The accidents and safety problems of international students in China have attracted people's attention. What are the reasons for frequent accidents? What aspects are prone to security crises? How to avoid accidents that endanger yourself in a foreign country?
In recent years, China students have heard of accidents and safety violations such as fires, car accidents, beatings, kidnappings and shootings overseas: fires at Russian Friendship University, shootings on American campuses, and sudden natural disasters, hurricanes, tsunamis or terrorist incidents. Every accident involving China people, China's parents are always worried about their children on the other side of the ocean. To sum up, there are many factors that cause the safety accidents of international students:
To sum up, there are two main factors that lead to frequent unsafe incidents for international students; Internal cause: inducing personal safety; External cause: causing mental trauma.
Insecurity is often caused by foreign students' own factors.
Judging from the frequent vicious incidents in recent years, to sum up, there are two main factors that lead to the frequent unsafe incidents of international students: internal and external factors. Internal causes are easy to induce personal safety, and external causes often cause mental trauma.
1, emotional entanglements
On September 16, 2003, Gao Letian, a China student from Curtin University of Science and Technology in Western Australia, fell from the window of the ninth floor where he lived and died. Afterwards, the police learned that the body of his ex-girlfriend Ying Jingzhi (an international student at the University of Western Australia) was found in the closet of his high residence. After further investigation by the police, it belongs to homicide. On June 9th, 2004, Zhang Hongjie, a student of the University of Canberra in China, was killed by her boyfriend in her apartment. Her body was not discovered by the police until June 5438+10 this year. Zhang Long, the murderer, surrendered himself in Dalian in March 2005 under the persuasion of his parents. On April 27th, 2004, a murder case of China students occurred in the dormitory of Hanover University. In the common kitchen of the students' dormitory, two foreign students from China quarreled with Lu, and finally Zhang stabbed each other to death with a knife. Allegedly, the quarrel is about another female student from China who lives in the same dormitory. Coincidentally, at the beginning of 2005, an international student surnamed Liu from China clashed with another male classmate while visiting his girlfriend in Ilmenau, and then stabbed him with a knife. It is said that the cause of the conflict is emotional problems.
Expert analysis: bloody facts tell us that the emotional problems between men and women have become an important factor threatening the safety of international students, which should be highly valued by international students and their parents. Foreign students are in a strange and lonely environment abroad, and it is easy to pin their feelings on them, resulting in a "* * * suffering" peer complex. In this case, if either party has an emotional balance tilt, it may lead to different degrees of mental imbalance of the other party, which will eventually lead to uncontrollable consequences. In fact, most of these conflicts are caused by psychological factors. If the international students who have such incidents have strong self-control, it should not be difficult to tide over the emotional difficulties.
Step 2 ignore the rules
On September 30th, 2003, a car accident happened in expressway, western Victoria. The driver was safe and sound, but a China student sitting in the back seat was thrown out of the car because he was not wearing a seat belt, and died on the spot. On March 7, 2004, Shen Yun, a female student from China who had just been admitted to Kunming University for less than 20 days, went out for a walk after dinner and was hit by a car while crossing the road in a hurry, resulting in brain death. Not long after, a China student studying in Melbourne just bought a car and happily took his friends out. However, because he ignored the traffic rules of the left lane, he drove into the right lane by mistake and collided with a big truck, resulting in a tragic traffic accident with one death and three serious injuries. In mid-August, 2004, Guangdong student Huang Jiquan drowned while swimming in a lake in the suburb of magdeburg. At the lake where he died, a warning sign forbidding swimming was erected impressively. In the investigation report, the police said that Huang's swimming was illegal and should bear the main responsibility. These are several typical accidents caused by the victims' lack of safety awareness.
As soon as these international students entered the school, they left a lifelong regret for themselves and their parents. Students all have a good wish to study abroad for further study, but unexpectedly they lost their lives because of temporary negligence.
