Pandemic Series | Two Stories of International Study in the COVID-19 Pandemic by Katie Crabtree and Tanjin Ashraf

Two Stories of International Study in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Here two AJE Forum Student Board Members recount their experiences as international students in the COVID-19 pandemic. Tanjin Ashraf, a first year PhD student in Education at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, explains her return home to Toronto, Canada and the impact on her studies. Whereas Katie Crabtree, an American PhD student in her final year of Philosophy of Education at Leeds Trinity, University of Leeds, England, discusses her decision to remain in the UK. While international students are a fundamental part of higher education, the experience of the authors in the pandemic expose how international students are impacted by policy and governments in which they have no representation. Their choices and options in this rapidly developing global crisis are shaped by immigration policy, access to healthcare, support from their universities and the countries where they are resident, as well as the demands of their degree programs. 

To go home or not to go home: That was the question by Tanjin Ashraf

It was mid-February. I was scrambling to pack my suitcases while double, triple, even quadruple-checking that my visa terms and conditions were in order. I was going to start a Doctor of Philosophy degree on February 26th at Deakin University and make a major move from Toronto, Canada to Melbourne, Australia. Toronto and Melbourne are over 16,000 kilometres apart, with a 14-hour time difference, and 24-hour flight time to get from one city to the other. I had already built a strong rapport with my imminent supervisor, and I had a fairly good idea of my goals and research interests. It was going to be great. 

It was very easy adjusting to Melbourne. It felt a lot like Toronto but with a plethora of independent coffee shops and the warmth of summer’s end. Just when the egregious nationwide bushfires were subsiding, Australia had a novel issue to manage: an epidemic on the rise called COVID-19. Deakin University fervently propagated the slogan, “Stay Strong, China!” in an effort to combat the coronavirus-racism Chinese Australians were facing. My friends and I were supportive of this effort and were optimistic that these discriminatory behaviours would dissipate as quickly as the epidemic would. 

A few weeks later, we started feeling the impact of COVID-19 after the World Health Organization declared it was a pandemic. I was supposed to fly back to North America to present at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Meeting  and the Comparative International Education Societies (CIES) Conference and make a quick trip back home to Toronto; however, both conferences got cancelled within days of each other. I went through the arduous task of cancelling all my flights and accommodations. I decided to keep my flight back to Toronto, as my supervisor and I both agreed that it would be comforting to be back with family during these uncertain times. I was staying at an Airbnb for the month, and I was supposed to start a new lease in May after coming back from Toronto, so rent was not an issue. As I was nearing my flight on March 20th, the course of the pandemic was changing at breakneck speed, with rumours of travel bans and border closures in both Canada and Australia. Out of fear of not being able to make it back home, I changed my flight date and flew back a week earlier. 

In Toronto, I scanned the news for updates from Australia every day – and with each passing day, it felt as though I was peering through the looking glass. On March 20th, the day I was originally supposed to fly out to Toronto, Australia enforced a travel ban  which prohibited non-citizens from entering the country. Naturally my flight back to Melbourne, which was scheduled for early May, got cancelled. During the mandatory 14-day quarantine period at home in Toronto, I sifted through the unprecedented terrains of candidature and visa changes and conditions. After an endless train of emails and web searches, I was able to confirm that I could continue pursuing my doctoral studies remotely for a year in Toronto without voiding my candidature or visa. 

In early April, the Australian government stated they would not be providing any financial support for non-citizens, including international students. Prime Minister Scott Morrison even remarked that if international students and other temporary visa holders were unable to financially sustain themselves, then it was time for them to “make their way home” . Over 570,000 international students chose to remain in Australia during the pandemic. They now face limited access to emotional, social, and financial resources in an unwelcome atmosphere set by the national government. However, Australian universities have invested $110 million to support international students. This divide in the response between higher educational institutions and government demonstrates the difficult landscape policy international students face in Australia.

I am glad I made the call to come home early. I cannot imagine being stuck in a country I had only been in for a month with no family or friends. On top of that, it would have made it even worse to have been told by the Prime Minister to go back home because no support would have been provided to me. This was my first time pursuing a degree as an international student, and if I did not have that plane ticket back home, I would have been in a dire situation. Hearing how international students in Australia are being treated, and the situation I would have faced if I stayed, has been eye opening for me. This motivates me even more to continue my doctoral studies and tackle issues of inequity in higher education while I am a student and an academic. 

