Sydney cafe's coronavirus sign labelled racist
A sign at a Sydney cafe that turned the deadly coronavirus into a joke has been slammed as racist.
The sign at Casanova by Cucina 105 in Liverpool read; “The coronavirus won’t last long because it was made in China!!!”
Speaking to the HuffPost, Asian Australian Alliance founder Erin Chew said the sign “adds to the racism and sinophobia towards Chinese Australians”.
“Most people such as the cafe feel that this is just a joke but they don’t understand the racial backlash which impacts on anyone who is Chinese looking,” he said.
“The focus should be keeping safe and to hope that the coronavirus gets contained as soon as possible but sadly what we have seen is people trying to make this out to be a ‘Chinese virus’ and anyone who looks like us who wears a face mask or coughs or sneezes will get implicated and get racially targeted.”
Following the backlash, the café removed the sign immediately, saying it was put up by a staff member without consent.
“To Everyone, Casanova Café give our sincerest apology for the quote that was posted in our quote board on the 31 January,” the café said in a statement.
“It was not our intention to offend anyone, it was a gross misjudgement on our part , and we understand that it was insensitive and we sincerely apologise. The proprietor was not aware of the contents and was not at the premises on the day due to other family commitments.
“The proprietor was gutted, very shocked and upset when he was informed of the contents of the quote board, particularly as he is of a migrant ethnic background, and employs Asian staff.
“We at Casanova Café stress that we unequivocally reject any form of racism, it should be noted that our business operates in one of the most multicultural areas of Australia and once again sincerely apologise for the offence that we have created especially to the Chinese community Casanova Cafe.”
Sheridan Randall, 4th February 2020
