Samudaya.org » Nepal » Death of nine Nepali students in the U.S. is not an epidemic
Nepal
Death of nine Nepali students in the U.S. is not an epidemic
The original draft of this letter, in response to "Are Nepali students safe in the U.S.?", was published as an article on NepalNews.com.
In a recent article on nepalnews.com, a few professionals talked about the safety, and even the economics of death, for young Nepali adults in the U.S. The article was triggered by a series of unfortunate events that claimed the lives of nine Nepali students over a span of 4 weeks, ranging from car accidents to a robbery. All of the consulted professionals—who I respect, but it may have to be pointed out that their experiences of being a young adult in the U.S. are not recent—noted that Nepali students are somewhat reckless in their driving and perhaps not well-adjusted to American traffic rules, while the author noted that the government hasn't taken any notice of what seemed to be an escalation of such incidents. However, what the author fails to realize is that the accidents are no indication of an epidemic, especially not one that has resulted from a changed behavior or disorientation specific to Nepali students. She asks a valid question ("Are Nepali students in the U.S. safe?") but implies the questionable—that the lack of safety is somehow attributable to Nepali students.
Firstly, the Nepali students did not die because of their own faults in these recent incidents. Regardless of the driver's nationality, icy roads cause numerous fatal accidents in the U.S. every winter, and one of them happened to be a Nepali studying in Alabama, which is an extremely Nepali to non-Nepali ratio in such incidents anyway. In the Minnesota incident, the three Nepali students that died in a car accident were passengers of a vehicle being driven by an American, while the car that struck them was being driven by an 82-year-old man. The Texas car accident seems to have occurred when the vehicle with four Nepali students was struck by a car attempting to overtake. The Nepali student who was shot by two armed and jittery robbers clearly didn't die because of a lack of orientation.
Nepali students are obviously as prone to risks as anyone else here, so the question, if there is one, isn't really if Nepali students are safe in the U.S., but rather why the news of these students' deaths has become such a big deal.
It has not been very long since the Nepali diaspora in the U.S. established themselves with organized communal networks, and the competition amongst Nepali media for the coverage of issues related to the diaspora and "studying abroad" occurred. It's quite clear that the last 15 years have seen a drastic growth in Nepalis studying, working and living abroad, especially a rise in the ambition amongst parents and students for "further education in the U.S." The socio-political crisis in Nepal has also aided greatly to convince young Nepalis and their parents that leaving the country is, indeed, the most fruitful choice. As the Nepali diaspora in the U.S. grew in the 90s, so did the "virtual" or "online" Nepali communities, most of which were developed and utilized by young Nepalis, particularly those who were abroad at the time.
I remember hearing news about Nepali gang fights in Nebraska in the early 1990s—Nepali gangs fighting other Nepali gangs, just like the ones at home, with khukuris and what not. I know for a fact that several young Nepalis attempted, unsuccessfully, bank robberies in Hong Kong in the mid '90s. Nepali students in Russia used to get into gang fights as well, with either Russian gangs or Nepali gangs, and this too in the early 90s. But I don't particularly remember these topics being discussed by adults, professionals (media or otherwise), or even Nepalis in general because back then news like these only travelled by word of mouth—when someone connected by whatever degree of separation was involved in the incident. It is hard to imagine an all-out gang fight amongst Nepali gangs in the U.S. now going unnoticed by the media. Even if the media radar missed it, the online Nepali community would surely buzz with discussions on it. Sometimes even smaller, and more frequent, party brawls get some attention online, though not at a significant level (and perhaps the local Nepali media has not picked up on the occurrence of these incidents yet).
Because the Nepali community in the U.S. is still growing and a significant portion of it is driven by Nepali students or young Nepali adults, it is not surprising to find them in the news, be it an unfortunate one such as a death in a car crash, or a fortunate one such as topping a business course in a New York college. The point is, since there are so many young and curious Nepalis in the U.S. now, and since the adult Nepali community is mostly tied down with a fixed lifestyle of raising a family or working a full-time job, chances are it will be the young Nepalis that we are likely to hear about more.
We must also keep in mind that there are deaths like these in other South Asian communities too—Indians, Pakistanis, for example. But these communities have been around for so long and their population is large enough that the frequency of deaths, natural or otherwise, is high as well. This has very little to do with how well-oriented they are with the American way of life.
