Opinion
I was heading off to study abroad, but now my phone is alive with alerts
Satara Uthayakumaran
Writer, ANU studentI’ve always been intoxicated by the prospect of living multiple lives. To escape to another part of the world, experience dynamic cultures and meet extraordinary people from all walks of life who will enrich mine. And very soon I will have that privilege. From my home, in a small corner of the Antipodes, I’m about to undertake one of the most exciting adventures of my life – six months of study on the other side of the world, in Europe, as part of my university degree.
I channelled both eagerness and fear into booking flights, accommodation, tours and tickets. I spoke to friends and family who travelled when they were younger, soaking up the look on their faces as they reminisced about backpacking with friends – nostalgic for the carefree feeling of being in your 20s, about to embark on your first solo overseas trip. I struggled to contain my excitement as I realised how fortunate I was to be travelling to Europe’s capital cities – the cradles of Western civilisation, music and philosophical thinkers.
I channelled both eagerness and fear into booking flights.
That was until the alerts from DFAT’s Smart Traveller started lighting up my phone.
Germany: Exercise a high degree of caution. Racially motivated attacks have occurred. These occur more often in urban areas and the former East Germany.
Denmark: Exercise a high degree of caution. Terrorist attacks can occur at any time. The threat of right-wing extremism is rising.
France: Exercise a high degree of caution. France’s national terrorist alert warning is at the highest level.
Sweden: Exercise a high degree of caution. Terrorist attacks can occur at any time. Maintain high vigilance in public spaces and take official warnings seriously.
Slightly perturbed, I went to International SOS, a traveller security app recommended by my university. To my further dread, I received the following in relation to a few European nations: There is a credible threat of terrorism from a wide variety of actors. Exercise vigilance at notable targets, including migrant centres.
Down a rabbit hole of warnings, I sought out the recommendations of other governments, including Canada, who noted that vigilance in parts of Europe was important as “violent crimes committed by far-right extremists against individuals belonging to ethnic, religious or political minorities” were now very common.
Fair to say, these warnings started to haunt my grandiose dreams, forcing me to reassess whether studying abroad in Europe, as a woman of colour, was a wise thing to do in such a climate.
While I had known that the rise of the far right in Europe had been an increasing trend for some time, I always distanced this as something which was, for the most part, generational. After all, there were pockets of ignorance in every country, often perpetuated by a demographic which perhaps hadn’t grown up in more multicultural societies following the influx of immigration.
However, it seems we are now also witnessing right-wing sentiment among youth communities. In European elections, voters under 30 have given their support to far-right parties such as Alternative fur Deutschland in Germany, National Rally in France, Vox in Spain, the Brothers of Italy, Enough in Portugal, Flemish Interest in Belgium and the Finns Party in Finland.
Dave Sinardet, professor of political science at the Free University of Brussels, argues that far-right parties actively court the youth vote, and platforms such as “TikTok and Instagram lend themselves to the type of messages that the radical right wants to spread … Simplistic, unnuanced videos on issues like migration, security and gender”.
So perhaps it wouldn’t be as simple as I thought to find an affinity with the younger generations in Europe. Just recently, footage in Germany emerged of a group of well-dressed young people, sweaters tied over their shoulders, sunglasses on, sipping cocktails while dancing under the setting sun, chanting “Deutschland den Deutschen, Ausländer raus!” (Germany for the Germans, foreigners out!) I wondered if I might stumble upon one of these groups when out one night?
I can’t help but envy the Anglo-Saxon students in my cohort going on exchange. For them, travel warnings take the form of earthquakes or avalanches. For me, as a woman of colour, each country, with its anti-immigrant nationalism and increasingly right-wing governments, brings a new threat of violence.
But do I stop myself from travelling entirely, for fear of how the world is changing?
I am privileged to have protections I can rely on, people I can call if in trouble. So if I remain vigilant, then why can’t I, as a person on the cusp of her 20s with hopes of broadening my horizons, be able to visit the places I’ve dreamt of: nations that saw the birth of the Renaissance or cities that played host to the Reformation and other intellectual movements, propelling advances in literacy, new ways of thinking and acceptance of diverse, unconventional points of view?
I continue to live in hope that Europe stays true to its historic culture of intellectual debate and discussion. Because the alternative would make a terrifying reality for young people of colour like me, as we watch our world pivot to something that feels less safe, not just for a woman of colour like me.
Satara Uthayakumaran is a writer and student at the Australian National University.