Expert analysis: These accidents are caused by the victims' lack of safety awareness and disregard of laws and regulations. Running a red light and not obeying traffic signs is a dangerous act that ignores your own life. The division of responsibilities in foreign laws and regulations is very clear. For example, German traffic regulations stipulate that in the event of a traffic accident, all responsibilities shall be borne by the violator. For example, if a pedestrian crosses the road at a red light and is injured or even killed by a car, the pedestrian will not only have to bear huge personal pain alone, but also make up for the losses caused by the collision of the other vehicle. To strengthen the safety awareness during studying abroad, it is necessary to understand and be familiar with the laws and regulations of the countries studying abroad, especially the traffic regulations.
3. Psychological factors
Due to poor endurance, there are more and more incidents caused by psychological problems. On June 10, 2004, Zhang Lin, an international student from China, died abnormally in her dormitory. After many investigations and autopsies, the local police station confirmed that he committed suicide. It is understood that Zhang Lin is usually withdrawn and rarely interacts with people. He failed to pass the language test before the incident, which is probably the direct cause of his suicide. On August 3 1 2005, the police in lafayette, Indiana announced that the lafayette Police Department had been informed by the Rosemount Police Department in Illinois that an abandoned car, including a dismembered male body, had been found in a parking lot near O'Hare Airport in Chicago, Illinois. Through technical means, it was determined that the remains belonged to 28-year-old Purdue University China student He Lei. The biggest suspect is his wife, Chen Danlei, who study in the same university. The reason is that there are serious problems in their marriage, so she has this idea.
Expert analysis: among the new generation studying abroad, the proportion of only children is increasing. A major feature of this group is their lack of social experience and weak self-care ability, which makes it difficult to bear the pressure brought by setbacks and failures. Many foreign students from China, especially young students, are new to foreign countries. Due to the restrictions of language and living habits, it is difficult to make friends, enter the local life circle and create a protective social circle for themselves.
They are self-centered for a long time, and it is difficult to objectively realize their position and role in society. In dealing with others, they are often too sensitive or mishandled. As an international student, in the new environment far away from relatives, friends and all social relations in China, everything has to be faced alone. The pressure of work, study and life is enormous, which is a challenge for people with mature psychology, not to mention those students with unsound psychology. Under various pressures, people's minds are easily distorted. Once the last psychological defense line collapses, they will do harm to themselves and others.
Step 4 show off your wealth
Some time ago, a China student in New Zealand was kidnapped by three friends from China and was asked to pay a ransom of 654.38 million US dollars. He was also forced to write an IOU before he was released. The reason is that this student is often generous in front of his classmates and is mistaken for being rich at home.
In fact, in the past two years, students have been robbed from time to time. It is common that mobile phones and wallets are robbed, and it is also common to be cheated and beaten, especially in Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria and other cities in South Africa. The reasons are as follows: First, the social crime rate remains high. According to a recent report by Pretoria News, there were more than 40,000 robberies in Pretoria, a city with a population of 1 10,000. Second, carelessness enables criminals to succeed. Last year, a China girl from Pretoria University drove to meet her friends at midnight 12. When I got lost, I asked a local old man for directions, and even people and cars were hijacked. Third, the criminal means are bad, from seeking money to killing people. In the past two years, there have been 7-8 armed robberies in our dormitory for international students.
Expert analysis: among the children studying abroad, some children are rich, generous and like to compare with each other, and they are the most easily targeted by criminals. So keep a low profile and don't compare with others. If the trend of comparison is getting stronger and stronger, some people who can't rely on their families to meet their money needs, can't overcome their desire for material things, or don't want to lose face in front of their friends are likely to take risks to find "quick money" and start with the rich people around them.
Uncontrollable external factors
1
According to Japan's Chinese Herald, on the evening of June 7, 65438/kloc-0, a 2 1 year-old female student from China who was studying in a university in Tokyo was beaten by Japanese policemen dressed in casual clothes for no reason, resulting in multiple injuries to her head and forearm and serious psychological damage. So far, she can't go to school or work normally.