I agree that Nepali students tend to get "carried away" in their new-found independence in a foreign country. I have myself witnessed many of them imagining themselves to be somewhat of ultra-hip personalities they have seen on television, as they do when they roll up in their cars with bass thumping out of their windows, for example. I have seen them drunk and driving, and getting into fights. But I have also seen that in just about every community I can think of. And it would not be justifiable to stereotype young Nepali adults abroad into that fixed persona.
In a recent article on nepalnews.com, a few professionals talked about the safety, and even the economics of death, for young Nepali adults in the U.S. The article was triggered by a series of unfortunate events that claimed the lives of nine Nepali students over a span of 4 weeks, ranging from car accidents to a robbery. All of the consulted professionals—who I respect, but it may have to be pointed out that their experiences of being a young adult in the U.S. are not recent—noted that Nepali students are somewhat reckless in their driving and perhaps not well-adjusted to American traffic rules, while the author noted that the government hasn't taken any notice of what seemed to be an escalation of such incidents. However, what the author fails to realize is that the accidents are no indication of an epidemic, especially not one that has resulted from a changed behavior or disorientation specific to Nepali students. She asks a valid question ("Are Nepali students in the U.S. safe?") but implies the questionable—that the lack of safety is somehow attributable to Nepali students.
Comments
It’s necessary to analyze, but part of the analysis is recognizing that this is not specific to the Nepali community, and they were what they were, accidents, which has no relation whatsoever to what is being implied as a “trend.”
In the United States, Of all the causes of death due to accidents, the leading cause is motor vehicle accidents. more.
Owning a gun is legal. Gun control is a divisive issue. Death by shooting is common.
So the “analysis” would have to focus heavily on US policies related to these two issues, which has nothing whatsoever to do with Nepali students. The emphasis on whether or not Nepali students are “oriented” is a knee-jerk reaction that is quite off from the issues involved.
Nepali students are not oriented to US style of living may not be the right way to put it. But, some orientation as how to stay safe in the US is needed. Robbery and shooting at gas stations (the place where Shekhar Regmi was killed) are a common thing in the US, however, thats where most Nepali students work. This makes the chances of future shootings even more. So, the students can be advised to find other safer jobs as far as possible.
Plus, there are many Nepali students in the US who have no medical insurance. So, the concerned authority and the government can make medical insurance mandatory for students wanting to go to the US.
The issue is not that Nepali students need to be advised to find safer jobs. If they had a real choice, all of them would want safer and more enjoyable jobs even if nobody advised them, but obviously they are hard to find, and next to impossible to find if you’re a foreign student, unless you find work at your school, which is always very limited. It’s not a matter of choice, it’s a reflection of the situation foreign students are in, in general. How many Nepali students (or Nepalis in general) have died at a gas station robbery? If you look at the statistics, it is probably as safe as flying on an airplane.
I thought all foreign students were required to have health insurance while in school? (But we’re not talking about illness here, we’re talking accidents.)
Thanks for writing this reponse to that article, i was also pissed off about that one, yes of course its sad that people died, besides gun control and drunk driving, there are a lot of serious issues that students face when they come here, i am sure there are people here that have been through all kinds of things, immigration, racism, financial etc, but you never hear any of that in the media, personally i think nepali students are a pretty spread out and diorganised bunch in the US compared to students from other countries.
One thing i didn’t understand in your response was the competion among media to report the news from the diaspora? what does that have to do with this?
Not all accidents result in death. I can give you an example of one of my friend who was seriously injured in a car accident and had to be hospitalized. But, now, he can’t get out of the hospital because he has no medical insurance in coverage. And, we all know how costly the hospital charges are in the US for a normal Nepalese family to be able to afford it.
So, medical insurances can help in cases like this.
Your friend’s school didn’t require him to have medical insurance? But of course, a lot of the times your insurance doesn’t cover everything — and that again is more of an American issue than it is a Nepali-student issue. There are a lot of Americans who can’t afford coverage or are stuck for the rest of their lives paying medical bills. It’s just unrealistic to imagine that Nepali students would afford to have this secure life only if they were advised. I was eating horrible food while I was a student and I probably had a higher chance of falling ill from that than from anything else. It’s not that I wasn’t aware that it was crucial to real food.
And I seriously can’t understand what the government would be expected to do about this. It can’t even do anything about abduction of students in masses in its own home.
Also, the different study-abroad consultancies spread all over Kathmandu valley tell the students that medical insurances is just a waste of money and encourage them against it.
Maybe that’s because we don’t have a culture of medical insurance or health benefits in Nepal.
