Sravan Threerthala, who arrived in Melbourne from India as an international student thanks ‘the gods’ for his survival after he was brutally attacked by some gatecrashers at a friend’s party.
The year was 2009. In May that year, Threerthala intervened when some gatecrashers were spoiling a friend’s party. But his intervention turned fatal.
"They just started spoiling the party, so I was just trying to stop a fight between them and my friends, and, unfortunately, I became the victim. The guy plunged his screwdriver into my head."
Threerthala lay in coma and doctors told his family that he had 10 per cent chance of survival.
"I may not walk, I may not speak, I may not hear, I may not see, I may not recognise anyone, I may lose my memory."
But he defied the frightening odds, and, after two years of intensive rehabilitation, made a virtually complete recovery.
Today, Threerthala is a proud father of a 4-year-old baby girl named Shanvika and works as an employment consultant for the resettlement agency AMES, where his role is to help other migrants and refugees find work.
"It's my second life, so, can someone imagine, like, if someone has got a second life? Nobody would imagine it's unlucky. So, hundred per cent, I'm lucky, yeah."
The attack came during a spate of violent assaults and robberies on Indian students.
That spate of attacks had prompted Australia's then prime minister, Kevin Rudd, to reach out to his Indian counterpart in disparaging racist attacks.
As SBS network brings you on Racism this week, Threerthala, based on his own experience, urges others to resist broad statements based on few incidents.
Threerthala refusing to judge his adopted country says, "I believe that Australia is not at all a racist country. We cannot blame the country just concerning, just putting in mind, one individual. It's not like, it's not like ... we cannot say that Australia is racist, as simple as that."
Have you faced Racism in Australia? Write to us at [email protected] or participate today at 5pm on our talkback to discuss and share your thoughts.
Tune in to Face Up To Racism season, airing from Sunday 26 February to Sunday 5 March on SBS. Programs include: Is Australia Racist? (airs on Sunday 26 February at 8.30pm), Date My Race (airs Monday 27 February at 8.30pm) and The Truth About Racism (airs Wednesday 1 March at 8.30pm).
You can also find more info on the shows here: )