Xiaolian and her family have been in Japan for many years. At ordinary times, like many international students, she leads a tense and orderly study and work life, and has never had any conflicts and disputes with anyone.
But on June 7th, 65438 10, bad luck befell Xiaolian, disrupting her quiet life. At about 1 1 that evening, Xiaolian went home by tram. When the tram left the new Okubo station and approached the racecourse station in Gaotian, a man in his fifties rushed over, hit Xiaolian on the head, pulled her hair and shouted, "You get off with me." Xiaolian was stunned by the beating, and endured the severe pain and asked, "Who are you, why did you hit me, and why did I get off with you?" I didn't expect Xiaolian to let this person find a reason to hit people and say, "Are you a foreigner? Show your ID card. "
The passengers on the side couldn't stand it anymore and condemned it. But this man said, "I'm a policeman." And presented the certificate. Before Lillian could see what it was, the "police" pulled Lillian out of the car arrogantly. At this time, the passengers couldn't stand it anymore, refused to take Xiaolian away, and unanimously demanded that the "policeman" be sent to the police station to verify his identity. It turned out to be a policeman, but it has been waiting for several hours without results. After returning home, Xiaolian always felt dizzy and nauseous, and was diagnosed by the doctor as "traumatic neck syndrome caused by blow to the head;" The cervical vertebra was twisted, the right front wrist was hit, and there was subcutaneous bleeding ... ",and then I dared not speak easily when I went out alone, for fear of being recognized as a foreigner.
Similarly, a little girl who just arrived in Japan was hungry in the street one day and wanted to find a restaurant. She was worried about her Japanese level, so she went to a restaurant with "jiaozi" written on it. But the Japanese boss and waiter in the restaurant, when they learned that she was from China, were very cold to her at first, then pointed and mocked her, and finally simply kicked her out.
Expert analysis: "racial discrimination" still exists seriously in some areas. The occurrence of such incidents will not only damage the health of international students, but also cause serious psychological trauma. It is important to know more about the feelings of local people before going abroad.
In Britain, the antisocial behavior of British teenagers also affects China students.
2. Environmental factors
On May 3rd, 2004 and June 3rd, 2004, there were two incidents in which China students were attacked by Germans. The students who were attacked in China were slightly injured to varying degrees. Besides, people still remember the "Hu Peng Incident" three years ago. Hu Peng, a student studying in Shaanxi, was killed because of a verbal dispute with a German worker during his work.
In Britain, the antisocial behavior of British teenagers also affects China students. In the first half of this year, news came from the University of Hertfordshire in the south of England: For some time, China students were harassed by local minors, and many students were injured, which caused anxiety among China students.
The University of Hertfordshire is located in hatfield, north of London. In recent years, it has actively attracted China students, a considerable number of whom are studying in China. Since the beginning of this year, local minors living near the campus have often gathered together to insult and threaten China students passing by, which eventually developed into behavioral attacks on China students. An international student in China was chased by a group of local teenagers. When he said that he would call the police, his mobile phone was smashed and his head was injured. Another Hong Kong student was shot in the head and was seriously injured. He has returned to Hong Kong to recuperate with his family.
China students who were harassed sought help from the authorities of the University of Hertfordshire, and the school provided them with some safety advice, such as not confronting local teenagers and not looking them in the eye when they met. But in the eyes of China students, it doesn't help, and the school seems to be suspected of negative treatment. A university spokesman said in an interview with the BBC Chinese Department that the university is very concerned about the safety of international students in China and has actively communicated with the local police. However, schools cannot directly intervene in dealing with related problems, and must rely on the police and the local government. Perhaps due to cultural and communication reasons, some suggestions put forward by the school were treated negatively by China students. The spokesman repeatedly stressed that students must call the police if they are disturbed. If it is difficult to state the incident in English, you can help with the translation. Overseas students generally say that the British police often treat these underage teenagers lightly and often have no preventive measures.
