Nearly half of international survey respondents struggling with basic needs

An international student has told of living on next to nothing, sometimes eating only two basic meals a day, as he tries to save enough money to pay for his $14,000 upfront semester fees.

An international student says he has cut back to two basic meals a day and moved to a smaller unit to save enough funds for his $14,000 semester fees.

Masters in professional accounting student at University of Tasmania Rehant Sharma said his mother and father in Nepal also had lost their income during 73 ongoing days of lockdown while his brother’s construction business had been forced to take a loan to meet project deadlines.

UTAS REVEALS THE COST OF COVID-19

He said the lack of support from his family made his three months in Tasmania so far a struggle.

“It’s really hard to deal with at the present moment, so I won’t think about the future,” Mr Sharma said.

International Nepalese student Rehant Sharma. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

He said food voucher support from charities like Hobart City Mission and Subbie Church was helpful, but the COVID-19 period made him feel depressed “like an animal trapped in four walls”.

Facing a $14,000 upfront semesterly payment due in July, Mr Sharma said he hoped UTAS would financially assist international students through COVID-19.

He said he was grateful for the government’s support, and hoped they would create more employment opportunities for temporary visa holders and international students.

UTAS said they have provided more than $2.5 million in support to more than 4000 requests across grant programs, with resources for students available at utas.edu.au/alerts/coronavirus-update/students.

A new survey from the Multicultural Council of Tasmania has echoed Mr Sharma’s concerns, finding 45.6 per cent of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) respondents faced difficulties meeting basic needs including food and shelter.

UNI UNDER FIRE FROM INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

The survey found casual employees and recently arrived international students were among those most severely impacted.

MCOT chair Waqas Durrani said a recent $50,000 state government grant would assist the organisation handing out food vouchers.

He said the council was receiving 30 to 50 applications a day with 400 $50 food vouchers given out so far, worth a total of $20,000.

“It’s really important for our communities who have been facing financial hardship to be supported in this time,” he said. “While we’ve seen some issues in racism and discrimination, we’ve also seen generosity on the other side. For example, a member of ours has decided to give out free apples from her garden.”

Mr Durrani said continuing to donate to those in need and stand against racism would help support people from CALD backgrounds whose lives continued to be deeply impacted by changes overseas.

“The community can be more mindful by having that spirit of sharing,” he said.