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Speaker 1: Well, as you have heard on the show this morning,

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Speaker 1: we know that a service was held yesterday for Charles

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Speaker 1: Darwin University student Ishfaqwa Rockman, also known as Safat, following

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Speaker 1: on from his alleged murder and a violent home invasion

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Speaker 1: last week. Now, the tragic loss of life has left students,

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Speaker 1: staff and the broader community shaken. Joining me on the

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Speaker 1: line to give us a bit of an update on

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Speaker 1: how the student community are going at this point is

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Speaker 1: Scott Bowman, who is indeed Charles Darwin University's Vice chancellor.

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Speaker 1: Good morning to you, professor.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: How are you and the staff and students holding up

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Speaker 1: at this point?

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Speaker 2: Oh? Look, it was an incredibly traumatic week last week

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Speaker 2: and as you just said, yesterday there were prayers and

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Speaker 2: a funeral sem ceremony at the mosque, so it was

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Speaker 2: really tough. I think the students that we're most worried

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Speaker 2: about are that's housemates that were there at the time

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Speaker 2: and found him. You know, they are really traumatized, but

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Speaker 2: we're doing everything we can to help them, and then

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Speaker 2: it kind of ripples out people that new see Fadda.

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Speaker 2: But really the whole student body is pretty shaken up

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Speaker 2: and as you know, Okadi, we're a small university and

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Speaker 2: you know, everyone knows everyone else, so the staff, you know,

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Speaker 2: know the students by name, and you know, it's really

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Speaker 2: shaken them as well.

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Speaker 1: I think it's shaken the whole community, the whole of Darwin.

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Speaker 1: I think that you know, everybody is just reflecting today

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Speaker 1: and following on from what happened last week and thinking,

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Speaker 1: you know, how can this young man's how are this

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Speaker 1: young man's parents coping? How are his housemates coping over

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Speaker 1: something that is just so such senseless, unnecessary violence.

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Speaker 2: I think you're right, and that's why, you know, everyone's

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Speaker 2: kind of grips. I've been around international education for over

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Speaker 2: thirty years and you know, very sadly, we have had

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Speaker 2: students that have died while they've been in Australian universes

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Speaker 2: from overseas. I've dealt with some car accidents and a

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Speaker 2: young guy falling down the waterfall and a drowning, and

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Speaker 2: they were terrible. But this is, I don't know, this

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Speaker 2: feels very different. You know, this guy was asleep in

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Speaker 2: his own bed, attacked in his bed, and I think

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Speaker 2: we can all relate. That's when you're at the most

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Speaker 2: vulnerable but also when you think you're at your safest

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Speaker 2: in your bed, you know, that's terrible. And then last week,

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Speaker 2: the more we were hearing about this young man, the

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Speaker 2: more tragedy he got. Is his parents. He's an only child.

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Speaker 2: His parents had him quite laid in life, and they

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Speaker 2: weren't well enough. His father had just had open answers

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Speaker 2: he so could and returned get over to Australia in time.

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Speaker 2: So yeah, it just seems yeah, it really has shaken everyone.

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Speaker 1: It truly has. And Scott, I know that you and

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Speaker 1: you know, former students, former international students at charles Dale

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Speaker 1: and University and staff at the university. I've been fortunate

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Speaker 1: to you know, to MC for the UNI at different

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Speaker 1: times some wonderful events for fundraising for international students and

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Speaker 1: really you know, had gained a better understanding of how

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Speaker 1: wonderful so many of them have found it to study

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Speaker 1: at charles Dale and University. So to think that something

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Speaker 1: like this could happen, I'm assuming that everybody is not

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Speaker 1: only heartbroken, but wondering how you sort of go about

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Speaker 1: recovering to be able to continue to do that, to

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Speaker 1: try to entice people to come to the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, that's an issue, but I just but what

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Speaker 2: you're saying is quite creat I mean we often talk

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Speaker 2: about international students as a group and we talk about

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Speaker 2: how we're going to increase their international students in Darwin.

