Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Appalling racism in Australia

A group of Aboriginal women and children were kicked out of a hotel in Alice Springs because of their race:

"When we booked in, the manager, she gave us the keys to the rooms and we went and put our stuff in the rooms.

"We all went outside and the manager came out and told me that we weren't suitable to stay there," Ms Langdon told ABC Radio today.

"They said (it was) because we were Aboriginal. Other customers were making complaints that they were scared of us.

"I felt like I wanted to cry because it made me feel like I wasn't an Australian, like I wasn't wanted there."

It's appalling to see that this sort of thing is still going on in a supposedly civilised democratic country like Australia. And it shows that despite having made a historic apology, they have a long, long way to go.

In case you want to avoid it, the hotel in question is the Alice Haven Backpackers Resort. And if you'd like to let them know what you think of racists, you can email them at info@alicehaven.com.au.

(More on Hoyden About Town)