Platform : Foreign Students: ‘My Home Country Is Safer Than L.A.’

The slayings of two Japanese college students in San Pedro has set off an international furor. We asked the following foreign exchange students if they think their home country is safer than America, particularly Los Angeles and Southern California.

WU HAI-YUN

From Taiwan, graduate student in management information systems, West Coast University, Orange County

I feel Southern California is safer than Taiwan, unfortunately. The Taiwanese are living through some political changes, so a lot of things are uncertain and due to that uncertainty there is a lot of crime.

No, (I haven’t been a victim of crime in either place), but I remember the first time I came to Los Angeles, just to get familiar with my environment, and some people driving (by) in a car, stopped, asked me about my name and whether I wanted to get married or not. (It was) kind of strange. Living in Southern California, one thing that really worries me is people legally holding guns. But other than that, as long as I go back home early and don’t hang around with strangers, basically I feel it’s safer here.

NELSON LODE

From Brazil, sophomore in industrial engineering at USC

Here it’s just like Sao Paulo: There are places where you can go and there are places where you can’t. Things like carjacking happen. You just have to be aware of the stuff and where you are.

I got a little worried after I heard about the Japanese students because my car is the same make. I have friends who have had some problems like wallets stolen on the bus. But they never had an experience like that.

NEMIRA MACHIANSKIENE

From Lithuania, graduate student in education at Cal State Northridge

I think Lithuania is a bit safer. We feel safer, maybe because we are a smaller country. You can walk freely to the shops and movie theaters at night and you are sure that no one will shoot at you without any reason. They may steal something from you; there are a lot of pickpockets, but not (killings). I think that the cruelty that’s shown on TV has something to do with the cruelty of people, especially children. They see cruelty in TV movies and see death as fun, so they seek the same “fun” in real life.

MICHAEL MILLER

From Jamaica, graduate student in religion at Claremont Graduate School

I grew up in rural Jamaica, which had very little crime. People looked out for each other quite a bit. As with everywhere else though, crime is on the increase in my own country. And crime with the gun is also on the increase there, especially in Kingston. But there are crimes like the hijacking of cars in L.A. that I don’t recall hearing of when I was at home. I live in Claremont and Claremont is fairly peaceful. I have not come close to being violently victimized. But we hear from Pomona and other places of a lot of violent things. About the city of Los Angeles you hear these things and it sounds dangerous. But I know people who live in the city and don’t feel extreme fear.

MONIKA BARTESCH

From Germany, sophomore in English literature at Occidental College

I must say I feel safe here; but I won’t go out in the evening by myself because people have told me that it’s very dangerous. In Germany it’s probably not as dangerous, but after the unification, violence is increasing there too.

TAUSEEF KAZI

From Pakistan, graduate student in computer engineering at USC

As far as L.A. is concerned, especially the region where I live --Downtown--it is definitely not safer than Karachi. There is no place in Karachi that I know of where you cannot go at night, where you cannot leave your car without an attendant. It will still be there when you come back. But there are places here where you can’t go at night.

On the other hand the police here are much more efficient than we have back home. You can call the police and they come to your help pretty quickly.

JAMES LIN

From China, in MBA program at Cal State Northridge

Compared to Los Angeles, my country is safer. The lifestyle there is simpler. Usually, we go to work and go back home. We don’t have that much outside activity. It’s very family oriented.

I’ve been a crime victim here twice. The first time when I was working in a small shop at night and somebody came in and asked me to open the register. I was about to give him the money--it’s not as important as your life--but I was so shocked my reaction was probably a little bit slower than what he expected so he grabbed me and tried to pull me over the counter. Mentally, I got scared and I was physically injured. The second time, I parked my car near the campus and somebody tried to steal it. I’ve been here more than two years and I’m being more cautious when I go out.

ARTHUR TABUENA

From the Philippines, MBA student in finance at Claremont Graduate School

Definitely, I feel safer back home because I know the safe places and I know the places I should avoid. If I’m in California as a tourist maybe it would help to be a little more picky about the places that I would want to visit. Maybe before you come to Southern California you could read more about it and learn the do’s and don’ts. Newspapers could probably give you an initial perception of what’s happening, but take another step: Ask the travel agencies or whatever.

SOENKE ZEHLE

From Germany, junior studying English literature at Occidental College

I don’t feel unsafe in either place. One thing I’ve noticed is that the differences between neighborhoods are not as extreme in Germany as they are here. We don’t really have distinct neighborhoods and the inner cities are kind of what the suburbs are here so that never really posed a problem.

I explored Los Angeles by bike last summer and I love to go to the beach by bike and that never turned out to be a problem either. So I was taken by surprise by the news about the Japanese students because I never felt that threatened by the city.

What is unsettling, of course, is that even on campus the level of security is relatively high. There’s a lot of stuff that always seems to happen other people, but never to me and the people I know.

I read about things and hear about things; but they don’t seem to match with what I experience myself. The feeling of security (or lack of it) doesn’t really correspond with the actual situation.