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Horror Easter Weekend: Joburg Family Wins Against ‘Racist’ Bela-Bela Lodge with Refund
The Klein Kariba resort in Bela-Bela has agreed to grant a refund to a black family who claimed that the resort engaged in discriminatory and exclusionary tactics. According to IOL, this decision comes after Mapule Sehlako and her family spent the Easter holidays at the resort. Still, several actions that discriminated against black customers made them feel out of place, leading to their stay being cut short.
Sehlako and her family reported that all signage at the lodge was in Afrikaans and that the presenters offering the activities for kids’ entertainment also spoke in that language. When Sehlako asked about this, the staff informed her the resort was an Afrikaans-preserving facility. This event is not the first time a black family has complained about the lodge. The Star has also received other complaints about the resort, where black people said they didn’t feel welcome.
The newspaper has confirmed that Sehlako will receive a full refund for the three days she had paid for. She had intended to spend the entire Easter weekend at the resort. Still, she left on Good Friday after objecting to racism.
The resort’s management responded to Sehlako’s allegations about the language policies at the resort, claiming that they used at least three languages on the resort. The resort denied having racist policies that excluded black people and argued that they are ready to defend the hard work they do as an organisation to ensure they are inclusive in all aspects of their business, whether within the non- or for-profit areas of their organisation.
The resort stated that several families whose home language wasn’t Afrikaans over the Easter weekend visited Klein-Kariba, and their children participated in and enjoyed activities. Staff presenting the activities and programmes at the resort did so in Afrikaans and English. The resort’s entertainment teams also receive training to assist children of all ages in Afrikaans or English in ensuring they understand the games.
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Picture: Facebook / alma.pretorius.3