I am fortunate that I have an extremely supportive thesis committee who have provided me with all the accommodations required to continue pursuing my doctoral degree in Toronto. We communicate through weekly Zoom meetings and frequent emails. In addition, the nature of an Australian doctoral degree is fairly remote anyway, with no courses and self-driven work; hence, my studies have been unaffected. My leasing situation in Melbourne has also been sorted out as the landlord has been very understanding and has agreed not to charge me rent until I return to Australia. However, I do wish to go back to Australia, as I had gone through such lengths to pursue a degree in a cross-cultural setting. And for now, it is uncertain when the Australian border will open. Josh Frydenberg, the Treasurer of Australia, speculates the border will open six months from when it closed, while Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham has warned that overseas travel might not commence until 2021. Most recently, Scott Morrison said that international students might be exempted from the travel ban and will be able to enter the country in July. However, none of these speculations are set in stone. All I can do is patiently wait until I can go back again. 

Rushing Home to Where is Not Home by Katie Crabtree

On Monday March 16th, the week after the World Health Organization upgraded COVID-19 from an epidemic to a pandemic, I was in the queue at Schipol Airport for my flight back to Leeds-Bradford Airport, England. Before the advent of the government-mandated 2 meters distance, no one knew quite how close to stand in the queue, only a couple passengers were wearing masks, and everyone had hand sanitizer strapped to their carry-ons. It was a busy flight, full of travelers who had, like myself, taken a far too cavalier approach to the WHO announcement at the start of the weekend and would return to a completely different way of life. As we boarded, the airline sent a text message stating that from the next day all flights to and from Amsterdam would be cancelled. 

It had been a tense weekend, with rapidly changing guidance and rules. It was a struggle to keep up. Over the weekend in the Netherlands, the guidelines went from banning gatherings of 200 or more people to the shuttering of all cafes and restaurants. Meanwhile I had been checking the rules back in the UK and the US, wondering if I would be let back into either my native country or my host country. I was relieved just to be able to make it back to Leeds and when I queued for border control that I was not asked for my fingerprints. I am not a national of the United Kingdom but have been studying in the UK on two different Masters degrees and now my PhD.

In the first few days back in the UK, there was nothing in the shops. Everyone had done their pandemic panic shop during the weekend whilst I was away. I will be eternally grateful to my friends for providing me with loo roll when I got back. The hot water in my flat was not working. My last time on campus, there were parents driving their uni-aged children, their cars stuffed with duvets, laundry bags, books, and houseplants, back home. The British government was slowly backtracking from its initial approach of ‘herd immunity’. In the first days of the pandemic, it appeared that the British plan was to do nothing and allow the virus to spread in the hopes that most of the public would build an immunity. Luckily the government changed course and in the week after I returned put in place full lock-down and physical distancing measures.

During this time, friends and family reached out, asking if I had plans to return to my family home in Georgia. To be honest, that had hardly registered as an option. I was just happy to have made it back from the Netherlands to what feels like home in Leeds. But no matter how homey I feel in England–my very English reaction to the lockdown was to order my favorite tea and start rewatching Call the Midwife–that does not change the fact that I am an alien resident and immigration law applies. I was unsure where I should be or go in the crisis. Looking for guidance, I registered with the US Embassy in London. I was receiving emails every day with updated information on borders and travel options for Americans abroad. The urgent wording that US citizens should be prepared to remain in the UK for the foreseeable future made it seem as if I should have packed my bags and boarded another international flight. However, this advice was for travelers, not for residents, who have been advised to remain in place if possible.

Despite the UK Home Office’s prevailing ‘hostile environment’ for immigration in recent years, there have been considerable leniencies for student visa holders in the UK during this crisis. I am able to remain in the country and pursue my degree programme through distance learning; this is normally not allowed. While there have been allowances for visa holders, such as discretion for those overstaying their visas because they have been stranded in the UK as a result of this crisis, international students still do not have recourse to public funds. However, the government has made changes to this for other types of visa holders. International students are largely encouraged to seek help from their higher education institutions. There has also been expansion of mental health support from universities. 

