‘We deal with the death of an Indian every day in America’: Community leader

TEAM Aid has nearly 3,000 volunteers in the United States and approximately 25 countries.

New York:

Amid concerns over a spate of deaths of Indian students in the United States, a prominent community leader said his organization handles at least one such tragic case every day and stressed the need to raise awareness among Indian immigrants to ensure their safety.

“It’s no exaggeration to say that we are dealing with at least one death every day across the country, and the majority of them are young students or H-1B workers who recently immigrated to the United States from India,” said Mohan Nannapaneni, founder of the volunteer nonprofit TEAM. . told PTI in an interview on Wednesday.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers in specialized occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. Tech companies rely on it to hire tens of thousands of workers every year from countries like India and China.

TEAM Aid is a one-of-a-kind organization whose primary focus is to assist members of the Indian community who are traveling or living abroad and face dire circumstances such as accidents, suicide, homicide, or the sudden death of a loved one.

Nannapaneni said that it is very tragic that many Indian students have been “in trouble” recently and some have unfortunately passed away.

“But it’s not something that just happened recently. If you look at history, this has been happening for many years, and I’ve been actively involved in helping the community since 2001,” he said.

He said there had been instances of Indian students dying due to car accidents and drowning. He expressed concern about the growing epidemic of drug abuse across the United States, and unfortunately, there have been cases of drug abuse and overdose among Indian students.

TEAM Aid has nearly 3,000 volunteers in the United States and about 25 countries, and partners with Indian embassies, consulates and community organizations to provide assistance.

“We become their extended family and a bridge between affected individuals and families in India,” Nanapaneni said, adding that the organization does “whatever is necessary” to help families and individuals cope with dire situations, including Help transport the body back to India, conduct a local funeral or assist at the hospital.

In the past few weeks, a series of deaths of Indian students in the United States have attracted great attention.

Last month, 25-year-old Indian student Vivek Saini was beaten to death by a homeless drug addict in Georgia. Syed Mazahir Ali, who was studying for a master’s degree in IT, was brutally attacked by unknown men near his home in Chicago.

Indian-American student Samir Kamath was found dead in the woods of Indiana this week. Authorities said he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Nannapaneni said his organization was dealing with cases of “voluntary and involuntary” deaths of students in India.

“I am very sorry to see so many young students commit suicide for various reasons,” he said. He pointed out that parents spend a lot of money to send their children to study abroad, but the lack of employment opportunities puts pressure on students, and some of them take extreme measures such as suicide.

Studying in the U.S. does not guarantee an H-1B work visa, which puts huge pressure on young people, who sometimes take gig jobs like gas station jobs or even work illegally to stay in the U.S. rather than return to India.

Nannapaneni said student suicides were “just the tip of the iceberg,” which sounded shocking. Unfortunately, we will see more and more of these cases.

“This has to stop,” he said, adding that students must be made aware that not everyone has enough opportunities and they should be prepared to return to India after completing their studies in the United States.

“My advice is that students should not put themselves at risk or engage in illegal, risky jobs. Your parents have a lot of expectations and you are their hope,” he said.

Causes of involuntary death include car accidents, drowning, substance abuse and mental health issues. “Unfortunately, right now in the United States, we are seeing a problem with drug abuse. There are a lot of fake drugs on the market and they are killing people.” He said targeted or racially motivated attacks on Indian students and workers were isolated. of.

“There are a lot of second-generation Indian kids here as well,” but students from India have higher mortality rates than students who were born and raised here. This can be attributed to “a lack of education and a lack of understanding of society.” If that changes, he said, we can definitely prevent these deaths.

Nanapaneni stressed that students should not fall into the trap of “educational consulting agencies” that promise to recruit students into American universities and institutions, but turn out to be false or rubbish, leaving students in trouble.

Students should conduct a thorough evaluation of the institution they plan to attend, their qualifications, and employment prospects before using their family’s hard-earned money to come to the United States.

He said India’s growing economy has huge opportunities and students should evaluate this instead of blindly following the trend of studying abroad.

Prem Bhandari, a community leader who supports TEAM Aid as a volunteer, said students should register with Indian embassies and consulates to stay in constant contact and be contacted in case of emergencies.

The TEAM Aid program organizes webinars to educate students on how to live safely in the country, find suitable job opportunities, and connect with community leaders and organizations willing to help them.

“When you come to a foreign country, you must be diligent and responsible, be cautious, respect the local laws, and do not do things that are life-threatening. Always think about your parents’ hopes for you.” You. That’s the message I want to convey to students,” Nannapaneni said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)