Black Pete, the controversial helper of Saint Nicholas is dividing Belgium and the Netherlands as they question if it’s a figure of racism.
As a person of dual citizenship my life differs to most of my very British classmates.
I was born in Leuven which is located in Flanders, the Flemish speaking land. Living in Belgium is advantageous as you are influenced by the Netherlands, Germany and France( and that is why we have three official languages) and although I love my country I cannot deny that racism is so occurrent in Western Europe.
When I was 4-5 years old I remember being encouraged to chase men dressed as elves, covered in soot. These elves would give you sweets or gifts if you caught them. The capturing itself reminds me of slavery as in fact Black Pete was Santa’s slave.
So what are the origins of Black Pete you might be asking?
Black Pete comes from the Netherlands in Dutch his name would be ‘Zwarte Piete’. The character was a white man who had his skin painted black because of the soot of the chimneys.
Black Pete is problematic as the figure essentially promotes black face.
They say Black Pete is White but why does have have exaggerated lips and sometimes wears a wig that looks like African type hair, which are both stereotypically associated with black people.
The stories that people tell is to not challenge the racism in their favourite childhood tradition. The truth is Black Pete’s character comes from the 19th century book by Jan Schenkman ‘Sint Nikolaas en zijn knecht’ which essentially means Saint Nicholas and his servant.
Servant depicts the idea that Black Pete is Saint Nick’s paid help but the truth is the author was inspired by the Dutch royal family at the time which had kept slaves , one of them was from Cairo. It is that specific slave that inspired the creation of Black Pete.
The Netherlands and Belgium are divided but it is disheartening to understand that politicians are in support of adhering to racist traditions even the Dutch Prime Minister labelled the character as ‘not racist but possibly harmful’ whereas I believe it could easily be both.
Not everyone will agree with me as some politicians fight to keep their Black Pete as Black Pete is detrimental to the Dutch traditions and so they protest ‘Zwarte Piet Matters’.
Nevertheless, hope still remains as every stand against the figure Black Piet motivates change in Europe, getting rid of racist characters that should remain buried in our past.