Foreign students targeted
DANIELLE MCKAY
July 19, 2009 02:00am
ANOTHER attack on international students has sparked claims police are out of touch and in denial about the problem.
Two youths, aged 17 and 18, allegedly threw items at the University of Tasmania students on Friday.
Police said the youths were at a bus stop on Churchill Ave, Sandy Bay, when they allegedly threw eggs at the students as they drove by.
The young men will appear in the Hobart Magistrate Court charged with discharging a missile.
Inspector Craig Waterhouse of State Community Policing Services said there was no evidence to suggest the incident was racially motivated.
However, Multicultural Council of Tasmania chairman Davor Perovic said police needed to acknowledge the problem or a solution would not be found.
"To deny anything is wrong is to encourage the villain and that has me concerned," Mr Perovic said.
"We need changes in our police so we can come clean and truly address this matter."
The attack comes just weeks after the murder of Chinese student Zhang Yu prompted revelations that racist taunts and attacks, with eggs and bottles, were far more common than authorities admit.
Tasmania Police says the murder was opportunistic, not racially motivated.
But the recent attack has escalated the university's concerns for international student safety.
UTAS international services director Paul Rigby said there had been a significant increase in perceived racist attacks on international students in Tasmania recently.
"The reports range from physical and verbal abuse, theft, to egg-throwing and water-bombing," Mr Rigby said.
"While some of these events may be opportunistic rather than racist, it is apparent that a very small minority of Tasmanians see international students as a soft target."
Mr Rigby said the offenders involved were usually young and operated in groups.
He said the issue of under-reporting racist incidents was significant and needed to be addressed.
Mr Rigby believes many students do not report the incidents to police because of cultural barriers.
"Many of our students come from countries in which there is a fear of authority, and there may be a consequent reluctance to report incidents to police," he said.
Mr Rigby said reporting of racist incidents was also low because of lenience in Tasmanian courts.
"A further complication is that when charges are laid sentences appear to be very light and students are concerned there may be repercussions from the same offender," he said.
Mr Rigby said a 2008 incident in Hobart's bus mall was just one example of the injustice.
An 18-year-old received only a good-behaviour bond after telling a 15-year-old Asian boy to "go back to your own country" before stabbing him and stealing his mobile phone.
Mr Rigby acknowledged police had made huge efforts to work with education providers and other groups to ensure victims felt comfortable and confident making reports.
But he called for a united front to resolve the issues.
"International students come to Tasmania, many at a very young age, because of the quality of the education and the lifestyle offered here," he said.
"Whether they will continue to come in the future depends very largely on how we as a community respond to them: do we welcome them into a safe environment in which they can live and study or will we tolerate a tiny minority of hoons and bigots who have the potential to damage our international reputation as a place of peace and harmony?"
Insp Waterhouse said there was a lot of good work being done by good people to improve Tasmania.
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