Joint Battle Against COVID-19 | Overseas Students from the School of Humanities Donate and Contribute to the Battle

The beginning of the year 2020 saw the unexpected arrival of COVID-19 which has continued to affect the lives of many. To win the battle against this epidemic and inherit our good tradition of “when disaster struck, helps came from all sides”, faculty members, students, and alumni from the School of Humanities at SJTU have made contributions and donations by different means to help overcome this crisis. Among them, three overseas students from the school, Sayuri Kobayashi, Ki Ra Park, and Han Mengqi (Hasnae Naoui), donated more than 20,000 RMB to help their “second homeland”.

Sayuri Kobayashi is an overseas student from Japan. She started her college life learning Chinese Language in the School of Humanities in 2015, and after winning the Confucius Institute Scholarship in 2019, she continued her postgraduate study in International Chinese Education here. She chose to study in Shanghai in the beginning because she was interested in Chinese history and culture from Chinese films she had seen. Later, she grew to love China and hoped that more Japanese people could learn know about Chinese culture. She made the initial donation of 20,000 RMB, and sent her best wishes to everyone fighting against the epidemic. “Stay strong, China! Stay strong, Wuhan! May angels in white who fight in the frontline come back safely! People all around the world can defeat the virus together!”

Ki Ra Park from Korea is another overseas student who considers China as her second homeland. Park started studying Chinese in the School of Humanities in 2015 and continued her postgraduate study here in 2019. When asked why she made the donation, Park replied without any hesitation, “Even though I am Korean, I’ve lived in China for a long time. Once I heard the news of the epidemic and messages about the lockdown of Wuhan City, I felt that it was a matter that concerned my teachers and friends, not strangers.” Compared to her experience of 2003’s SARS in Shanghai, she thinks current measures taken by the Chinese government are more intelligent, more scientific, and are highly effective.

Han Mengqi (Hasnae Naoui) is an overseas student from Morocco who is studying at the International Chinese Education Center of the School of Humanities with the Confucius Institute Scholarship. It was the first time that she had left home to such a remote place. However, she did not consider SJTU strange and instead, adapted very quickly. She said, “In spite of the loneliness or unfamiliarity, I feel warmness here. It feels like I come back to my dream home!” She feels lucky and delighted to study in China which she regards as her second homeland. Han also sends her wishes to China, “I’ll always support you all. Stay strong, China. Stay strong, Wuhan. Angels in white, keep fighting! Love you!”

These little bits of fireflies will converge into a starry river. Love from far and wide will overcome the virus together. In this key period of epidemic control and prevention, there are waves of love and donations from faculty members and students of the School of Humanities to contribute to the battle against COVID-19.

Written by Ding Jie and Du Qiuyi

Translated by Li Wenqi

Edited by Jenny Cheng and Zhang Yihan