And if the student’s funds are really limited (which they usually are), given the number of serious accidents that do occur, it may not necessarily be always a “bad” advice for all practical purposes.
Also, the students really need to do their own research no matter who they consult. I’m guessing that no matter what the consultants tell them, once they get to their schools, the advice is generally to get insurance.
i totally ,i first hand have seen most consultancy not providing enough information about the sudden change and culture shock nepalese are about to witness . all they are worried about is how to swipe their money . so i think this information session should be looked into by government level. and who are providing those consultancy ..people that have never even stepped out of nepal themselves.
Yes, the fact that there is no check on agencies working to send Nepali students abraod by the government of the private sector has been a problem and many in the industry themselves have worried over it (in group discussions helpd by media publications). This industry wasn’t something that was expected to boom in a matter of 2 years, so the government doesn’t have an infrastructure to monitor it. They are in fact still struggling to monitor the Nepali labor abroad issue which has been around for much longer. But in any case, Nepali students in the US have had very little problem compared to those in other countries where the universities have had to send them back to Nepal (in EU recently) or such.
But a vast majority of the agencies in Nepal are not just looking to send students away to US… students from such agencies usually don’t even make it to getting a Visa. The better agencies, who talk to students about more than just visa issues (about stuff like courses, work, transportaions etc) do give students a lot of information. And Nepali students are also fairly smart since they do consult the American Center and the British Library.
Protect_ Yo_ Neck:
“One thing i didn’t understand in your response was the competion among media to report the news from the diaspora? what does that have to do with this?”
The many “press statements” released by various organisations abroad in the last 1 year had helped the voice of the Nepali diaspora become loud in Nepali media. The NRN Conventions have also given the Nepali Diaspora a significant image via Nepali media, which has also been quite regularly carrying major features on things like lifestyle, work problems etc, in the last few years.
At the same time “Studying Abroad” has been a popular annual topic that many major publication seems to carry usually when the +2 students have finished their finals. (makes for a good ad revenue source and content value).
None of the major media houses, therfore, wants to lose their edge in covering or analyzing news on Nepali diaspora because of its importance and popularity amongst the media audience. That can at times lead to things being blown out of proportion by the media (intentionally or otherwise).
I DON’T TOTALLY AGREE WITH THAT. BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT I SAW IT HAPPENING FIRST HAND THAT MEANS. I WAS ALSO A STUDENT AT ONE OF THOSE SO CALLED CONSULTANCY..SO I KNOW…AND MANY OF MY FRENS HAVE THE SAME THING TO SAY ABOUT THOSE AGENCIES. THEY ARE FAKE
I think blaming anyone for the death of those students is meaningless. There are thousands of people killed in car accidents each year; and an accident can happen to anyone. I think people talking about private agencies sending students and the government keeping a check on how many students leaving is bogus. It makes absolutely no sense because reducing the chances of road accidents depends solely on the individual/group of individuals. Young people are the same everywhere- whether they are from Patan or St.Paul. It doesn’t matter.
When people talk about it being an epidemic, I laugh at that thought, because it’s the most irrational and un-adult-like process of thought.
Yeah, looking into the effeciency of study-abroad agencies is just the kind of top priority thing the government is interested in, ha. Why go to these agencies in the first place? I am guessing that if the agencies are so bad, you must’ve heard something of it before you went. And anyway, what can they tell you that you can’t find out for yourself? How can you ever expect to be “informed” by an agency on what sort of “cultural shock” to expect?
If a private business is so bad at what it does, you stop using its service. Of course, I have no idea what you mean by “they are fake.”
surely any sort of orientation that prepares students for life they are about to embark on is beneficial, not harmful. why the skepticism about better orientation?
there are a million reasons why students looking to come to the us would go to an agency. and the invisible hand of the market somehow improving levels of service and accountability is most of the time absent. the question is, should the government regulate such agencies or will the market do it, itself? an aware and ever vigilent press and a strong civil society could ideally hold such enterprises to some level of social responsibility. but, given nepal’s press, the elite led state and the extractive nature of businesses, perhaps it is of no surprise that the students always get duped in the end.
the “endemic” article more than anything points to poor editorial judgement and journalistic abilities. but better orientation for US or foreign bound students (regardless of the tragic deaths occuring or not occuring) should always be encouraged and people should demand better serive out for the money they are paying.
http://www.sajha.com/sajha/html/openThread.cfm?forum=2&ThreadID=26841
Ha, but that was the point wasn’t it? That we heard everything word of mouth. I don’t think “I remember hearing news about Nepali gang fights…” is a claim (though “I know for a fact…” surely is for the Hong Kong robbery attempts), heh.
