The story of Sandra Laing shows the degree to which discrimination pervaded South African society during the Apartheid. According to the source, Sandra Laing was born into a white family and was taken away because she appeared mixed race (“Skin Deep”). Under the law, the people of South Africa were classified into strict race groups, and each person could only belong to one of them (“Skin Deep”). People of different races were required to use separate public facilities; they were not allowed to have sex, marry, and even live in the same area. Consequently, Sandra Laing faced discrimination and was reclassified as colored, and her family experienced a wide variety of issues stemming from her appearance.
In Australia, Indigenous People also suffered from discrimination. Constant tensions between Aboriginal tribes and white settlers led to racist policies that forced people off their land, restricted their access to public facilities, and imposed other discriminatory regulations. Thus, public policy on race shaped the lives of people in Australia in the same way that South African laws did. However, one significant difference was in the approach to mixed-race children.
While South Africans classified mixed children as colored and separated them from white populations, Australian policy was to remove them from their Aboriginal families and attempt to assimilate them into the white society. This policy had a significant effect on the relationship between Aboriginal and white communities. Moreover, it impacted mixed-race children and their families because children were torn away from their families and forced to grow up in a different environment. Therefore, discriminatory public policies in South Africa and Australia differed in terms of approaches but impacted the lives of people in similar ways.
Work Cited
“Skin Deep: The Story of Sandra Laing.” Films Media Group, 2020. Web.