Expert analysis: Public safety and exclusion are very sensitive topics in some countries, but they are indeed "unsafe" factors. In addition, the antisocial behavior of British teenagers has become a social problem. British society and parents should reflect on the education and control of minors, and should not let it go. Students studying in China must learn to use law and public opinion to safeguard their rights and interests, and seek the assistance of the Consulate General of China, the China Student Organization, the school administration and the police, and the support of the media.
3. Unexpected factors
If students studying abroad can prevent safety problems caused by their own and environmental factors, then the most terrible thing is probably the unsafe factors from the school. First, the Hadford Education Group filed for bankruptcy and sold it to a new owner, which seriously affected the life and study of some self-funded international students in China. Recently, two private schools in Singapore, the Australian Institute of Technology in Singapore and AITUNICAMPUS, closed down due to insufficient liquidity, and more than 900 students from the two schools were forced to transfer. 10 On June 26th, China student Han was forced to drop out of Yale University. Although it has been basically solved, Han can continue to stay at Yale to complete her doctoral studies, but this has done harm to her body and mind. It is impossible for students to guard against similar things.
Expert analysis: When encountering this problem of academic insecurity, we can only remind students who want to go abroad that they must carefully choose private schools and choose qualified schools through professional intermediaries. You can't go abroad regardless of the consequences, otherwise it will not only affect your studies, but also delay the time to apply for other schools.
The most terrible thing about studying abroad is the unsafe factors from the school.
The safety of studying abroad has always been concerned.
It is reported that because some international students are aware of their poor self-protection ability, New Zealand has recently issued the latest revised version of the education industry rules, called "Industry Rules on Guidance and Care for International Students", which aims to strengthen the protection of international students.
The New Zealand government will force schools to sign this trade rule, so that international students can be well protected in their study and life, and also formulate corresponding policies for the study abroad agencies that cooperate with them. In other words, the rule covers all students studying in New Zealand, including those who attend short-term language training. All educational institutions must ensure that international students receive good care and safe accommodation.
In addition, it is also stipulated that schools that accept students should set up a 24-hour hotline to consult foreign students about their study and life; New Zealand has also set up the International Education Complaints Office (IEAA) to handle complaints from international students against schools. It can be seen that China students studying in New Zealand in the future should strengthen their understanding of how to know the law, how to choose a school, how to seek help and protect themselves during their study abroad, and so on.
Faced with so many intentional or unintentional events, I believe that overseas scholars are reluctant to encounter them. How should international students seek help in case of emergency? Industry experts tell students several necessary ways to deal with emergencies:
First, we should know the aid channels in advance. The office of international students in the school where international students work is the most direct department for students to seek help; In case of emergency, you can also seek the assistance of China Overseas Students Association, the local embassy and consulate of China and the local police.
Second, when choosing an insurance company, you must choose a company that is relatively large and has a wide distribution of outlets abroad, and it is best to provide 24-hour support services locally, so that students will not be isolated in an emergency.
The third is to be calm when things happen, understand the situation in many ways, and avoid being deceived. On one occasion, parents of students received an overseas phone call claiming to be officials of China's embassies and consulates abroad, saying that their children were attacked by gangsters abroad, injured and hospitalized, and asked for an urgent remittance of several hundred thousand yuan to an account, which was finally proved to be a scam. In this case, parents should first contact their children as much as possible, or contact China students around them, and don't rush to spend money to eliminate disasters, so as not to fish in troubled waters.
"Peace is a blessing". For travelers in a foreign land, safety should be listed as one of the primary topics for studying abroad. It is suggested that international students learn about the local public security situation as soon as possible after going abroad. Once they decide where to live, they should ask the local residents about the surrounding environment and pay attention to whether there are any safety measures (such as building alarm, roadside free call for help, etc.). ), and take the initiative to ask the school for relevant safety information, manuals and emergency contact numbers to prevent problems before they happen.