Some of us have experienced queuing up at the post office to get a new passport photo, only to be told that we can't have one because their branch doesn’t offer it.

It's frustrating, sure, but it's not the end of the world – after all, there are other places we can go to get our passport photos taken. But what if those other places refused service to someone because of their race?

That's exactly what happened recently at an Australia Post store in Rundle Mall, Adelaide. Shoppers were left shocked after coming across a sign informing customers they could not take 'Indian' photos at the store.

The sign read: 'Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we, unfortunately, CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!'

They apologised for any 'inconvenience' and told customers needing passports to head to a different location.

'The nearest photo place is Camera House on 120 Grenfell Street. We apologise for the inconvenience.'

There is a sign at the City Cross Australia Post stating that people of Indian descent cannot get their passport photos taken. Credit: Twitter.

However, the simple sign sparked a huge uproar online. Shoppers were confused and outraged by the sign.

Hundreds of users railed at Australia Post on social media, with many of them confused about the 'inconvenience' sign. Some questioned why the sign was even written in the first place.

One person wrote: 'That’s insane, they can’t do that.'

'For the pricing of that sign, they could have fixed the lighting surely?!' said another.

A third questioned: 'So it’s only Indians? Other races with dark complexions OK?'

'How hard is it to change the settings?'

Others thanked the staff of the store for warning them because they didn’t want their photo taken by a racist photographer.

But others jumped to the defence of Australia Post and even reasoned that according to Indian passport regulation, applicants should get a ‘special’ kind of photograph and lighting setup to be approved.

One user vouched and commented: 'It’s likely because the Indian passport office is really finicky about their photo regulations, that’s probably what they meant.'

The notice, according to another man who worked at a 'business that did passport shots' was ridiculous and inappropriate.

'Indian passports require a 51x51mm size which is different to cut/print to Aussie passport shots,' he said.

'They also prefer off-white background colour to pure white like Aus. It’s quite picky and can be annoying for an employee not set up to do it properly and regularly.'

Australia Post has already issued an apology for the unfortunate incident.

'As soon as we were made aware, we immediately removed the sign and have spoken with the team member concerned,' a spokesperson said.

'While the wording of this sign is inexcusable, we understand the Indian Consulate had rejected a number of customers’ passport photos provided by this Post Office. We have reached out to the High Commission of India to understand the issue with the photographs, so we can rectify this urgently.'

They also addressed several concerns raised by the public and highlighted that the company's large majority are culturally diverse.

'It’s especially disappointing given Australia Post prides itself on its commitment to inclusion and diversity both across our workforce and within our communities. We are fully investigating the issue and will take appropriate action,' the spokesperson said.

Key Takeaways

• An Australia Post store recently put up a sign that read: 'Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we, unfortunately, CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!'
• The sign caused outrage on social media, with many people accusing Australia Post of racism.
• Australia Post has apologised for the sign, saying that it was poorly worded and that no offence was intended.

Whether the 'poor wording' on the post was intentional or not, racism is still a very real problem in our society. And while it might not always be as overt as we would like to think, it can still have a profound effect on those who experience it.

What do you think, folks? Was the sign at the passport store racist or was it just badly worded?

 

[Wandiwa]

Badly worded sign, but once you read the article, it all becomes logical. Nothing to do with race.

 

[Maurie7]

Badly worded sign, but once you read the article, it all becomes logical. Nothing to do with race.

Making a mountain out of a molehill, political correctness gone mad once again.

 

[Vet543]

This is Australia NOT India, therefore if the Indian Embassy does not accept our method and requirements for passport photos then why not issue the required photos at the embassy or their agents.
Indian Rules and regulations need to be just that and Australian Regulations should be adhered to.
Again, this is Australian, NOT India, China, Russia or any other foreign state etc. When in Rome etc.
Of Course, Australia Post needs a good overhaul to even think of displaying a sign such as they did.

 

[siameezer]

The sign is worded badly but this is hardly a case of racism as the article goes on to explain. Australia Post could certainly have been more careful in the way they expressed themselves.

