At-Risk Graduate Studies
World events or events that impact on a geographic area have many victims; not only those who are in the centre of the conflict, but those who attempt to bring order to disagreements, and those who find themselves stranded through no fault of their own, by events beyond their control. And so it is with nationals who travel outside their home country to take up temporary residence elsewhere, when their country suddenly becomes a vortex of civil conflict.
Libyan students who have travelled abroad to international destinations to further their education and whose studies and living arrangements are paid for by their governments have found themselves in an untenable economic position because funds have been delayed in reaching them as a result of the ongoing civil insecurity in that country. Made infinitely more complex by the fact that Canada, as part of NATO, is constraining their government in putting down the insurrection.
And complicated yet again by the fact that Canada's Parliament has given official recognition to the Libyan National Transition Council, and removing official recognition from the regime of Moammar Gadhafi. Diplomats representing the current regime are now persona non grata. At this time of national upheaval the mature students numbering roughly 700 studying at Canadian universities find themselves in financial straits.
The Ottawa-based Canadian Bureau for International Education which has served in the past to distribute scholarship funding from Libya's Ministry of Education and Scientific Research finds itself in a position where it cannot distribute funding that it does not receive from its regular source. Given the situation in Libya this isn't a surprising situation. Other, emergency funding sources were accessed for a while, but funding has run its course.
The advice that the stranded students and their families are receiving from the Canadian Bureau for International Education is that they should make formal application for work permits and begin to support themselves. Those students often have young children whom they must support. And it's obvious that Canadian universities cannot undertake the monumental additional expenses represented by tuition, living expenses and health insurance.
Some of these mature students have children requiring intensive medical care and surgery. It isn't quite reasonable to expect that alternate sources that will be unable to recoup the expenses involved will willingly come forward to financially support that number of students requiring assistance. An offer has been made to provide air fare back to Libya with the understanding that those who accept the offer will not be welcomed back for further studies.
The situation has left a lot of people with nowhere to turn. Some of the students are pregnant, expecting additional children in the near future, and without health insurance their problems are multiplied. It's clear that those who have no wish to interrupt their graduate studies may have to regardless, applying for work permits for husband and wife in an effort to fund their living expenses.
Some of the students are quite understandably aggravated and concerned. They have been advised, when approaching CBIE, that its hands are tied without further funding coming through from the Libyan government. They remain critical of the CBIE, feeling it has not done enough to assist them. In turn they have been advised to turn to other Libyans living in Canada for assistance.
These families do indeed face difficult choices. In the same token they must realize that they must become independently capable of fulfilling their obligations to themselves and their children, and not embrace the attitude that they can be reliant on the goodwill of others for their support. Some feel that special efforts should be made on their behalf because of their unusual situation being 'exceptional' in nature.
The trouble is, there are so many people living in arduous, worrying and exceptional situations, all requiring consideration for additional assistance.
Libyan students who have travelled abroad to international destinations to further their education and whose studies and living arrangements are paid for by their governments have found themselves in an untenable economic position because funds have been delayed in reaching them as a result of the ongoing civil insecurity in that country. Made infinitely more complex by the fact that Canada, as part of NATO, is constraining their government in putting down the insurrection.
And complicated yet again by the fact that Canada's Parliament has given official recognition to the Libyan National Transition Council, and removing official recognition from the regime of Moammar Gadhafi. Diplomats representing the current regime are now persona non grata. At this time of national upheaval the mature students numbering roughly 700 studying at Canadian universities find themselves in financial straits.
The Ottawa-based Canadian Bureau for International Education which has served in the past to distribute scholarship funding from Libya's Ministry of Education and Scientific Research finds itself in a position where it cannot distribute funding that it does not receive from its regular source. Given the situation in Libya this isn't a surprising situation. Other, emergency funding sources were accessed for a while, but funding has run its course.
The advice that the stranded students and their families are receiving from the Canadian Bureau for International Education is that they should make formal application for work permits and begin to support themselves. Those students often have young children whom they must support. And it's obvious that Canadian universities cannot undertake the monumental additional expenses represented by tuition, living expenses and health insurance.
Some of these mature students have children requiring intensive medical care and surgery. It isn't quite reasonable to expect that alternate sources that will be unable to recoup the expenses involved will willingly come forward to financially support that number of students requiring assistance. An offer has been made to provide air fare back to Libya with the understanding that those who accept the offer will not be welcomed back for further studies.
The situation has left a lot of people with nowhere to turn. Some of the students are pregnant, expecting additional children in the near future, and without health insurance their problems are multiplied. It's clear that those who have no wish to interrupt their graduate studies may have to regardless, applying for work permits for husband and wife in an effort to fund their living expenses.
Some of the students are quite understandably aggravated and concerned. They have been advised, when approaching CBIE, that its hands are tied without further funding coming through from the Libyan government. They remain critical of the CBIE, feeling it has not done enough to assist them. In turn they have been advised to turn to other Libyans living in Canada for assistance.
These families do indeed face difficult choices. In the same token they must realize that they must become independently capable of fulfilling their obligations to themselves and their children, and not embrace the attitude that they can be reliant on the goodwill of others for their support. Some feel that special efforts should be made on their behalf because of their unusual situation being 'exceptional' in nature.
The trouble is, there are so many people living in arduous, worrying and exceptional situations, all requiring consideration for additional assistance.
Labels: Canada, Economy, Human Relations
posted by Pieface @ 6:02 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home