International doctoral math student Golnaz Bahrami normally plays badminton and volleyball with friends to cope with the loneliness of being away from family in Iran. But social distancing guidelines have made this difficult and U.S. imposed travel bans prevent her from returning home.
“We are trying hard to be accepted in this society, and we’re trying to extend our social circle, trying to find friends,” Bahrami said. “You are here, you are alone, you don’t have your social communications as before. You feel like you cannot go back to your country. It’s kind of having a feeling of deep isolation.”
The coronavirus pandemic has changed daily life for people all over the world, including UO students, but international students are among the most impacted groups within the UO community. COVID-19 has thrown a wrench in travel safety and accessibility, and many international students can’t return home during the pandemic.
Reporting on this article took two weeks of reading government documents plus finding
and interviewing students with news writer Claire Warner.
This piece was the cover story of the print edition published July 27, 2020.