by Young Soo Shim

Blame my lack of heart or whatever you say. I am not the type of person who would mourn the death of a stranger. But recently I had to spend several days and nights thinking about the suicide of a total stranger, a 20-year-old Korean woman whom I’d never heard of until a few weeks ago when I read a newspaper story about her death.

What has made me feel so sorry about her suicide was the motive of her taking her own life at such a tender age. A Cornell University sophomore, she committed suicide after finding out that her parents were agonizing over the financial support of her study in the United States because her country’s currency has lost its value against the U.S. dollar nearly 100 percent in two months.

Advertisement

The Asian financial crisis blasting the three Asian countries South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia may look to many Americans like a fire across the river which is unworthy of even a moment’s concern. But to many international students from the region, the crisis has become a life-or-death matter as was the case with the 20-year-old Korean woman.

Across the United States, thousands of Korean students already have made less extreme yet difficult decisions:to quit study and return home. So many Korean students rushed home in the first two months that a Korean airline had to operate dozens of charter flights from major U.S. cities to Seoul, according to news reports from Korea.

It may be the beginning of an exodus. Many other Korean students staying in the United States aren’t sure that they can stay here until graduation. With hundreds of businesses going down every day in their countries, the students know too well their family members can lose a job anytime and become unable to send them anymore money.

Some American schools reportedly have begun to extend helping hands to the international students from the region hit by the crisis by extending tuition and fee payment deadlines, arranging loans and by giving them preferential consideration in selection of campus financial aid.

Many students at SIUC from the region are looking to the school to take similar steps and to show that SIUC really cares about them. Extension of tuition payment deadlines or partial exemption, if possible, would be a great relief to them. There may be other ways to help them out, but only if the school is willing to do so. If SIUC is already planning anything to help the students, I hope it would be substantial. Of course, anything is better than nothing. The number of SIUC students from the three nations stood at 255 last fall.

The crisis will not last long. Once it is over, the students will no longer need any more help. But they will forever remember what the school has done for them when they were in trouble, and they will try to return the gratitude by any means.

Isn’t there a saying that one who helps a friend in need is a real friend? They are in real need and are desperately waiting for a helping hand.

Advertisement*