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Belgium's Canine Bigot

Nigerian Job Seeker Spurned Due to 'Racist Dog'

A Belgian businessman rejected a Nigerian job applicant because of the color of his skin. But he insisted he wasn't racist -- it was his dog that was the bigot, he said. The labor office in Belgium was not convinced.

Many immigrants living in Europe have come across racism when they go about their daily lives. But one Nigerian man living in Belgium encountered a novel approach to prejudice when applying for a job.

The 53-year-old man had arrived at a wrought-iron business and was immediately confronted by a barking dog, he told the De Standaard newspaper. Before he could even make it through the front gate the Belgian owner turned him away.

The businessman then wrote to the labor office stating that he couldn’t accept the man's application because his own dog was racist. He said there was a risk the dog would bite the man because he was not white.

The labor office wasn't having any of these canine excuses and promptly removed him from the list of potential employers it sends applicants to.

But the Belgian is still pleading innocence. "My dog is racist. Not me," he told De Standaard.

The Nigerian man has lived in Belgium for 32 years and is no stranger to racism when applying for a job. But he said that, although he had been rejected on the basis of his skin color before, other potential employers had been just a bit more subtle about it.

smd/reuters