The number of Chinese students studying in Australia has soared. (Web Photo)
China`s overseas student community is large and growing rapidly, with tens of millions of families behind them. Personal safety, property security, psychological security, in a foreign country, how should foreign students protect themselves? For foreign students, although the proportion of malignant cases is small, but if it happens, it will bring great trauma to me and my family.
Local people continue to mourn the victims of the shoot case on campus in Newtown, Connecticut, December 19, 2012. On the 14th, a suspect broke into a local Sandy Hook primary school, killing 26 teachers and students.
Police block the entrance to a classroom at the Australian National University in Canberra, Aug. 25, 2017. Australian National University 25 attacks. A student armed with a baseball bat attacked the teacher and three students in the classroom.
The police took two boxes of evidence from the incident room at the Australian National University. (photo from the Daily Telegraph)
Scattered on-site display of medical personnel used in the treatment equipment. (Twitter user Jolene Laverty pictures)
Proliferation of guns fosters evil sexual crime
Law and order around the University of Chicago is not very good, and the campus has an emergency telephone device every several tens of meters for students to call for help in an emergency.
The proliferation of guns is a major hazard in the Chicago area. According to media reports such as the Chicago Tribune, two people in Chicago were shot dead on Christmas weekend 2017 alone and 12 others were injured in the shoot case. On Christmas weekend a year ago, 59 people were killed by shoot and 11 were killed. Throughout 2016, there were more than 3500 shoot cases and more than 750 deaths, up 58 percent from 2015. Most of the shoot cases took place in the southern part of Chicago, not far from the University of Chicago.
"No matter which campus you study on, you should have a sense of safety." Mark Doblin, senior vice president of a Chicago company, told the newspaper. Mark has a son and a daughter who are studying in college. He said universities in the United States are paying attention to strengthening security in order to recruit students. For students, it is important to have the knowledge of safety prevention, always pay attention to the surrounding. There are two categories of "environs". One is to go out at all times to keep an eye on whether there is danger around, to have a sense of escape. For example, once a shooting, how to avoid, look for safety barriers and safe exits; meet robbery, how to avoid personal injury, and so on. Another category is the campus environment, looking for dormitories, participating in public activities, and so on, should avoid dangerous areas. Many cities in the United States have disorderly neighborhoods. Even some famous schools have "weak ribs". Like the University of California, Berkeley, the campus is just a street away from the homeless town of Berkeley, where robberies often occur.
The security situation in Chicago highlights the abuses of the proliferation of guns in the United States. As a result of the intervention of interest groups and lobbyists, the United States government has said more and done less about guns control. The United States has more than 300 million people and has more than 300 million private guns holdings. Over the past 10 years, more than 4 million Americans have been victims of attacks, robberies and other gun-related crimes. In 2016, there were more than 57,999 shoot incidents in the United States, killing 15,000 people and injuring 30, 000 others. In many states, the death toll from shoot exceeds the death toll from car accidents.
Poor public security sector response
In early November, Chinese tourists were robbed in the southern suburbs of Paris. A week after a deliberate car crash in the southern French city of Brayac, three Chinese students were injured. The frequent occurrence of such cases not only leads to the discussion of the Chinese being the target of attack, but also reflects the hidden dangers of French social security.
A recent poll of social security in France found that 80% of respondents felt "insecure". In addition to the threat posed by the shadow of the terrorist attacks, the main reason for the insecurity of the population lies in the daily public security concerns.
Jerome Fokay, director of opinion polls at the French Institute of Public opinion, said that prior to the terrorist attacks, security issues such as robbery, theft and sexual assault were the biggest security threats in France. Some lesser offences are becoming more and more frequent, and daily offences have become an unsafe factor in France. According to statistics, France every two minutes of house robberies, of which the greater Paris is the most serious. In addition, intentional damage to public or private property, intentional arson and other cases also occur from time to time.
In France, there have long been robberies and thefts against overseas Chinese, Chinese tourists, international students, etc. Liu Yuanhui, president of the all-French Federation of Chinese Scholars and students, told reporters that in recent years, the group of students in France has suffered many incidents such as looting of property, violent injury, and accidents. Security threats come from many aspects, but France`s overall security environment is the most important factor, especially in Paris, Marseille and other major cities of the security situation is not optimistic.