 

[Brian Clarke]

Think of the workers at that Post Office. Has anyone been abused by an Indian? Especially women. I used to work on refrigeration equipment in a lot of Indian owned businesses and when they get upset they really get upset one even got violent with me, police had to attend. Ok the sign could have had more info in it, as to the why's. I would say that the staff at that PO was coping abuse when the customer was refused a photo shoot. They don't get paid enough for that.

 

[Januvia1952]

Some of us have experienced queuing up at the post office to get a new passport photo, only to be told that we can't have one because their branch doesn’t offer it.

It's frustrating, sure, but it's not the end of the world – after all, there are other places we can go to get our passport photos taken. But what if those other places refused service to someone because of their race?

That's exactly what happened recently at an Australia Post store in Rundle Mall, Adelaide. Shoppers were left shocked after coming across a sign informing customers they could not take 'Indian' photos at the store.

The sign read: 'Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we, unfortunately, CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!'

They apologised for any 'inconvenience' and told customers needing passports to head to a different location.

'The nearest photo place is Camera House on 120 Grenfell Street. We apologise for the inconvenience.'

There is a sign at the City Cross Australia Post stating that people of Indian descent cannot get their passport photos taken. Credit: Twitter.

However, the simple sign sparked a huge uproar online. Shoppers were confused and outraged by the sign.

Hundreds of users railed at Australia Post on social media, with many of them confused about the 'inconvenience' sign. Some questioned why the sign was even written in the first place.

One person wrote: 'That’s insane, they can’t do that.'

'For the pricing of that sign, they could have fixed the lighting surely?!' said another.

A third questioned: 'So it’s only Indians? Other races with dark complexions OK?'

'How hard is it to change the settings?'

Others thanked the staff of the store for warning them because they didn’t want their photo taken by a racist photographer.

But others jumped to the defence of Australia Post and even reasoned that according to Indian passport regulation, applicants should get a ‘special’ kind of photograph and lighting setup to be approved.

One user vouched and commented: 'It’s likely because the Indian passport office is really finicky about their photo regulations, that’s probably what they meant.'

The notice, according to another man who worked at a 'business that did passport shots' was ridiculous and inappropriate.

'Indian passports require a 51x51mm size which is different to cut/print to Aussie passport shots,' he said.

'They also prefer off-white background colour to pure white like Aus. It’s quite picky and can be annoying for an employee not set up to do it properly and regularly.'

Australia Post has already issued an apology for the unfortunate incident.

'As soon as we were made aware, we immediately removed the sign and have spoken with the team member concerned,' a spokesperson said.

'While the wording of this sign is inexcusable, we understand the Indian Consulate had rejected a number of customers’ passport photos provided by this Post Office. We have reached out to the High Commission of India to understand the issue with the photographs, so we can rectify this urgently.'

They also addressed several concerns raised by the public and highlighted that the company's large majority are culturally diverse.

'It’s especially disappointing given Australia Post prides itself on its commitment to inclusion and diversity both across our workforce and within our communities. We are fully investigating the issue and will take appropriate action,' the spokesperson said.

Key Takeaways

• An Australia Post store recently put up a sign that read: 'Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we, unfortunately, CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!'
• The sign caused outrage on social media, with many people accusing Australia Post of racism.
• Australia Post has apologised for the sign, saying that it was poorly worded and that no offence was intended.

Whether the 'poor wording' on the post was intentional or not, racism is still a very real problem in our society. And while it might not always be as overt as we would like to think, it can still have a profound effect on those who experience it.

What do you think, folks? Was the sign at the passport store racist or was it just badly worded?

Really ? People have nothing better to do ?

 

[Glo72]

Some of us have experienced queuing up at the post office to get a new passport photo, only to be told that we can't have one because their branch doesn’t offer it.

It's frustrating, sure, but it's not the end of the world – after all, there are other places we can go to get our passport photos taken. But what if those other places refused service to someone because of their race?

That's exactly what happened recently at an Australia Post store in Rundle Mall, Adelaide. Shoppers were left shocked after coming across a sign informing customers they could not take 'Indian' photos at the store.

