At the age of ten i hadn’t learned or been taught about colour prejudice. My friends at school were my friends and I had no knowledge of different nationalities or skin colour. Stephanie had been brought up in India and the colour of her skin didn’t register with me. If I did think about it, the teachers had told us that her skin was dark because she had been born and brought up in India where the climate was hot. My eyes were opened when I met her father for the first time.
How sad that it was thought necessary to hide the fact that she was a different nationality and that she should be proud of being Indian. Why wasn’t it explained to me that God had made every nationality and loves everyone and that we were all equal? Why are we taught about our differences and not our similarities? Surely things are better now with the coming of so many refugees, though sadly I have heard local refugee Iranians abused. In most classes at schools now there are many different nationalities.
Although we had become good friends, at the age of eleven I changed school and lost touch with Stephan. I can only pray that she was well received as she grew up and that she was able to reach her full potential to be proud of her heritage.