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| Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu |
Taxi driver refuses to pick up singer Gurrumul
"A Melbourne taxi driver has been accused of being
racist for refusing to pick up award-winning Indigenous singer Geoffrey
Gurrumul Yunupingu.
The blind performer had finished a concert
at the Palais Theatre in St Kilda last night and was guided to a taxi
waiting at the side stage door. Mr Yunupingu's manager, Mark Grose, says the driver looked at the singer, said "no", then locked his car and drove off.
"I'm not kidding. I was absolutely gobsmacked," Mr Grose told ABC local radio.
"He refused to take the fare for whatever reason. It's a mystery, but there's only one reason I can think of.
"Well he just looked at the colour of his skin and said 'that's it, I'm not taking him'. There's no other explanation."
Mr Grose says he was doubly shocked when he realised the driver was either Indian or Pakistani.
He says it is not the first time this type of thing has happened ".
I wrote about seeing Gurrumul play at Byron Bay Bluesfest here -
Very sad if what happened is at it seems. I think sometimes it's not necessarily the colour of the skin but the differing races that can cause problems - though it shouldn't, of course.
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