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Speaker 2: But you know, they're not a group. They're individuals. You know,

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Speaker 2: trap any international student on the shoulder and have a

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Speaker 2: five minute conversation and you just find out these are

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Speaker 2: incredible people. They're people that have got on a plane,

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Speaker 2: traveled to the different side of the planet to study

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Speaker 2: in the language which isn't their first language, to come

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Speaker 2: into a completely different culture, and they've got all the

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Speaker 2: hopes and dreams of young people that young people do.

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Speaker 2: That they're incredible people and I know that you've met

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Speaker 2: many of them. So yeah, look it does make it hard,

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Speaker 2: but look, I still think Australia has got a lot

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Speaker 2: to offer international students and I think the Northern Territory

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Speaker 2: and Charles Darwin, you know, can offer students absolutely incredible experience.

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Speaker 2: We've got to do something about safety, you know, we're

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Speaker 2: looking at what we can do in the university to

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Speaker 2: improve safety. And you know, although there's a fundraising and

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Speaker 2: we're raising funds for a scholarship or whatever. The legacy

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Speaker 2: of this young man's see, perhaps death has got to

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Speaker 2: be more safety for not just students, but for everyone

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Speaker 2: really in the territory.

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Speaker 1: I think you're spot on, Scott. Tell me what support

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Speaker 1: is being offered to his housemates and the other international

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Speaker 1: students at this point in time, who I've no doubt

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Speaker 1: are feeling really shaken.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, So for those three guys that are incredibly traumatized,

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Speaker 2: we've moved them into accommodation on the campus, so they're

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Speaker 2: in International House, and the staff down at International House

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Speaker 2: are really keeping a close eye on them. But we

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Speaker 2: are also giving them support from our counsel and staff,

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Speaker 2: and you know, the community. We saw the worst of

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Speaker 2: what could happen last week, but we also saw the best.

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Speaker 2: The community has reached out, you know, the hospital, the

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Speaker 2: psychiatrists and psychologists and grief counselors at the hospital have

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Speaker 2: reached out, and so we really put in a lot

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Speaker 2: of support from them. The police have been fantastic. They've

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Speaker 2: really helped where they can, and I think the acting

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Speaker 2: police commissioner is coming in this afternoon to talk to

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Speaker 2: all of the students. While I'm talking to you, I

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Speaker 2: just want to shout out for the staff at the hospital.

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Speaker 2: I mean, you know, they were just incredible, the ITU staff,

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Speaker 2: but you know, the wardsman, everyone was incredible.

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Speaker 1: Yeah they are. I mean they are truly amazing. And

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Speaker 1: I know that there is a lot of them that

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Speaker 1: do listen to the show up there in the in

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Speaker 1: the wards in different areas as well, so I know

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Speaker 1: that they'll appreciate that. Tell me, I want to ask,

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Speaker 1: and I touched on this a moment ago, but do

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Speaker 1: you believe that it is still safe for international students

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Speaker 1: to come here to Darwin as we stand right now.

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Speaker 2: Look, it's a really difficult question because if you have

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Speaker 2: a look at you know, statistically, I can say yes,

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Speaker 2: it's safe, because if you're compare to go into other places,

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Speaker 2: you know, to the United States or some European countries,

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Speaker 2: we are statistically safe. But statistics count for nothing when

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Speaker 2: you're when you're looking at a coffin and Okay, this

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Speaker 2: was a very unusual situation. It was a terrible thing,

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Speaker 2: you know, so it's very difficult to say last week

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Speaker 2: that this was a safe place to come. I think

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Speaker 2: we have got to do a lot, you know. I

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Speaker 2: was in Bangladesh five weeks ago telling people to come

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Speaker 2: to the territory because it was safe. I think over

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Speaker 2: the next few weeks we're going to have to do

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Speaker 2: a lot of things, both within the university and in

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Speaker 2: the wider community so that I can go there again

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Speaker 2: and really put hand on heart and say it is safe.

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Speaker 1: I think you're right now, just before I'll let you

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Speaker 1: go this morning, can you can you tell me as well?

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Speaker 1: Have we got a situation where any of our international

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Speaker 1: students at this point, or any of our students have

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Speaker 1: decided that they do want to pack up and leave

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Speaker 1: following on from what's happened.