The sign read: 'Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we, unfortunately, CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!'

They apologised for any 'inconvenience' and told customers needing passports to head to a different location.

'The nearest photo place is Camera House on 120 Grenfell Street. We apologise for the inconvenience.'

There is a sign at the City Cross Australia Post stating that people of Indian descent cannot get their passport photos taken. Credit: Twitter.

However, the simple sign sparked a huge uproar online. Shoppers were confused and outraged by the sign.

Hundreds of users railed at Australia Post on social media, with many of them confused about the 'inconvenience' sign. Some questioned why the sign was even written in the first place.

One person wrote: 'That’s insane, they can’t do that.'

'For the pricing of that sign, they could have fixed the lighting surely?!' said another.

A third questioned: 'So it’s only Indians? Other races with dark complexions OK?'

'How hard is it to change the settings?'

Others thanked the staff of the store for warning them because they didn’t want their photo taken by a racist photographer.

But others jumped to the defence of Australia Post and even reasoned that according to Indian passport regulation, applicants should get a ‘special’ kind of photograph and lighting setup to be approved.

One user vouched and commented: 'It’s likely because the Indian passport office is really finicky about their photo regulations, that’s probably what they meant.'

The notice, according to another man who worked at a 'business that did passport shots' was ridiculous and inappropriate.

'Indian passports require a 51x51mm size which is different to cut/print to Aussie passport shots,' he said.

'They also prefer off-white background colour to pure white like Aus. It’s quite picky and can be annoying for an employee not set up to do it properly and regularly.'

Australia Post has already issued an apology for the unfortunate incident.

'As soon as we were made aware, we immediately removed the sign and have spoken with the team member concerned,' a spokesperson said.

'While the wording of this sign is inexcusable, we understand the Indian Consulate had rejected a number of customers’ passport photos provided by this Post Office. We have reached out to the High Commission of India to understand the issue with the photographs, so we can rectify this urgently.'

They also addressed several concerns raised by the public and highlighted that the company's large majority are culturally diverse.

'It’s especially disappointing given Australia Post prides itself on its commitment to inclusion and diversity both across our workforce and within our communities. We are fully investigating the issue and will take appropriate action,' the spokesperson said.

Key Takeaways

• An Australia Post store recently put up a sign that read: 'Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we, unfortunately, CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!'
• The sign caused outrage on social media, with many people accusing Australia Post of racism.
• Australia Post has apologised for the sign, saying that it was poorly worded and that no offence was intended.

Whether the 'poor wording' on the post was intentional or not, racism is still a very real problem in our society. And while it might not always be as overt as we would like to think, it can still have a profound effect on those who experience it.

What do you think, folks? Was the sign at the passport store racist or was it just badly worded?

 

[Glo72]

Personally I think it was badly worded. So many people ready to jump on the racist bandwagon. In hindsight they could have explained why they couldn’t take passport photos of someone of Indian ethnicity. We all learn from mistakes.

 

[Kimba]

Some of us have experienced queuing up at the post office to get a new passport photo, only to be told that we can't have one because their branch doesn’t offer it.

It's frustrating, sure, but it's not the end of the world – after all, there are other places we can go to get our passport photos taken. But what if those other places refused service to someone because of their race?

That's exactly what happened recently at an Australia Post store in Rundle Mall, Adelaide. Shoppers were left shocked after coming across a sign informing customers they could not take 'Indian' photos at the store.

The sign read: 'Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we, unfortunately, CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!'

They apologised for any 'inconvenience' and told customers needing passports to head to a different location.

'The nearest photo place is Camera House on 120 Grenfell Street. We apologise for the inconvenience.'

There is a sign at the City Cross Australia Post stating that people of Indian descent cannot get their passport photos taken. Credit: Twitter.

However, the simple sign sparked a huge uproar online. Shoppers were confused and outraged by the sign.

Hundreds of users railed at Australia Post on social media, with many of them confused about the 'inconvenience' sign. Some questioned why the sign was even written in the first place.

One person wrote: 'That’s insane, they can’t do that.'

'For the pricing of that sign, they could have fixed the lighting surely?!' said another.

