Australian Apple store accused of racism

“They’re just anxious you might steal something”.

“Why would we steal something?” one of the boys asked the staff member.

By one of the students the video which was recorded was from Maribyrnong College in the southern city of Melbourne, has been viewed nearly 60,000 times after it was posted on Facebook on Tuesday with the caption “simply racism”.

But, The New Daily understands the boys had already been asked to leave the store before the video was filmed.

“These guys are just a bit anxious about the presence in the store; they are just anxious you might steal something”, the Apple employee says.

The six Year 10 students involved in the incident say they were shocked by their treatment.

The video shows the teens – Abdulahi, Gereng, Ese, Mabior, Mohamed, and Petrieaged – were approached by staffers of Highpoint Apple store asking them to leave the store.

“What this tells us as a community is that even though we claim to be multicultural, and we are in many ways, we have a long way to go”.

A senior manager from the Apple store apologized to the students when they returned to the store with their school principal. “I want a public apology”, he said.

In a statement, he said “I’m inclined to agree there was an implicit kind of racist answer that merely generalized an expectation of the way that they’d behave”.

The six boys from Maribyrnong College were denied entry to the store by a staff member and two security guards, the Guardian reported. It is unclear if the staffer will be reprimanded for his actions.

“We want every person who joins our team, every customer visiting our stores or calling for support to feel welcome”.

The spokeswoman cited a quote from CEO Tim Cook that said: “We believe in equality for everyone, regardless of race, age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation”.