A conversation between a Nigerian YouTuber and a French woman about safety in India has sparked mixed reactions on social media. In a video, the French woman who relocated to India called the country safer than France, adding that foreigners often don’t realise the truth due to the various stereotypes.
A French woman who relocated to India two years ago. (YouTube/Pascal Olaleye)
“She Left France for India… here’s why,” YouTuber Pascal Olaleye, who shifted to India three years ago and now runs a business with his friends, wrote on Instagram.
In a YouTube post, Olaleye shared that the woman, a teacher by profession, has been living in India for the past two years.
In the YouTube video, she shared what being a foreigner in India is like. During the conversation, she mentioned that she was in Rajkot, Gujarat.
She shares that she likes India but would not stay forever. She plans to move after some time, adding that she doesn’t want to be bound by geography.
At one point, Olaleye asks her about misconceptions foreigners have about India. The woman says that people in France think India is unsafe, adding that it is not. Olaleye then asks, “Are you saying France is not as safe as India? India is safer than France?” The woman replies, “Yes.”
However, she also shares that she has a love-hate relationship with India, citing some of the instances she faced in her daily life. She says that the reason she loves India sometimes also becomes the reason she hates it.
What did social media say?
The video sparked varied reactions on social media. While some agreed with the woman, others labelled her as delusional.
An individual commented, “I’m fine in India. Safer than Canada.” Another remarked, “As an Indian living in France, I don’t agree with her. Yes, incidents like pickpocketing, snatching etc are very common in France and can happen even in a crowded place in broad daylight but that’s nothing as compared to the eve teasing incidents, being touched inappropriately publicly, people staring at you all the time, moral polices everywhere judging and telling you what to do, that constant fear is no way comparable to anything. I love my country but the truth is the truth.”
A third remarked, “It’s not absolutely true. It depends on who you meet and who you have to deal with!” A fourth wrote, “As an Indian American, the whole ‘India is unsafe’ is definitely not solely a French thing. Seems trendy these days to stereotype and demonise India as such.