A third questioned: 'So it’s only Indians? Other races with dark complexions OK?'

'How hard is it to change the settings?'

Others thanked the staff of the store for warning them because they didn’t want their photo taken by a racist photographer.

But others jumped to the defence of Australia Post and even reasoned that according to Indian passport regulation, applicants should get a ‘special’ kind of photograph and lighting setup to be approved.

One user vouched and commented: 'It’s likely because the Indian passport office is really finicky about their photo regulations, that’s probably what they meant.'

The notice, according to another man who worked at a 'business that did passport shots' was ridiculous and inappropriate.

'Indian passports require a 51x51mm size which is different to cut/print to Aussie passport shots,' he said.

'They also prefer off-white background colour to pure white like Aus. It’s quite picky and can be annoying for an employee not set up to do it properly and regularly.'

Australia Post has already issued an apology for the unfortunate incident.

'As soon as we were made aware, we immediately removed the sign and have spoken with the team member concerned,' a spokesperson said.

'While the wording of this sign is inexcusable, we understand the Indian Consulate had rejected a number of customers’ passport photos provided by this Post Office. We have reached out to the High Commission of India to understand the issue with the photographs, so we can rectify this urgently.'

They also addressed several concerns raised by the public and highlighted that the company's large majority are culturally diverse.

'It’s especially disappointing given Australia Post prides itself on its commitment to inclusion and diversity both across our workforce and within our communities. We are fully investigating the issue and will take appropriate action,' the spokesperson said.

Key Takeaways

• An Australia Post store recently put up a sign that read: 'Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we, unfortunately, CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!'
• The sign caused outrage on social media, with many people accusing Australia Post of racism.
• Australia Post has apologised for the sign, saying that it was poorly worded and that no offence was intended.

Whether the 'poor wording' on the post was intentional or not, racism is still a very real problem in our society. And while it might not always be as overt as we would like to think, it can still have a profound effect on those who experience it.

What do you think, folks? Was the sign at the passport store racist or was it just badly worded?

The US passport office has specific requirements as well. They post a list of places to get a photo done. It is very limited.

 

[jansom50]

Some of us have experienced queuing up at the post office to get a new passport photo, only to be told that we can't have one because their branch doesn’t offer it.

It's frustrating, sure, but it's not the end of the world – after all, there are other places we can go to get our passport photos taken. But what if those other places refused service to someone because of their race?

That's exactly what happened recently at an Australia Post store in Rundle Mall, Adelaide. Shoppers were left shocked after coming across a sign informing customers they could not take 'Indian' photos at the store.

The sign read: 'Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we, unfortunately, CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!'

They apologised for any 'inconvenience' and told customers needing passports to head to a different location.

'The nearest photo place is Camera House on 120 Grenfell Street. We apologise for the inconvenience.'

There is a sign at the City Cross Australia Post stating that people of Indian descent cannot get their passport photos taken. Credit: Twitter.

However, the simple sign sparked a huge uproar online. Shoppers were confused and outraged by the sign.

Hundreds of users railed at Australia Post on social media, with many of them confused about the 'inconvenience' sign. Some questioned why the sign was even written in the first place.

One person wrote: 'That’s insane, they can’t do that.'

'For the pricing of that sign, they could have fixed the lighting surely?!' said another.

A third questioned: 'So it’s only Indians? Other races with dark complexions OK?'

'How hard is it to change the settings?'

Others thanked the staff of the store for warning them because they didn’t want their photo taken by a racist photographer.

But others jumped to the defence of Australia Post and even reasoned that according to Indian passport regulation, applicants should get a ‘special’ kind of photograph and lighting setup to be approved.

One user vouched and commented: 'It’s likely because the Indian passport office is really finicky about their photo regulations, that’s probably what they meant.'

The notice, according to another man who worked at a 'business that did passport shots' was ridiculous and inappropriate.

'Indian passports require a 51x51mm size which is different to cut/print to Aussie passport shots,' he said.

'They also prefer off-white background colour to pure white like Aus. It’s quite picky and can be annoying for an employee not set up to do it properly and regularly.'

