Adam’s Dance with Prejudice (Les Cope)

In the late 1970’s we visited Adelaide with our two children and met up with my brother Robert and his girlfriend, Lyn. Lyn’s family came from Adelaide and she was a lovely outgoing girl with a bubbly personality and good nature. She took us into central Adelaide to the Mall for some shopping and to show us the sights. At the time Melbourne did not have any open areas like this and this was a real treat. Whilst moving through the mall my wife and I suddenly had the feeling we were being studied. Glancing across to our left we saw two young policemen looking intently at us. They did not take their eyes of us, even as I returned their gaze.

Why were they looking at us? Had we done something wrong? Broken a local law perhaps? We commented on this to Lyn whose response was. ‘I hate em. They are always checking me and my mates out and don’t let us alone.’ Lyn was aboriginal and she was clearly irritated by what was an ongoing intrusion into her life.

The policemen continued to stare at us so I returned their gaze. Quietly. This seemed to have little effect and their stare stayed with us as we moved through the mall. Perhaps they were viewing my wife and I with suspicion due to our association with this aboriginal woman? We had not dropped any rubbish. We were not swearing. We were not causing an affray. We were not drunk. We were not causing any mischief.

Why were they continuing to stare? It was beginning to become intimidating. From time to time I returned the stare, deciding to throw it back at them, Perhaps they may come across and talk to us and put us into the picture. I was not concerned, as we were not breaking any laws. From Lyn’s comments I had established that it might have been the fact that we were in her company but it seemed more than that. Then it dawned on me. They were not just staring at Lyn, my wife and myself but also at our two children.

Adam was around six years old and could not walk long distances at this time. He was being pushed in a stroller and clearly had some disability. Perhaps they had not seen a child with a disability before. His sister Tevi was four years old and walking beside him. We had adopted Tevi as a baby from Vietnam and she had arrived in our family from Saigon in the last few weeks of the Vietnam War in 1974.

What a sight we must have presented to these two very young, ignorant South Australian policemen. A group consisting of two parents, an aboriginal woman, a child with a disability and a child from Asia.

Adam and his younger sister Tevi

Ignorance and non-acceptance was not something we had to contend within Victoria at that time as Adam and Tevi had always been accepted by their local community. We had always involved them both in community activities. Five years later Adam enrolled in his local Primary School in an integration pilot scheme supported by the Eastern Region. This scheme was generally supported by most of the school community who saw it as being a positive step forward.

The program was not without its teething problems. In the initial stages Adam needed support with toileting and this was seen as a major issue for the teaching staff. On hearing about the fuss they were making about this and that no one was prepared to provide support, his younger sister Tevi who was also at the school said. ‘I will take him to the toilet if they won’t.’ This issue was finally resolved as his program was established. Prejudice, rules and inflexibility at times in the Education system continued to be issues for Adam for all of his schooling.

At a Primary School public meeting where the integration program was discussed, several parents questioned its worth for Adam and the other children. There were issues at the school at the time, un-related to the integration program that had caused their own children to act out. Looking for answers these parents targeted the integration program. This was seen as a major recent change at the school by these parents. This must be the reason their children were acting out. They suggested the children with disabilities would be better off in settings where staff had proper training. It turned out that the problems had nothing to do with the integration program and were directly related to the school Principal. The prejudice and ignorance of these parents targeted the most vulnerable group whilst looking for answers.

Tevi has had racial prejudice to contend with as well over the years. Though it’s not as public as Adams experience. She is very much an Aussie. It’s always reassuring to hear her say at the age of 34. ‘She’ll be right mate”

© Les Cope