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Speaker 2: Look, I haven't heard any of them saying that they

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Speaker 2: want to leave at the stage, but a lot of

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Speaker 2: a lot of them are worried and scared. I know.

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Speaker 2: I'm hearing reports that some of them are trying not

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Speaker 2: to tell their parents about this because they don't want

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Speaker 2: their parents to worry. It's probably too early to say, yeah,

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Speaker 2: I've got no one sort of saying that they're leaving

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Speaker 2: at the moment, But you know, if people are really

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Speaker 2: really scared, then we will have to support them with

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Speaker 2: whatever they want to do. Look, I think I mean it. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: I don't know what's going on, Katie. I mean, you

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Speaker 2: can't imagine this, can you know what you're saying?

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and Scott, you know that's that's the thing, you know,

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Speaker 1: from a real human perspective, and you know as a

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Speaker 1: mum my kids are much younger. But I just it's

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Speaker 1: utterly heartbreaking, you know what's going on. It's utterly heartbreaking

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Speaker 1: for the whole community, for Charles Dale and University, for

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Speaker 1: the international students and his family, and for those for

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Speaker 1: the other blokes living in the house. I just I

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Speaker 1: can't imagine and how you're all feeling at this point

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Speaker 1: out there at UNI, because you just would not have

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Speaker 1: thought that something like this was ever going to happen.

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Speaker 2: No, I mean, it's just beyond most people's comprehension. And yeah,

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Speaker 2: those are the three guys are the ones that we're

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Speaker 2: kind of worried about because you know, they came back

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Speaker 2: and found him and then tried to get him to

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Speaker 2: the hospital. I mean, the one thing I will say

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Speaker 2: that they the moment Sif was allegedly attacked, he was

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Speaker 2: surrounded by love, you know, first of all from those

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Speaker 2: people you know that lived with him, and then by

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Speaker 2: the time I got to the hospital, you know, the

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Speaker 2: place was full of the Bangladesh Student Association had been incredible.

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Speaker 2: They were there. I was at the hospital, you know,

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Speaker 2: three o'clock in the morning and they were still students there. So,

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Speaker 2: you know, the one thing I could reassure his family

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Speaker 2: was that he was surrounded by love, you know, and

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Speaker 2: you know even yesterday at the mosque, at the funeral,

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Speaker 2: you know. So you know, I don't know whether that

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Speaker 2: gets anyone any comfort, but we did see the absolute

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Speaker 2: best of Dart within Mars week. I mean, I've got

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Speaker 2: I can show you lots of text messages, phone messages,

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Speaker 2: people just ringing in who really have very little to

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Speaker 2: have anything to do with the anythaying can I do anything?

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Speaker 2: Because I cook some food for the family. What can

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Speaker 2: I do? You know?

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Speaker 1: So I just want to help.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, the place does pull together.

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Speaker 1: It really does. It truly does. Scott. I'm going to

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Speaker 1: have to go, but I do just want to ask

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Speaker 1: you very quickly. I know that there has been a

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Speaker 1: fundraiser set up. Is there somewhere where people can find

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Speaker 1: that detail if they do want to make a donation

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Speaker 1: or anything like that?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, does Google CDU go to our web page.

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Speaker 2: It's on the front of the web page. We're working

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Speaker 2: with the Bangladesh community and his family to see what

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Speaker 2: they want to do with that, so we're doing that.

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Speaker 2: There is a concert the Bangladeshi Association of organize a

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Speaker 2: concert for sanity, so there's a lot going on.

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Speaker 1: I really appreciate your time this morning, Charles Owen University

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Speaker 1: Vice Chancellor, Professor Scott Bowman, thank you very much for

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Speaker 1: having a chat with us. And we are thinking of

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Speaker 1: everybody out at the university, particularly those students, and yeah,

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Speaker 1: let us know if there's anything that we can do

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Speaker 1: in any way. But I appreciate you having a chat

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Speaker 1: with us today.

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Speaker 2: Katie, thank you very much, and thank you for the

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Speaker 2: whole Darwin community for reaching out and being so supportive.

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Speaker 1: Thank you, Yeah, thank you,