International students in different parts of the world have been struck hard by the pandemic-driven tightening of border management, causing them to be stranded and left in a state of limbo. Local economies that afford international students with viable jobs have been disrupted. With the sudden loss of such work opportunities, student livelihoods were eroded within a matter of days. How do we make sense of precariousness in the lives of a relatively privileged cohort of mobile youths, alongside new solidarities among students living with COVID-19?
2020
5 Feb 2020, Coronavirus update: Schools and universities brace for impact amid global response, https://monitor.icef.com/2020/02/coronavirus-update-schools-and-universities-brace-for-impact-amid-global-response/
6 Mar 2020, Covid-19 restrictions have limited impact on Chinese students in the US – IIE, https://thepienews.com/news/us-covid-19-travel-ban-had-low-impact-on-chinese-students
10 Mar 2020, Building community amidst COVID-19, https://www.asiamediacentre.org.nz/opinion/building-community-amidst-covid-19/
19 Mar 2020, The COVID-19 Crisis and International Students, https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/03/19/higher-ed-institutions-arent-supporting-international-students-enough-during-covid
20 Mar 2020, Canada’s changing coronavirus border policy exposes international students’ precarious status, http://theconversation.com/canadas-changing-coronavirus-border-policy-exposes-international-students-precarious-status-134011
1 Apr 2020, Int’l students in Europe face accommodation worries due to pandemic, https://thepienews.com/news/intl-students-in-europe-face-unprecedented-challenges-with-accommodation/
7 Apr 2020, Why coronavirus impacts are devastating for international students in private rental housing, https://theconversation.com/why-coronavirus-impacts-are-devastating-for-international-students-in-private-rental-housing-134792
16 Apr 2020, Asian students left high and dry in viral Australia, https://asiatimes.com/2020/04/asian-students-left-high-and-dry-in-viral-australia/
18 Apr 2020, Care for international students brings greater commitment, https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200417113236746
18 Apr 2020, ‘We feel abandoned’: international students in Australia facing coronavirus alone, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/apr/17/we-feel-abandoned-international-students-in-australia-facing-coronavirus-alone
23 Apr 2020, 90,000 foreign graduates are stuck in Australia without financial support: it’s a humanitarian and economic crisis in the making, https://theconversation.com/90-000-foreign-graduates-are-stuck-in-australia-without-financial-support-its-a-humanitarian-and-economic-crisis-in-the-making-136717
1 May 2020, Indian students trapped in UK by coronavirus ‘actually starving’, https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/may/01/indian-students-trapped-in-uk-by-coronavirus-actually-starving
4 May 2020, Coronavirus and class struggle, education and beyond: a call to action, https://discoversociety.org/2020/05/04/coronavirus-and-class-struggle-education-and-beyond-a-call-to-action/
8 May 2020, COVID-19 hits student finances, amid calls for wider reforms, https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200508141842584
15 May 2020, Coronavirus Pandemic: Foreign Students in Need of Help, https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/videos/20200515113009799/
21 May 2020, Japan: Only top 30% of foreign students to be eligible for gov’t handouts, https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/05/5d7d3c646139-only-top-30-of-foreign-students-to-be-eligible-for-govt-handouts.html
21 May 2020, One million students face hardship as payments stalled, https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200521082632408
2 Jun 2020, Students oppose handouts only for top foreign students, https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200602180641391
6 Jun 2020, A more equal approach to supporting international students, https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200604152812833
9 Jun 2020, No jobs, aid or hope: Foreign students face uncertain future in Finland, https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/no_jobs_aid_or_hope_foreign_students_face_uncertain_future_in_finland/11391657
16 Jun 2020, Organizing for help in a pandemic: when COVID-19 hit, graduate student workers organized to win basic protections and extensions, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/06/16/graduate-student-workers-organized-win-covid-19-protections
17 Jun 2020, Bridging aid finally set to be paid out to students, https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200617073227211
27 Jun 2020, Students not as apathetic as policy-makers like to think, https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20200623150107117
30 Jun 2020, One in four international students earn less than half the minimum wage, https://www.smh.com.au/business/workplace/one-in-four-international-students-earn-less-than-half-the-minimum-wage-20200629-p557d1.html
30 Jun 2020, When her employer went bust, international student Patricia couldn’t claim her unpaid wages, https://www.sbs.com.au/news/when-her-employer-went-bust-international-student-patricia-couldn-t-claim-her-unpaid-wages
1 Jul 2020, International Students’ Worries During the Pandemic, https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/07/01/survey-international-students-main-concerns-center-issues-health-safety-and
9 Jul 2020, Almost half of Australian PhD students considering disengaging from studies due to pandemic, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/jul/10/almost-half-of-australian-phd-students-considering-disengaging-from-studies-due-to-pandemic
23 Jul 2020, NZ: international students may have to stay for summer, https://thepienews.com/news/nz-thousands-of-intl-students-may-have-to-stay-for-summer/