(Also, orientation programs are good of course. I just don’t think there is necessarily an orientation crisis. The crisis is everyone leaving the country. And sure, I see the purpose of these “agencies,” though I don’t understand why you’d rely on them so heavily despite their above-claimed-first-hand-witnessed reputation.)
RE: Gang fights in Nebraska.
I noticed that several people have accused me of being baseless about mentioning the gang fights in Nebraska. None of them, however, seem to realize that I have clearly written “…hearing news.” Please note I did not state as a fact that they did take place on such and such day/year. The fact that i did state was about Hong Kong and Russia, not Nebraska.
However, if you are interested in specifics, here is one: During a flight from New York to KTM in August 2003 I met a Nepali who studied in Nebraska and did get into a gang fight there in the early 90s. He had moved to Boston, however, and was working in a major IT firm there. We had the conversation while in transit in Qatar. I cannot publish his name because I don’t have the permission to. Even major publications don’t always disclose their sources, so consider this situation something similar on a smaller scale. (Because the next thing I know, some of the readers will be saying “well you haven’t said who it is, so that must be a fake account.”)
The 2 people I know of who said they got into gang fights in Nebraska did not grow up to be thugs and goons. They are all established members of the Nepali diaspora working in the IT field as engineers. So by no means should Nepalis in Nebraska think that my article was a slander (some readers have accused me of tarnishing the community, which I can only understand as being territorially defensive).
You have to understand that this is not an attack on the reputation of Nepali diaspora, just an account of what I have heard from people who also lived and studied there between 1989-1992. Nebraska had a significant Nepali student body in the US in late 80s and early 90s and I’m quite certain that the people who questioned my statement did not know of every one of those students or what they did when.
[p.s. “young journalists” from Nepal have given some of the best and most reliable reports on copyright issues, politics, sports, arts, entertainment, society amongst other things, not just in Nepal, but internationally for media houses like National Geographic, TIME, Newsday, BBC, Time of London, Danish Television amongst others. Locally, young Nepali journalists have also been in the forefront of progressive community development via FM stations. There is no point in defaming this demography for no valid reason.]
“mailey ni sunya thiye hareky ko ghar ma bachho harako bhanera”…. harkey ko sathi lay bhanya London ko ewuta restaurent ma…….
ma ni lekhdim harkey ko bachha ko kahani national newspaper ma :-)
Wow. This is just ridiculous beyond understanding. What’s wrong with you people? So busy trying pull others down all the time. Didnt you read the article? You dont even seem to understand what it is about.
I totally understood the article.How about this Line”I remember hearing news about Nepali gang fights in Nebraska in the early 1990s. Yes, Nepali gangs fighting with other Nepali gangs in Nebraska, just like the ones at home; khukuris and what not”Did not you read this line?
It was a third party information as the author has already declared, why the hell are you then blowing things out of proportion and making it an issue? Apparently gang fights in Nebraska doesn’t reflect the current reality, it was written to provide report on general effect of Nepali students in the US, whether they resulted out of adjusting to a new country/culture or bringing our own into a new one.
In general, Nepali people flock together with each other. That is in many ways good but in some ways awefully bad. 1. Even in the US soil, there are cases where young Nepalese get drunk and beat each other. I heard many big Nepali conventions turn out to be shameful and the hotels don’t even allow them to comeback twice. The important thing here is - Nepali people in general when are alone are exceptionally open minded, sober, very homely and obedient, disciplined but when they are in large number - create troubles, drunk drive and cut-each-others neck.
Students Orientation:
There are mnay cases of DV visas and Students who have no clue whatsoever the situation in the US is. The orientation needs to be done initially either in Nepal or as soon as they arrive in the US. I have tried in NJ for the students who came to FDU last year but that was just a very few numbers. If Nepali Orgnizations take initiative - this can be done in every state and cities during the semesters. The sad news is - unlike other South Asian Community - Nepali people in general are not united and the whole priority now is focused in Political arena. The Students issues are all side lined. Let’s take initiative to welcome them in this land of oppurtunities and at the same time educate them in
1. what are the odd jobs/risks involved available in the market,
2. most of the students are scholar but are not sure what their major and ultimate goal is. This is the time forum can be organized to help thm network, ex-change ideas among seniors etc.. Nepali Organizations in the US can play an active role.