This analysis pointed out that the French goverment did not face up to the problem and solve the problem is the cause of the deterioration of social security. More than a decade ago, the main reason for the poor security situation in France was the lack of police, and people are paying more attention to judicial decisions, Mr. Fukay said. Many views believe that France`s punishment for criminals is "lenient", "loose" and "soft", and many of them are released soon after their arrest and become repeated criminals. High unemployment and poor economic conditions are also one of the causes of public security disorders such as theft and robbery.
To allay public concern, the French Ministry of the Interior has begun to set up a "daily security police." "as public order involves economic, social and employment issues, it is difficult to improve much in the short term." Liu Yuanhui warned that the most important group of French students themselves should be vigilant, as far as possible to avoid risks.
As a result of the terrorist attacks in London and Manchester, international students in the United Kingdom pay more attention to the issue of personal security. Kuang Jianjiang, of the Education Office of the Chinese Embassy in the UK, said that international students generally reported problems such as: due to economic constraints, some students rent in areas where rent and cost of living are cheaper, and where there is drunken trouble, "said Kuang Jianjiang, of the Education Office of the Chinese Embassy in the UK. Bad teenagers, violent harassment and other hidden dangers; Some students have been subjected to strange behaviour, speech harassment or follow-up by people with mental problems or alcoholics; foreign students have been subjected to burglary or theft in public places; Some students have experienced harassment, theft or robbery against Chinese.
The influx of refugees exacerbates the deterioration of security
In December 2016, a Chinese student, Zhang Yao, lost contact after being robbed in Rome, Italy. Nearly three days after the robbery, the body was found by police near the railway track. Surveillance footage showed that Zhang Yao crossed the railway isolation zone in pursuit and was killed by a high-speed train crash. All three suspects were aware of refugees, one of whom was a minor. Two adult suspects, Ramovic and Cerferovic, were convicted of theft and sentenced to two and a half years in prison, but not to jail for insufficient sentences. Among them, Lamovic was sentenced to execution at home for having a previous record, while Severovic was freed after the sentence. On the night of May 10, 2017, Severovic threw a home-made incendiary bomb, at a camper. Burned to death the car owner sleeps in the car 3 daughters. According to media sources, owner Halilovic in the police investigation into Zhang Yao identified Sefelovic, a move that could be in retaliation for the latter. Two cases of Sefelovic rocked Italy with four lives.
In recent years, a large number of eastern Europe, North Africa and other places illegal immigration influx, Italy`s security situation plummeted. Most of these people do not have legal residency status, do not qualify for labor, many of them are unemployed and homeless. They were scattered all over Italy, and many were on the path of crime.
In Italy`s tourist attractions and railway stations and other places, tourists have been stolen and looted cases are not uncommon. Due to the inefficiency of the police and the light punishment of the law, most of these cases can not be solved, and even if they are solved and arrested, the criminals are often denied due sanctions.
Large numbers of refugees are also mixed with extremists. Anis Amri, suspected of a truck terrorist attack in Berlin, is one of the smuggled refugees arriving by sea in Italy. People are increasingly dissatisfied with the decision to "open the door for refugees," and the fact that hundreds of thousands of smugglers are stuck in Italy and cannot be resettled still puts people at constant risk of personal safety.
According to a study published in January 2018 by the Federal Ministry of Family, elderly, Women and Youth Affairs in Germany, violent crime cases in Germany have increased as the number of refugees in Germany has increased, and the crime rate among refugee groups is much higher than that of other groups. In the German state of Lower Saxony, for example, violent crime cases have risen 10.4 percent over the past two years, with 92.1 percent of the new cases caused by refugees, and the vast majority young male refugees. Cristina Pfeiffer, a criminologist, argues that the lack of female relatives is a major incentive for such male refugees to commit crimes.
At the end of 2016, two Chinese female students were raped by refugees in Germany, and many Chinese students in Germany began to carry along anti-wolf spray, alarm devices and other self-defense tools. The Chinese embassy in Germany posted safety tips on its website, reminding foreign students to avoid going out alone or in remote places at night, with particular emphasis on paying attention to suspicious people around them, preventing being followed and getting out of the way as soon as possible when confronted with pick-up talk.
