Aman is an international student in Australia and hails from a small town in Haryana.
The 26-year-old is studying Masters in Business Administration (MBA) and Masters of Professional Accounting (MPA) degree at the Holmes College in the Gold Coast.
He has been in Australia for a year but is in dire straits after he lost his job due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Highlights:
- More 575,000 international students are in Australia.
- Government has advised students to access their superannuation up to $10,000 to deal with job loss.
- Many students do not have enough to sustain themselves.
Aman has meagre savings from working as an Uber Eats delivery boy.
He told SBS Hindi he may soon have to leave his billeted accommodation.
"I was supporting myself by working as a cleaner at a restaurant early in the mornings and delivering Uber Eats in the evenings," he says.
He lost his job as a cleaner at the restaurant due to the lockdown.
Currently, he is just delivering Uber Eats and says, "I earn no more than $300 or $350. I have struggled to pay the fees - $8000 to my college. I have received some help from my family but I yet need to pay $2,500 towards fees. I don't know how will I manage that."
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'Can't tell my parents what I am going through': Indian international student shares his struggle
SBS Hindi
14/04/202005:19
In spite of the hardship, Aman is grateful for the kindness offered by strangers.
He shares an incident where an Indian man ordered Uber Eats which Aman was on his way to deliver.
The client rang him to find out how far he had reached.
"I'm halfway to your house," Aman told the man.
The man then asked him whether he himself had any lunch.
Aman advised the man that he hadn't yet eaten and the good man told him, "Please go ahead and eat the food you were going to deliver to me."
Aman thought the man was joking and perhaps had changed his mind about receiving the food but the client insisted that he was not joking and he did wish Aman to have the food.
"I was most grateful because I had been thinking what I can I buy to eat with very little money in my pocket, what will be the cheapest food to buy," a tearful Aman told SBS Hindi.
To add to his woes, Aman billets with a family who have small children.
The family has asked him to move out because he does Uber Eats deliveries and may pass on the infection to the kids in that household.
"This is my plight and there must be hundreds like me who are facing this kind of a situation," Aman shares.
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others and gatherings are limited to two people unless you are with your family or household.
If you believe you may have contracted the virus, call your doctor, don’t visit, or contact the national Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
If you are struggling to breathe or experiencing a medical emergency, call 000.
