|
Fearing Harassment, GCC Seeks to Pull Out Students from U.S.
DUBAI, Sept 20 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait are preparing to repatriate thousands of their students from the United States amid reports of growing harassment of Muslims over the terror attacks there last week, news agencies reported.
The Dubai government daily Al-Bayan said authorities had asked the UAE embassy in Washington to "coordinate with the cultural center and the American universities with a view to the return home of Emirati [individuals from Gulf Emirate states] students."
Al Bayan reported that sources revealed they were discussing withdrawing students from current semester studies in U.S. universities and arranging for their return as soon as aviation resumes activities.
It said the decision was taken as "a preventive measure to guarantee the safety of Emirati students following growing persecution against Arabs and Muslims in the United States," reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The number of Emiratis involved was not mentioned, but are believed to be spread out across the country, and particularly in Washington and New York, scenes of the attacks on September 11th.
In Kuwait, Education Minister Musaed Rashed al-Haroun said earlier this week: "The education ministry has authorized the cultural office to return the Kuwaiti students who wish to come back to Kuwait after coordinating with the universities where they study until the situation calms down," said AFP.
The office, which reportedly supervises Kuwaiti students in various universities, "is studying all complaints by students and aims at taking the right decision that ensures the safety of all students."
There are around 3,000 Kuwaiti students studying in the United States sent by the Kuwaiti government, and another 1,200 are studying at their own expense. They are centered in Los Angeles, Boston, Ohio, and Colorado.
The Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported earlier this week that the head of the student union at Kuwait University in the U.S., Hassan al-Rasheedi, expressed on Tuesday students' worry and fear of attacks.
Al-Rasheedi said that al-Haroun would be conducting direct telephone calls with students in the U.S. to listen to their comments and proposals amidst the critical circumstances.
He told KUNA that al-Haroun showed a great understanding to the psychological conditions of Kuwaiti students and promised to allocate $2,000 for each student to buy tickets for traveling more than one time a year.
The step, which came as implementation to a previous decision issued last April, comes as an attempt to contribute in reducing financial burdens of students who wish to visit their families, said KUNA.
The Kuwaiti daily, Al Qabas, stated that the cultural office reported that the had not received any notification of violence against their nationals, except for the odd verbal harassment. The office has placed officials on a hotline service available all day long to respond to inquiries of parents.
Students in Los Angeles, California, are reportedly tense since the murder of an Egyptian expatriate who was the victim of what is being labeled a hate crime directed against Arabs and Muslims following the recent devastating attacks of last Tuesday.
In Saudi Arabia, authorities warned Saudi students in the United States to take care after the press reported numerous assaults on Arabs.
Several Saudis, and at least one Emirati, are on a list of suspects responsible for the hijackings - presumed to have killed more than 5,000 people, mainly in New York's World Trade Center.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal has said that a number of Saudis living in the United States have become targets of harassment, but that the U.S. administration has extended all help and cooperation towards helping to alleviate matters.
|