Mental Health should not be ignored
The psychological safety of foreign students is also concerned. A questionnaire sent by the Education Office of the Chinese Embassy in the UK to Chinese students and scholars studying in more than 80 universities in the UK found that 41.1% of students said it was difficult to make friends with British people. 32.9% of students said it was difficult to get involved in social activities and gatherings. Cultural differences, living alone, difficult to integrate into the social circle, so that some students feel lonely and psychological pressure.
Miao Changxia, consul general of the Chinese Embassy in Australia, said that international students are generally young, stay away from their parents, stay abroad alone, study abroad on their own, study pressure, economic pressure, emotional pressure and the age of students can lead to psychological problems. Racial discrimination, sexual harassment and language provocation also occur in Australian colleges and universities, which pose a potential threat to the safety of Chinese students in Australia.
With the increase of Chinese students in Germany, the number of cases involving Chinese students has increased in recent years. Generally speaking, criminal cases are individual cases. The most important factor affecting the safety of students in Germany is all kinds of cases caused by psychological problems. " Zhou Anping, head of the consular department of the Chinese embassy in Germany, said the reasons for the psychological burden on students in Germany were numerous and complex. First of all, the students abroad are young, the only child`s growth environment is easy to cause poor ability to resist pressure and frustration, second, Germany is a non-English-speaking country, language communication is difficult, psychological distress is difficult to resolve to the surrounding; In addition, there are German climate reasons, nearly half a year for rainy weather, sunshine time is short.
Academic stress is the biggest cause of psychological problems for overseas students. German university education is based on a variety of engineering majors, Chinese students choose to study in Germany for the engineering background. This kind of engineering major is long-time, check-up is strict, graduation rate is not high. Language, life is not adapted, together with some parents "hope for their son Jackie Chan" expectations and even investment mentality, put a lot of pressure on foreign students. Originally, some excellent Chinese students in China, unable to face the psychological decline after Germany, once see no hope of graduation, the psychological defense line is easy to collapse.
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The overall security situation in Australia is good, but cannot be taken lightly. International students must raise awareness of safety and maintain smooth contact with domestic relatives. If you need to go out, be sure to inform your family or friends of the itinerary ahead of time, because there are so many people in Australia that mobile phone signals can`t be covered in many places. Parents should encourage their children to register on the website of the Chinese Embassy after leaving the country and leave contact details in case of emergency.-Xu Xiaoxiao, Minister Counsellor, Education Office of the Chinese Embassy in Australia.
In recent years, accidents, drowning, drinking, fighting and other incidents occur from time to time, exposing some of the international students lack of safety awareness, problems such as not calm, do not abide by the traffic rules and so on. In cities with more foreign students, such as Toronto and Vancouver, traffic accidents occur every year.-Yang Xinyu, Minister Counsellor of the Education Office of the Chinese Embassy in Canada
Every year, the Embassy invites experts to hold various safety talks during the freshman season to set up a "gas station in Russia" aimed at the loneliness and psychological discomfort of students in foreign countries. Employing psychological experts to provide psychological advice-Minister Counsellor Yu Jihai, Education Office, Chinese Embassy in Russia
In recent years, international students in Japan have been cheated of money, introducing illegal work and other cases. Foreign students should treat their friends` requests for large amounts of loans, currency exchange, collecting goods on behalf of others, introducing workers, borrowing identity documents, returning home with goods and so on, and do not blindly listen to other people`s requests in their daily contacts, such as large loans, exchange of money, collection of goods on behalf of others, and so on. If you fall into a scam, you will not only suffer property damage, but may also be repatriated for violating Japanese law and even facing criminal penalties. Some foreign students have too much psychological pressure due to the lack of language, heavy study tasks, unaccustomed to life, frustration of feelings and so on, so they should communicate with their relatives and friends at home. Parents should have full access to specific information about their children in Japan so that they can provide timely and accurate information to the police and embassies in the event of an accident.-official website of the Chinese Embassy in Japan
