Hyderabad students panic in UK

As the riots in London spiral out of control, city students in the UK are beginning to panic.
What started off as a protest against police brutality has taken an ugly turn with “copycat crimes” including looting and assaults.
The violence is said to have escalated due to underlying frustrations stemming from the high unemployment to socio-economic instability. And, as is the case across the globe, Indians, especially the students, are targets of such violence.
“We have already seen several protests against immigrants staying in the UK and taking up jobs in the past. With this incident, the frustrated youth have an opportunity to pick on the government, police and immigrants including Indians due to unemployment and taxes,” says Santosh Layam from Secunderabad, currently studying Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Birmingham.
Miles away from home, the youngsters are doing everything it takes to prepare for the worse. Not only do they have to stock up on food and other necessities, they also need to take extra precautions on safety.
“I haven’t gone out at all today but if I had to then I would prefer to go in a group,” says Raju Dungu, who is doing his Masters in Management for Construction in Coventry.
One relief is that many students are back home on a break.“Some of my university friends are, thankfully, back home as the hostels are closed for the summer but I know a few people staying in rented places in one of the affected areas. They had less than half an hour notice of the upcoming riots,” Raju adds.
While areas like Birmingham and Liverpool are seeing escalated violence, people in areas like Coventry are preparing for an outbreak anytime. There have also been a few incidents of assault reported. But the students are unwilling to talk as they are under pressure from their parents to return home.
The anger is evident as Anup Kumar Thati from Attapur, also studying in Coventry University, says, “The youth of the Middle East rise up for basic rights and freedom. But the youth of Britain rise up for plasma TVs, iPhones and branded shoes!”
But hope prevails. “The police is being strengthened and help is pouring in from different countries. Hope all of this comes to an end in a day or two,” 23-year-old Narasimha Reddy Kadapala from Kukkatpalli, who now studies in Liverpool.