3. Health Insurance can be provided by Organization in a cheaper rates if there are good in numbers. For this Insurance Companies need to be contacted and establish some kind of arrangements by the so called nepali Non-Profit Orgnizations. Irony is - every town/city/counties have Nepali Organization in the US these days - but most of them are very active and busy advocating human rights and political frameworks in Nepal and if possible get ‘Gurkha Dhakshin Bahu..’ .. he he. Long live nepali Students, scholars and suva chintak.. !
health/medical insurance doesn’t cover accidental (automotive) medical expenses. most colleges and universities requires intl students to buy insurance through them without any other option. i really hate it but have no choice.
basically if you are in a vehicle that is not covered and involved in an accident and you got injured you will end up with a lot of medical debt.
I don’t think that accident was first in USA. We are concerned because some Nepali died. I don’t blame those students but US driving rule is to be blamed. If you just compare their way of giving license then everything is clear. They never teach you to drive in snow as well.
That’s why US driving license is not valid (at least for long period) in most part of Europe. Here in Sweden, you really have to work quite hard to get a driving license.
I think US government needs to change their faulty driving license system.
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The only conclusion I can get from this dicussion is that no matter where we are we Nepalese will always have the khutta tanne mindset.Kashish tries to quell the fears back home and there are people who have gone upto the point of saying that his report is bad journalism( in Sajha).I wonder what that person has done to make sense of tragic situation.
Also I am sick of hearing that Nepali students in America are all about enjoying wild life and donot care about their culture and family.For what I have seen and gone through that is all so wrong.I have seen students working long hours, taking classes and even sending money home.Now how many American college student support their family..? People in Nepal need to understand that we are trying our best to survive in America and life here is not just party and games.
With all due respect to Bhumika and the author, I’m sure the remark ‘bad journalism’ in Sajha was simply a mishap, more like ‘bad choice of words’ from the commenter rather than an observed flaw in authors piece, I think. From it we learn that this puts additional responsibility not only on columnists but on commenters also to be careful even while making remarks on various issues or posts, cause once you post something, you should expect some level of scrutiny from other visitors. What say you Birbhadra??
several thread were open my comment was intended to be for the article that came before kashish’s the one blaming nepali students.
mishap is the right word thanks Mystichacker.
anyways there’s no need to be offended, i’m a commentor not an author and my comment was only pertaining to the article and not to the author himself, assuming no “mishap” scenario.
Bhumika said:”I wonder what that person has done to make sense of tragic situation.” now your comment is ragarding me not my comment.
i don’t think i can do anything to make sense of this tragic situation. can I? if I can please elaborate
What a silly thing to write about. People die. Nepalis die all the time in India and the Middle East. No one seems to care much about that. But to die in America, that seems really to hurt.
The moment you realize that you’re as likely to die here than anywhere else, it doesn’t become that much of a tragedy.
it hurts cause it could be you.
you don,t know the real reason behind the comment.
you hab to send the children to Deepshits’ the great rato bangla school and teach them american value so they will get properly oriented. otherwise there is lack of orientation. that is what u fools do not understand.
*Ouch*
Hi all!
I live in America. I’m so interested in what you have to say.
Let me reassure you, nobody in America associates Nepal with gang violence! In fact, until reading your comments, I had never heard of such a thing.
I live in a part of America that most people would consider safe. There are lots of places in the US that are “safe” to live. But even here (suburbs), gangs are an issue. Young angry people ban together to form a “power” to escape their own private fears — to get a feeling of family and unity — as weird as it sound, to feel safe. Many of them get involved with illegal drugs because that’s how they get money.
Gangs are a hypersensitive subject in the US. There’s a lot of fear here about gangs. So if word comes about a gang fight, it doesn’t matter what nationality the participants are, it’s going to be talked about.
Most crime is concentrated in the cities in America, although a lot of the gang stuff happens in the suburbs, too. A lot of violence happens in the cities.
Oh, and the person who commented on the driving license procedure in the US is absolutely right! It is WAY too easy to get a license here.
Have a great day! Shammi
Why silly discussions!
People die here, there, in India, in the Middle East and in Europe. Let them ejoy at KFC, Burger King and McDonald’s outlets or at gas stations … finally, enjoy meeting death like everyone does.
what is the new jersey transit?
good topic
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The death of Nepali students in the Us might just be a series of unfortunate events and I agree that the students are not the ones to be blamed for this. However, don’t you think its necessary to analyze why this is happening and try to do something about this, rather than overlooking these incidents by saying its not just the Nepali community where students are dying?