Apples iPhone Arrives In Australia (Photo : Getty Images)
A black protest is expected to grow further in Australia aimed at Apple Store after an employee of the tech giant in a Melbourne outlet asked black teens to leave the store. The reason is fear that the teens would filch a gadget.
The Apple Store involved was at the Highpoint Shopping Centre. Mashable named the six as Petrie Mabior, Mohamed, Ese, Adbulahi and Gereng. Aged 15 and 16, they were originally from Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria, Eritrea and Egypt, but migrated to Australia when they were young kids.
Associated Press reports that the staffer was heard on Tuesday telling the black youth, "These guys are just a bit worried about your presence in our store. They're just worried you might steal something."
A teen shot back, "Why would we steal something?" But the employee replied, "End of discussion. I need to ask you to leave our store.
A video of the incident was posted on Facebook by one of the six teens ejected by the store which he captioned, "Simply Racism." It showed a man wearing an Apple T-shirt and a security guard asking them to leave the store.
Nick Scott, principal of the nearby Maribyrnong College where the six teens are 10th grade students, said they did nothing to be sent out of the store. Scott believes the kids were discriminated because of their skin color.
He emphasizes that the students were just doing what other teens do at an Apple store which is "fawning over really cool devices, playing with them, taking photos of each other." The principal insists the kids were just behaving like other youth at that time.
Ese adds, "It was just really offensive when he said 'we were afraid you are going to steal something.' It was shocking; it was racism ... He didn't even give us a chance."
Scott called the store and spoke to the manager. The store manager apologized to them the next day and said the black students are welcome to the Apple store.
However, Ese and Mohamed want a public apology. "It was the only time in my life I have felt this way, and I'm shocked," says Mohamed.
