How the Coronavirus is Impacting International Students.

By Jana Roumie

According to the Worldometer, the COVID-19 virus has infected over a million people and killed more than 50,000. Due to the severity of the pandemic over the past few weeks, people have been forced to leave schools, universities, and work to stay home and self-isolate as countries begin closing borders. 

Statistics show that the number of international students in the UK currently stands at 485,645, meaning that all those students have potentially been distressed by the Corona outbreak. As an international student, I understand how scary and lonely it is to be so far away from family and friends during all of this. I was born and raised in Dubai, UAE. It’s my home, where my family members and loved ones live, but I’ve been studying abroad in London for over three years now. 

Isolation is hard, but it becomes even harder when you’re 5000 miles away from your loved ones in the middle of a world crisis. The emotional burden is heavy. Eventually, I began overthinking. When I would try to focus on work, my mind would drift away to dark and depressing thoughts. All distractions prove unmanageable when you’re constantly surrounded by the ongoing reminders of this pandemic. 

While I was in London, I tried to keep my spirits high and stay optimistic, which, believe me, was a challenge to do when you live alone. On top of that, all my friends lived at least 40 minutes away from me, making isolation even more difficult. I always considered London my second home, a place in which I felt completely safe and comfortable, but all of a sudden I felt as though I had no support system, no security, and was in a complete state of distress and seclusion. I would avoid watching the news or going on social media too much as most of the content would make me feel disheartened. Back in Dubai, my family grew more anxious. They wanted me to come home but I couldn’t until my university granted me permission to leave.

Gradually it became tougher as I was grappling with the knowledge that most of my classmates and friends have either already left, or would be leaving in a matter of days. The realisation that travel restrictions and border closures may stop me from returning home even after the academic year is over made my parents extremely restless and they weren’t willing to take any chances, so they booked me a ticket for Tuesday the 17^th of March. 

Joudy Al-Nahlawi, 20, a second-year Syrian student living in Brighton was also preparing to go back home to Dubai, however, her ticket was booked for Thursday 19^th as she required extra time to pack up her flat and move her belongings. 

On the night just before my departure I received a phone call from a friend who I’d seen two-days prior, he told me that his flatmate had just tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. I was dazed, I didn’t know where to start or what to do. I felt stuck between wanting to go home and being too scared to do so. I was worried about my parents and what would happen to them if they got infected. As the virus continues to spread, international students are forced to live with the uncertainty of not knowing when this nightmare will be over and when they can finally return home. I packed my bags, locked the apartment and made my way to Heathrow airport.

Upon arrival at the airport, I was stunned to see a long line of people waiting to get in. I asked the security what this line was for and he explained that there were too many people inside so this line was to help balance the number of people in the airport. Everyone around me had a mask on, it was frightening. I found myself wondering how my companions in that airport were doing today. Everyone looked worried, the atmosphere was crazy tense.  After three long hours of waiting in endless lines, I finally made it on the plane. 

Exhausted and extremely jet-lagged, I made my way out of Dubai airport looking for my brother. When I finally saw him it was so hard for me not to run and give him a hug, the same goes for the rest of my family. But I knew the risk was too high, exposing them to the virus would be disastrous. They were so relieved that I made it back safe and healthy. From that day, I would be under self-isolation in my room for 14 days, avoiding all contact with family members. 

Later on that evening I called my friend Joudy to ask how she was doing with all the packing, she bared terrible news. Dubai had just announced they would close all borders to anyone who’s not a UAE national. Joudy was stuck in Brighton. She was under a complete state of disbelief and panic and so was her family. “I feel like I’m in an identity crisis. I feel trapped because I really wanted to be with my family but I couldn’t, I’m stuck here. I feel hopeless and lonely like I have no place to go.”

No one was emotionally prepared for this, Joudy is just one of the many international students who were unlucky and got stuck, away from family and friends. Dawam, 21, was hoping to return to his family in India, but all his plans got changed as he too, got stuck in the UK - “It has been a difficult time for me because I’m not meeting anyone and keeping my distance in general. But I’m trying to have a more positive outlook and have been meditating for 15 minutes every day as well as working out. I’ve been cooking and trying to keep myself as busy as possible and so far it has been working. My mum and dad are worried and scared because I’m alone here, but I’ve constantly reassured them that I’ll be fine because of all the measures I’m taking.” 

International students need more support than ever, as they battle their own thoughts and deal with the mental strain this virus outbreak has caused. If you’re an international student living alone at the moment, you deserve all the care in the world. Staying at home for a long period of time can be frustrating and emotionally challenging, but unfortunately, it has become the reality for most of us.