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This Is How Panic-Stricken African Students In Greater Noida Helped Each Other Amid Crisis

Several African students have been attacked this week in Greater Noida.
Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Amid panic over attacks on students from African countries, it is the African community in India that has come out to help each other in the time of crisis.

On Wednesday morning several individuals and group pages shared a message informing the students that free food and water would be delivered at the door steps of students who had been asked to stay indoors in the wake of the attacks that saw several people injured.

While the Uttar Pradesh government promised protection to the students, The Indian Express reports, it was Zaharaddeen Muhammad along Bukola Samuel and Abdul Brahim who strategised on the technicalities of delivering food while waiting in the Kailash Hospital where fellow student Kenyan student Maria Burendi was being treated after an attack by a group of men.

Muhammad, Samuel and Brahim are all from Nigeria. Muhammad told the newspaper, "Back home, I was a student activist and when I came to India, I noticed it was necessary to be involved in some form of association since things were going really wrong. Everyday, we hear or read things that Indians say about us. That we 'eat humans' or 'eat dogs'. We cannot let this happen."

Meanwhile, India Today reported that a press statement from the Association of African Students in India as saying that they would take up the issue of the attacks with the global media and the African Union.

The report quoted the statement as saying that they would " "write to the African Union (AU) - a conglomerate of 55 countries including South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Zimbabwe, etc. - to cut off all terms and business relations with India."

Meanwhile Amnesty International has called for justice for the students who have been at the receiving end of these hate crimes.

Another report in the The Indian Express quoted Makepeace Sitlhou, Campaigner at Amnesty International India, as saying, ""The recent attacks in Uttar Pradesh show how black people in India – particularly African students – continue to face racist discrimination and violence. Many of those injured were targeted merely because of the colour of their skin. These are hate crimes, and authorities need to ensure that those responsible are punished."

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.