Australia Post has already issued an apology for the unfortunate incident.

'As soon as we were made aware, we immediately removed the sign and have spoken with the team member concerned,' a spokesperson said.

'While the wording of this sign is inexcusable, we understand the Indian Consulate had rejected a number of customers’ passport photos provided by this Post Office. We have reached out to the High Commission of India to understand the issue with the photographs, so we can rectify this urgently.'

They also addressed several concerns raised by the public and highlighted that the company's large majority are culturally diverse.

'It’s especially disappointing given Australia Post prides itself on its commitment to inclusion and diversity both across our workforce and within our communities. We are fully investigating the issue and will take appropriate action,' the spokesperson said.

Key Takeaways

• An Australia Post store recently put up a sign that read: 'Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we, unfortunately, CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!'
• The sign caused outrage on social media, with many people accusing Australia Post of racism.
• Australia Post has apologised for the sign, saying that it was poorly worded and that no offence was intended.

Whether the 'poor wording' on the post was intentional or not, racism is still a very real problem in our society. And while it might not always be as overt as we would like to think, it can still have a profound effect on those who experience it.

What do you think, folks? Was the sign at the passport store racist or was it just badly worded?

This also applies when getting a Visa for India - race is not the problem . It is the different requirements of the Indian embassy or the visa office. I gave also had my photo rejected by them and I am Anglo Saxon .
Wording should have been made clearer.

 

[Suzanne rose]

Sign was just badly worded
Should have stated due to the Indian embassy rejecting photos then unfortunately photos of Indian descendants cannot be taken

I would think that this problem would be at all Australia post !.

Why would a person of Indian background be getting an Australian passport done unless they are an Australian citizen which then would be an Australian passport and shouldn't matter to the Indian Government if it's for an Indian passport wouldn't they be doing this through either the Indian Embassy or Indian Government

 

[Ricci]

It's all a storm in a teacup. Maybe the sign could have been worded better but rather be told that you couldn't get a photo taken than to pay for a photo only to have it rejected by the passport issuing office.

 

[DebbieMJ23]

It wasn't r

Some of us have experienced queuing up at the post office to get a new passport photo, only to be told that we can't have one because their branch doesn’t offer it.

It's frustrating, sure, but it's not the end of the world – after all, there are other places we can go to get our passport photos taken. But what if those other places refused service to someone because of their race?

That's exactly what happened recently at an Australia Post store in Rundle Mall, Adelaide. Shoppers were left shocked after coming across a sign informing customers they could not take 'Indian' photos at the store.

The sign read: 'Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we, unfortunately, CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!'

They apologised for any 'inconvenience' and told customers needing passports to head to a different location.

'The nearest photo place is Camera House on 120 Grenfell Street. We apologise for the inconvenience.'

There is a sign at the City Cross Australia Post stating that people of Indian descent cannot get their passport photos taken. Credit: Twitter.

However, the simple sign sparked a huge uproar online. Shoppers were confused and outraged by the sign.

Hundreds of users railed at Australia Post on social media, with many of them confused about the 'inconvenience' sign. Some questioned why the sign was even written in the first place.

One person wrote: 'That’s insane, they can’t do that.'

'For the pricing of that sign, they could have fixed the lighting surely?!' said another.

A third questioned: 'So it’s only Indians? Other races with dark complexions OK?'

'How hard is it to change the settings?'

Others thanked the staff of the store for warning them because they didn’t want their photo taken by a racist photographer.

But others jumped to the defence of Australia Post and even reasoned that according to Indian passport regulation, applicants should get a ‘special’ kind of photograph and lighting setup to be approved.

One user vouched and commented: 'It’s likely because the Indian passport office is really finicky about their photo regulations, that’s probably what they meant.'

The notice, according to another man who worked at a 'business that did passport shots' was ridiculous and inappropriate.

'Indian passports require a 51x51mm size which is different to cut/print to Aussie passport shots,' he said.

'They also prefer off-white background colour to pure white like Aus. It’s quite picky and can be annoying for an employee not set up to do it properly and regularly.'

