST, PTI
MELBOURNE: The houses of four Indian students, who were brutally assaulted by a group of teenagers in Australia, have been burgled, even as one of TV grab of one of the four Indian students, assaulted by a group of teenagers this week in Australia, battling for life in a hospital in Melbourne.
The students, who were bashed up in an apparent racial attack, were away to the hospital when unknown intruders broke into their houses and stole everything available.
"They have no clothes or anything left in the house and the students are really feeling insecure and unsafe," said Gautam Gupta, President of the Federation of Indian student Association (FISA).
"They believe it was done by members of the same group who had assaulted them during the weekend," he said. There was, however, no official confirmation of the burglary so far.
The fresh attack comes despite the Indian government pressing Australia to tackle security issues of its students in the wake of growing assaults on them.
Meanwhile, the condition of the 25-year old Shravan Kumar, who is fighting for life in a hospital, remains critical and doctors are "not very optimistic" about chances of his recovery.
Representatives of FISA, along with those of Australia's apex student body National Union of Students (NUS) will meet Indian High Commission Sujatha Singh on the issue today and present a list of their demands.
Another Indian student attacked in Australia
28 May 2009, 1633 hrs IST, PTI
MELBOURNE: In a fresh incident of racial attack on Indians in Australia, a 25-year old student was stabbed here, even as another youth from Andhra
Pradesh was battling for life after an assault by local teenagers. ( Watch )
Baljinder Singh, 25, was attacked on Monday night when two men carrying weapons approached, the 'Herald Sun' reported.
The attackers demanded money and as Singh was searching through his bag to hand over his wallet he was stabbed in the abdomen. Singh screamed for his life, his attackers laughed and fled the scene, the report said.
"I bent down and one guy stabbed me," Singh said adding "I just wanted to save my life and yelled "just don't kill me."
"They just laughed when they stabbed me in the stomach. They laughed at me...I was screaming 'don't kill me, don't kill me'."
Singh was quoted saying that he believed that the city was a safe place to live, but was now convinced that Indian nationals are being targeted as easy prey.
"We're not safe here now," he said adding "I thought it was safe here, that's why I came to Australia.
"Now there are lots of attacks. You can see that in the western suburbs, but I thought Carnegie was the safest place in Melbourne."
Singh, who is recuperating from emergency surgery at the Alfred Hospital, has not told his family for fear they will be distressed.
Police officer Darrell Allen said it was an "opportunistic crime", but was not racially motivated.
"We fear that if we don't act quickly and get the public's assistance there will be further attacks in the future," he said adding "I don't think it's racially motivated. It's an opportunistic crime and it's of great concern."
A youth from Andhra Pradesh was battling for life after a brutal racial attack on a group of four Indians by Australian teenagers here drawing strong reaction from India which wants an end to such violence.
Shravan Kumar, a 25-year-old student who was attacked with a screwdriver over the weekend along with his three friends is in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital here and doctors are "not very optimistic" about chances of his recovery, Indian Consul General here Anita Nair said.
Video:
(Do not watch if disturbed by violence.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6o5nu7Z-zA&feature=related
The title mentions Samoan gangs in Melbourne.
One video I found on YouTube mentions Samoan gangs. The link is in my last post.
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