Community Leader: “We Deal With At Least One Death of an Indian Every Day Throughout the US”

Concerns have been raised over a number of Indian students passing away in the US. A well-known community leader has said that his organization handles at least one of these terrible cases every day and emphasized the need to raise awareness among Indian immigrants to protect them.

Mohan Nannapaneni, the founder of the volunteer-based nonprofit organization TEAM Aid, told PTI in an interview on Wednesday that although “we deal with at least one death a day across the country and mostly among young students or H-1B employees who have recently immigrated” to the US from India, he was not exaggerating. Non-immigrant visas such as the H-1B permit US employers to hire foreign nationals for specialized jobs requiring advanced technical or theoretical training. Tens of thousands of workers from China and India are hired by IT businesses every year thanks to it.

TEAM Aid is a unique organization whose main goal is to assist Indian community members who are either traveling or residing overseas and encounter difficult circumstances like mishaps, suicides, murders, or the unexpected loss of a loved one. According to Nannapaneni, it is terribly distressing to observe how many Indian kids are “getting into trouble” these days, with some of them tragically losing their lives. However, it’s not new. It has been going on for a long time, if you look at the history, and I have been actively engaged in supporting the community since 2001,” he said.

According to him, there have been horrific cases of Indian students dying in automobile accidents and drowning. He expressed worry about the rising rate of drug usage in the US and the tragic number of Indian students who have died from overdoses and drug abuse. TEAM Aid collaborates with Indian embassies and consulates as well as community organizations to deliver aid, and it has over 3,000 volunteers in the US and approximately 25 other countries.

Nannapaneni stated, “We become their extended family and a bridge between the impacted individuals and families in India.” She went on to say that the organization does “whatever is necessary” to assist families and individuals in coping with dire circumstances, such as assisting with local funerals, helping in hospitals, or assisting with the return of bodies to India. A spate of fatalities involving Indian students in the US over the last few weeks has raised serious concerns.

Vivek Saini, a 25-year-old Indian student, was fatally beaten by a homeless drug addict in Georgia last month. Unknown males viciously assaulted Syed Mazahir Ali, an IT master’s student, close to his Chicago home. This week, Sameer Kamath, a student of Indian descent, was discovered dead in an Indiana forest. According to the authorities, he shot himself in the head and died as a result.

According to Nannapaneni, his organization handles instances of “voluntary and involuntary” fatalities involving Indian students. He expressed his regret at the large number of young students taking their own lives for a variety of causes. He pointed out that while parents pay a hefty price to send their kids to study overseas, the dearth of work prospects stresses out students, leading some of them to take drastic measures like suicide.

There is a lot of pressure on young people who study in the US to stay in the US rather than go back to India, even though studying here does not guarantee an H-1B work visa. Some of these young people even take up odd occupations like working at gas stations or even illegal labor. Nannapaneni made the startling claim that student suicide rates are “just the tip of the iceberg.” Regretfully, these kinds of incidents will become increasingly frequent.

“This needs to stop,” he said, stressing that after finishing their studies in the US, students should be prepared to return to India since there aren’t enough possibilities for everyone. “I advise students not to take on hazardous jobs or put themselves in danger by working illegally.” You’re your parents’ hope, and they have high hopes of you,” he said.

Car accidents, drownings, drug misuse, and mental health problems are among the causes of involuntary fatalities. Unfortunately, drug usage is an issue in America right now. There are many phony medications on the market, and they are killing people. There are few reports of intentional or racially motivated assaults against Indian employees and students, he said.

“There are a lot of second-generation Indian kids here too,” but compared to pupils who are born and raised here, the death rate for students who are arriving from India is greater. “Lack of education and lack of understanding about the society” is the reason behind this. He said that we can surely stop these deaths if this changes.

Nannapaneni emphasizes that students should avoid falling for the scams of “educational consulting agencies,” who provide big guarantees of getting them into American colleges and universities, only for such promises to be hollow or fraudulent, leaving the students all alone. Before spending the hard-earned money of their families to go to the US, students should thoroughly research the universities they want to attend, their qualifications, and their job opportunities.

He said that rather than heedlessly following a trend to seek studies overseas, students should consider the great prospects that exist in India, a country with a developing economy. Prem Bhandari, a community leader and volunteer supporter of TEAM Aid, advised students to register with Indian embassies and consulates in order to stay in regular contact and be called in an emergency.

In order to assist students find the correct jobs, live securely in the nation, and connect with supportive organizations and community leaders, TEAM Aid intends to host webinars. When you go to a foreign country, you must exercise diligence and responsibility. You must use caution, abide by local regulations, and abstain from actions that put your life in danger. Consider your parents’ expectations of you all the time. I want to convey that message to the pupils, Nannapaneni said.