Australia Post has already issued an apology for the unfortunate incident.

'As soon as we were made aware, we immediately removed the sign and have spoken with the team member concerned,' a spokesperson said.

'While the wording of this sign is inexcusable, we understand the Indian Consulate had rejected a number of customers’ passport photos provided by this Post Office. We have reached out to the High Commission of India to understand the issue with the photographs, so we can rectify this urgently.'

They also addressed several concerns raised by the public and highlighted that the company's large majority are culturally diverse.

'It’s especially disappointing given Australia Post prides itself on its commitment to inclusion and diversity both across our workforce and within our communities. We are fully investigating the issue and will take appropriate action,' the spokesperson said.

Key Takeaways

• An Australia Post store recently put up a sign that read: 'Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we, unfortunately, CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!'
• The sign caused outrage on social media, with many people accusing Australia Post of racism.
• Australia Post has apologised for the sign, saying that it was poorly worded and that no offence was intended.

Whether the 'poor wording' on the post was intentional or not, racism is still a very real problem in our society. And while it might not always be as overt as we would like to think, it can still have a profound effect on those who experience it.

What do you think, folks? Was the sign at the passport store racist or was it just badly worded

 

[DebbieMJ23]

It wasn't racist. Perhaps they could have included a statement regarding the requirements of the Indian passport office so that all the woke customers wouldn’t over react.

 

[Gazman]

Some of us have experienced queuing up at the post office to get a new passport photo, only to be told that we can't have one because their branch doesn’t offer it.

It's frustrating, sure, but it's not the end of the world – after all, there are other places we can go to get our passport photos taken. But what if those other places refused service to someone because of their race?

That's exactly what happened recently at an Australia Post store in Rundle Mall, Adelaide. Shoppers were left shocked after coming across a sign informing customers they could not take 'Indian' photos at the store.

The sign read: 'Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we, unfortunately, CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!'

They apologised for any 'inconvenience' and told customers needing passports to head to a different location.

'The nearest photo place is Camera House on 120 Grenfell Street. We apologise for the inconvenience.'

There is a sign at the City Cross Australia Post stating that people of Indian descent cannot get their passport photos taken. Credit: Twitter.

However, the simple sign sparked a huge uproar online. Shoppers were confused and outraged by the sign.

Hundreds of users railed at Australia Post on social media, with many of them confused about the 'inconvenience' sign. Some questioned why the sign was even written in the first place.

One person wrote: 'That’s insane, they can’t do that.'

'For the pricing of that sign, they could have fixed the lighting surely?!' said another.

A third questioned: 'So it’s only Indians? Other races with dark complexions OK?'

'How hard is it to change the settings?'

Others thanked the staff of the store for warning them because they didn’t want their photo taken by a racist photographer.

But others jumped to the defence of Australia Post and even reasoned that according to Indian passport regulation, applicants should get a ‘special’ kind of photograph and lighting setup to be approved.

One user vouched and commented: 'It’s likely because the Indian passport office is really finicky about their photo regulations, that’s probably what they meant.'

The notice, according to another man who worked at a 'business that did passport shots' was ridiculous and inappropriate.

'Indian passports require a 51x51mm size which is different to cut/print to Aussie passport shots,' he said.

'They also prefer off-white background colour to pure white like Aus. It’s quite picky and can be annoying for an employee not set up to do it properly and regularly.'

Australia Post has already issued an apology for the unfortunate incident.

'As soon as we were made aware, we immediately removed the sign and have spoken with the team member concerned,' a spokesperson said.

'While the wording of this sign is inexcusable, we understand the Indian Consulate had rejected a number of customers’ passport photos provided by this Post Office. We have reached out to the High Commission of India to understand the issue with the photographs, so we can rectify this urgently.'

They also addressed several concerns raised by the public and highlighted that the company's large majority are culturally diverse.

'It’s especially disappointing given Australia Post prides itself on its commitment to inclusion and diversity both across our workforce and within our communities. We are fully investigating the issue and will take appropriate action,' the spokesperson said.

