Like what you've read?

On Line Opinion is the only Australian site where you get all sides of the story. We don't
charge, but we need your support. Here�s how you can help.

  • Advertise

    We have a monthly audience of 70,000 and advertising packages from $200 a month.

  • Volunteer

    We always need commissioning editors and sub-editors.

  • Contribute

    Got something to say? Submit an essay.


 The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
On Line Opinion logo ON LINE OPINION - Australia's e-journal of social and political debate

Subscribe!
Subscribe





On Line Opinion is a not-for-profit publication and relies on the generosity of its sponsors, editors and contributors. If you would like to help, contact us.
___________

Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

No spin needed on desperation for residency

By Tanveer Ahmed - posted Monday, 4 February 2008


Overseas students are the new refugees, living on the edges of Australian society under the weight of visa difficulties, imminent deportation and reduced access to social services. They inhabit that ill defined landscape of unbelonging.

They increasingly staff the lower end of the labour market. In fact, within the hierarchy of the working poor, they are kings and queens. Ask any petrol station attendant, a car wash worker or taxi driver and there is a good chance that they are an international student.

Despite their plight, most of them would not have it any other way. The alternative of trying to eke out a living in their homelands is much worse. Government surveys in 2005 found that about 80 per cent of international students were satisfied with their experience.

Advertisement

While we celebrate the end of local class conflict and suggest there is a diminishing working class, international students are a reminder that the rank and file of the world economy has shifted. This is particularly clear when they present to the hospital, a space where the south meets the north. The staff consist primarily of overseas doctors from the subcontinent, nurses from the Philippines and Zimbabwe and cleaners from the Middle East. It is the flip side of outsourcing, an "in" sourcing of cheap labour to fill skill shortages.

When I see patients like the Bangladeshi student, there is an underlying tension infusing the consultation. His eyes suggest a mix of desperation, longing and envy. While he looks like me and has a name like mine, I inhabit a completely different stratum. It is as if there is an invisible border representing unfettered access to the developed world that is just out of his reach. For me, there was the difficult decision by my parents decades ago to board a plane and start a new life in an unknown land. And that made all the difference.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. Page 2
  4. All

First published in The Sydney Morning Herald on January 25, 2008.



Discuss in our Forums

See what other readers are saying about this article!

Click here to read & post comments.

8 posts so far.

Share this:
reddit this reddit thisbookmark with del.icio.us Del.icio.usdigg thisseed newsvineSeed NewsvineStumbleUpon StumbleUponsubmit to propellerkwoff it

About the Author

Dr Tanveer Ahmed is a psychiatrist, author and local councillor. His first book is a migration memoir called The Exotic Rissole. He is a former SBS journalist, Fairfax columnist and writes for a wide range of local and international publications.
He was elected to Canada Bay Council in 2012. He practises in western Sydney and rural NSW.

Other articles by this Author

All articles by Tanveer Ahmed

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

Photo of Tanveer Ahmed
Article Tools
Comment 8 comments
Print Printable version
Subscribe Subscribe
Email Email a friend
Advertisement

About Us Search Discuss Feedback Legals Privacy