24 Jul 2020, Indonesian students urge Taiwan to lift visa restrictions for new students, https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3973441
5 Aug 2020, International students in the US are still facing precarity, https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/international-students-facing-precarity-200803142323970.html
10 Aug 2020, Foreign students ‘disproportionately impoverished’ by pandemic, https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/foreign-students-disproportionately-impoverished-pandemic
12 Aug 2020, ‘If I give up, all my effort is for nothing’: international students thrown into Melbourne lockdown despair, https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/12/if-i-give-up-all-my-effort-is-for-nothing-international-students-thrown-into-melbourne-lockdown-despair
12 Aug 2020, International student shares anxiety over post-college life during pandemic, https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2020/08/12/international-student-shares-anxiety-over-post-college-life-during-pandemic.html
13 Aug 2020, Taiwan: int’l students oppose cost of quarantine, https://thepienews.com/news/taiwan-students-quarantine/
26 Aug 2020, International students reach out to residents, https://cbdnews.com.au/international-students-reach-out-to-residents/
28 Aug 2020, Foreign students in Japan in dire straits amid pandemic, https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/backstories/1267/
29 Aug 2020, Youth rises in crisis, https://manilastandard.net/index.php/lifestyle/young-life/332724/youth-rises-in-crisis.html
17 Sep 2020, Thousands of international students are running out of money, https://www.smh.com.au/national/thousands-of-international-students-are-running-out-of-money-20200915-p55w01.html
20 Sep 2020, Jobs hard to find for foreign graduates trying to meet Singapore bond obligation, https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/jobs-hard-to-find-for-foreign-graduates-trying-to-meet-spore-bond-obligation
24 Sep 2020, Coronavirus: students protest against China university lockdowns citing lack of virus cases, lack of consistency, https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3102856/coronavirus-students-protest-against-china-university-lockdowns
30 Sep 2020, Overseas students in Japan face bleak job outlook due to pandemic, https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2020/09/29/overseas-students-in-japan-face-bleak-job-outlook-due-to-pandemic.html
1 Oct 2020, Covid student chaos: Paying £30k a year and begging security for food, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-54342186
8 Oct 2020, ‘Like baby food’: UK students’ lockdown complaints grow, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/oct/09/like-baby-food-uk-students-lockdown-food-complaints-grow
9 Oct 2020, Pandemic threatens food security for many college students, https://theconversation.com/pandemic-threatens-food-security-for-many-college-students-146823
10 Oct 2020, Combating discrimination against international students, https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20201009142439903
17 Oct 2020, Graduating into a COVID-19 jobs market – short-term challenges and longer-term issues?, https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/in-focus-covid-19-graduates-singapore-jobs-market-employment-13168366
26 Oct 2020, One in 10 young people lost their job during covid-19 pandemic, https://www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-news-from-LSE/2020/j-October-20/One-in-10-young-people-lost-their-job-during-covid-19-pandemic
27 Oct 2020, Paris student rent more costly than London – report, https://thepienews.com/news/student-rent-housinganywhere/
29 Oct 2020, International students can’t vote. But the stakes are personal, https://www.chronicle.com/article/international-students-cant-vote-but-the-stakes-are-personal
7 Nov 2020, Indian students feel isolated, depressed in UK universities, https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20201107140349755
9 Nov 2020, Hong Kong security law: Why students abroad fear it, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-54718434
13 Nov 2020, Set aside international student revenue ‘to support well-being’, https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/australian-universities-should-tithe-earnings-international-students
28 Nov 2020, COVID-19 pandemic sees international students unable to return home, surviving on free food, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-28/international-students-face-financial-difficulties-in-pandemic/12922142
30 Nov 2020, ‘Time for action’: three international students allegedly murdered amid coronavirus, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/dec/01/time-for-action-three-international-students-allegedly-murdered-amid-coronavirus
8 Dec 2020, COVID-19 vaccine will be given to international students in the UK, https://www.studyinternational.com/news/international-students-uk-covid-19-vaccine/
9 Dec 2020, Foreign students think twice about Australia after Covid welfare struggle, https://www.ft.com/content/8ccc522d-fee9-4265-91c6-15a3121fefca
22 Dec 2020, UK: International students face spending Christmas alone, https://thepienews.com/news/international-students-christmas-alone/?utm_source=Bibblio
23 Dec 2020, Continued border closure major source of stress for PhD students in Australia, https://studyinternational.com/news/phd-students-australia/
24 Dec 2020, Covid-19 Leaves Some Study-Abroad Students Stranded Over the Holidays, https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-leaves-some-study-abroad-students-stranded-over-the-holidays-11608818401
25 Dec 2020, International students eager to return to China, https://studyinternational.com/news/return-to-china-international-students