Student fraternity stands by beleaguered African friends

Racial tension in the city seems to have eased, as Indian students from different colleges of Greater Noida have come out in support of African students who were victims of racially-motivated attacks in the city.

The Indian students have been in regular contact with the district administration and are seeking help for their African friends.

"Our heads stooped low when few Nigerian students faced the brunt of the racial bias and were attacked and severely beaten up. The incident was a total failure of the law and order. Since then, we have been making various efforts to provide a more familial and safe atmosphere to our foreign friends," said Jitendra Sharma, a student of Galgotias University.

Indian students from different institutions expressed their shock and disappointment at the brutality meted out to African students, who were accused for the death of a local student's last week.

The fear among members of the African community reached such a high that they were afraid to go out alone, prompting the district administration to deploy PAC force at malls and universities. They were escorted by cops to mosque and nearby markets.

"The situation has improved a lot in the last couple of days. As everyone is standing by our side, we can now go to nearby markets and can resume classes too. We have gone through tremendous pressure in the past few days. Our Indian friends have stood for us and we are thankful to them. They take us to the college in their own vehicles and remain close to us in the classes also. Efforts made by the police are also admirable. Soon, we can expect the situations to become all gentle for us" said Abdulla, an African student at Sharda University.

"We are thankful to the efforts made by the police and the townspeople in providing us security and helping us to recover from the trauma" said Zaharaddeen Mohammad, National Academic Coordinator, Association of African students in India.