Key Takeaways

• An Australia Post store recently put up a sign that read: 'Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we, unfortunately, CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!'
• The sign caused outrage on social media, with many people accusing Australia Post of racism.
• Australia Post has apologised for the sign, saying that it was poorly worded and that no offence was intended.

Whether the 'poor wording' on the post was intentional or not, racism is still a very real problem in our society. And while it might not always be as overt as we would like to think, it can still have a profound effect on those who experience it.

What do you think, folks? Was the sign at the passport store racist or was it just badly worded?

 

[Gazman]

What a load of garbage, what were they supposed to do?

 

[Capsam]

A badly worded sign, no intent to be racist. If the Indian Government has specific rules re: passport photos then they need to advise their citizens of WHERE they can go to get the correct ones or take them themselves at their embassies…

 

[Alexander]

Some of us have experienced queuing up at the post office to get a new passport photo, only to be told that we can't have one because their branch doesn’t offer it.

It's frustrating, sure, but it's not the end of the world – after all, there are other places we can go to get our passport photos taken. But what if those other places refused service to someone because of their race?

That's exactly what happened recently at an Australia Post store in Rundle Mall, Adelaide. Shoppers were left shocked after coming across a sign informing customers they could not take 'Indian' photos at the store.

The sign read: 'Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we, unfortunately, CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!'

They apologised for any 'inconvenience' and told customers needing passports to head to a different location.

'The nearest photo place is Camera House on 120 Grenfell Street. We apologise for the inconvenience.'

There is a sign at the City Cross Australia Post stating that people of Indian descent cannot get their passport photos taken. Credit: Twitter.

However, the simple sign sparked a huge uproar online. Shoppers were confused and outraged by the sign.

Hundreds of users railed at Australia Post on social media, with many of them confused about the 'inconvenience' sign. Some questioned why the sign was even written in the first place.

One person wrote: 'That’s insane, they can’t do that.'

'For the pricing of that sign, they could have fixed the lighting surely?!' said another.

A third questioned: 'So it’s only Indians? Other races with dark complexions OK?'

'How hard is it to change the settings?'

Others thanked the staff of the store for warning them because they didn’t want their photo taken by a racist photographer.

But others jumped to the defence of Australia Post and even reasoned that according to Indian passport regulation, applicants should get a ‘special’ kind of photograph and lighting setup to be approved.

One user vouched and commented: 'It’s likely because the Indian passport office is really finicky about their photo regulations, that’s probably what they meant.'

The notice, according to another man who worked at a 'business that did passport shots' was ridiculous and inappropriate.

'Indian passports require a 51x51mm size which is different to cut/print to Aussie passport shots,' he said.

'They also prefer off-white background colour to pure white like Aus. It’s quite picky and can be annoying for an employee not set up to do it properly and regularly.'

Australia Post has already issued an apology for the unfortunate incident.

'As soon as we were made aware, we immediately removed the sign and have spoken with the team member concerned,' a spokesperson said.

'While the wording of this sign is inexcusable, we understand the Indian Consulate had rejected a number of customers’ passport photos provided by this Post Office. We have reached out to the High Commission of India to understand the issue with the photographs, so we can rectify this urgently.'

They also addressed several concerns raised by the public and highlighted that the company's large majority are culturally diverse.

'It’s especially disappointing given Australia Post prides itself on its commitment to inclusion and diversity both across our workforce and within our communities. We are fully investigating the issue and will take appropriate action,' the spokesperson said.

Key Takeaways

• An Australia Post store recently put up a sign that read: 'Due to our lighting and quality of photo background, we, unfortunately, CAN NOT take INDIAN photos!'
• The sign caused outrage on social media, with many people accusing Australia Post of racism.
• Australia Post has apologised for the sign, saying that it was poorly worded and that no offence was intended.

Whether the 'poor wording' on the post was intentional or not, racism is still a very real problem in our society. And while it might not always be as overt as we would like to think, it can still have a profound effect on those who experience it.

What do you think, folks? Was the sign at the passport store racist or was it just badly worded?

 

[JayKay]

Maybe it's the Indian Government being racist by not accepting Australian photos?