The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
International students navigate pandemic
About three weeks ago, Dalhousie University international student Ajinkya Patil lost his main source of income from his part-time market-promoting job as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Patil said he was not laid off, but that the company he was working for had to stop offering samples and promoting products at places such as the Atlantic Superstore — where he was working — to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Now, he sits in his shared downtown Halifax apartment wondering how he'll be able to make ends meet with a limited income from a security job and continue on with his master's studies if the pandemic goes on for much longer.
“... I'm using some savings I have. But also, in India, I'm taking an educational loan from a bank to pay my tuition fees here, but because in India everything is locked down because of COVID-19 ... even banks aren't open,” said Patil.
“So, I'm not sure how next term I'll be able to pay my tuition fees, unless the bank (reopens).”
To make matters worse, Patil said his career plans are also in a state of flux and he's concerned he will not be able to return home to see his family any time soon, especially now as India reports more and more COVID-19 cases.
“I'm not sure if there will be many new hirings in the next six months or not, so getting a job is also difficult after graduation,” he said.
“I'm worried about things, but at the moment, I can't do anything. There's nothing much in my control, so I'm just hoping things will turn out good.”
Muyu Lyu, of the Dalhousie International Students' Association, said stories like Patil's are not uncommon. He said he's heard from lots of international students in recent weeks who are expressing concerns about their shortterm and long-term future.
“It's hard,” said Lyu, an international student from China.
“We are all in this country. We are not having Canadian passports, but we are going through this with everyone else.“
According to Lyu, international students typically rely on support and connections in their local community, as most are living independently of their families in Canada, but most of those supports have now been cut off due to closures of student centres, cancellations of workshops and events, as well as social distancing measures. This, he said, has resulted in mental health issues among some international students.
“That support from the local community is very important (for international students) even during just normal days, but now, all activities are shut down. So, they do need that link that there is probably no available link physically to help you,” said Lyu.
While universities in the province are now closed to limit the spread of COVID-19, some are offering relief funds to help students address financial burdens caused by the pandemic.
On Wednesday, Mount Saint Vincent University established its new Presidents' Student Relief Fund to provide emergency bursaries to help impacted students cover costs associated with housing, food, tuition, technology, mental health services and transportation.
“We have put the fund out to students and we will be doing more promotion to let them know that if they are facing these significant challenges, that they can let us know,” said Paula Barry, MSVU associate vice president of student experience.
Barry said the fund will primarily help students who are in immediate assistance as they wait for federal financial assistance to kick in, but will hopefully help students that need financial support into the fall semester as well.
For international students, the university's international centre is also “working hard to continue to support as usual, so they're doing Skype advising and reaching out, but also trying to recreate our sense of community virtually,” according to Barry.
She added the centre is working alongside the university's student union to help international students identify off-campus housing — one of the many challenges they may be facing throughout the ongoing pandemic.
“International students overall can be very resilient, they're already very brave people who made the decision to travel abroad to pursue their studies at a very young age ... and we'll be keen to support them over these next couple months.”
The federal government also recently provided further details about the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, noting temporary foreign workers and international students who have lost income can apply for the benefit to receive temporary income support if they meet other eligibility requirements of the benefit.