Re: Tradition oder Rassismus? Die Niederländer und ihr Schwarzer Peter

“Racism!” yells one side. “Tradition!” retorts the other. In the times of Geert Wilders, Dutch society is more polarised than ever by the centuries-old custom of “Zwarte Piet”, Black Peter. In the neighbouring Netherlands, the arrival of St. Nicholas is a tremendous spectacle, year after year. And from time immemorial “Sinterklaas” has been accompanied by a host of very special Christmas elves: up to 600 white Dutch men and women mutate into “Zwarte Piets”, with blackened faces, their lips dyed red and wearing afro wigs. The job of Sinterklaas’s assistants is to clown around, dance in colourful baggy trousers, and hand out chocolate to the crowds.

For dark-skinned people, such “blackfacing” is a provocation. It reminds them painfully of the times of slavery and of the perfidious image of the “foolish servant of the white master,” which was cultivated by the colonial rulers of the 17th and 18th century. This is why Europe’s black community has been demonstrating for years to have this tradition abolished. The Berlin student Foloshadé Ajaj says, “For people of colour, this is extremely discriminating!” She is attending the rally for the second time this year. In past years, there have increasingly been riots during the pre-Christmas processions – even the UN is calling for an end to the processions in their current form.