I have decided to remain here. Firstly, I do not want to risk contracting the virus from an international flight and passing it to my parents who are self-isolating. Secondly, my healthcare is currently with the UK National Health Service (NHS). As an international student, I paid the NHS surcharge with my visa application and have access to care through it while I remain in my studies. Finally, as a student in the philosophy of education, I have a stack of library books in my flat that I need to continue my studies. So here I am, braving this pandemic alone in what is not my home country to be nearer my books. (Though one of my supervisors has been most helpful in providing scanned chapters from his personal library for anything else I need.)

In theory, my PhD studies are very easy to adjust and pursue from home. In the UK, humanities-based doctorates are largely a solitary affair. I do not enroll in classes like many PhD programs in the US and I meet my supervisors monthly. We have switched to online meetings and my usual reading group has had a Zoom revival. However, I miss the routine of going to and coming back from campus, the quiet and calm of the library, or just a space dedicated solely for study. It has not been a very productive few months. I have made an effort to improve my concentration by changing a deep window sill in my flat to a standing desk, with many pomodoro breaks.

None of us need to beat ourselves up for not being productive or able to concentrate. We just need to get through this. I am grateful to be safe, healthy, and have enough to eat. This is not the case for many people at this time. Where I can, I have supported local businesses with online orders. I have, along with many other folks in the UK, volunteered to assist vulnerable people during this time. I will be volunteering with a local charity providing wellness check-ins via phone to elderly and isolated people in Leeds. As a #WeAreInternational Ambassador for the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA). I have joined their #WeAreTogether campaign on social media to promote solidarity in face of this global crisis.

Having entered university on the heels of the recession of 2008, I am most fearful about graduating into one of the greatest economic depressions in living memory. I am also grateful that my CARES stimulus check miraculously came through the post a couple weeks ago. The news has been full of grave reports on the future of universities. Many UK universities have faced a financial blow in the pandemic seeking government bailouts, the loss of tuition fees from international students is a significant factor for many. International students, and students generally, however have more to offer than tuition fees. And though I sit with my books alone in my flat, I try to remember that universities have always been about gathering. Universities have always attracted students from far and wide. I study on in hope that we will still find ways to gather around the ideas that drew us to university in the first place, even though we are now two meters apart.

A Glimpse of a Long-Term Problem

Even though the authors are currently facing different situations, they are both experiencing uncertainties that are accentuated by their status as international students. Katie is uncertain when she can go back to the US to see her family again and how that will affect her ability to return to her studies in the UK; and Tanjin is uncertain when she can go back to Australia to continue her studies and maintain her student visa conditions. 

These mirrored yet opposite experiences during the COVID-19 crisis demonstrate the difficult terrain of national policy that international students must face. This is further exacerbated when there is a lack of support from governmental bodies. In the UK and Australia, international students make significant economic, social, and cultural contributions. While their domestic counterparts benefit from government assistance during this crisis, international students are often left out of support systems or are under-represented as they straddle the laws and guidelines of their host and home countries. While Katie did receive her US CARES stimulus check eventually, it was difficult to access information for her specific situation. And Tanjin might be eligible for the Canada Emergency Student Benefit program; however she is awaiting details to confirm her eligibility. While these issues are particularly acute in the COVID-19 crisis, they represent larger, more enduring problems for international students.

Tanjin Ashraf is a Ph.D. student in Teacher Accountability Policy at Deakin University, Australia. In 2019, she completed her Master of Education degree at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, Canada. She was a classroom teacher for three years in South Korea, England and Canada, and was a policy analyst at the Ontario Ministry of Education for a year. She has also taught English as a Second Language in China and Taiwan. Her research interests include system change, teacher accountability policy, the nexus between teachers’ work and education reform, math reform, comparative education, alternative forms of schooling, and the impact of policy actors on education systems.

Katie Crabtree is a Ph.D. student in the Philosophy of Education at Leeds Trinity University, University of Leeds. Her research attempts to re-imagine liberal arts university education and the meaning of being a student. She focuses on the philosophy of Jean-François Lyotard. Katie holds a M.A. in the Philosophy of Education from UCL Institute of Education, a M.Sc. in Higher Education from the University of Oxford, and a B.S. in Psychology from Grand Valley State University.