The Dutch actor Niels van der Laan, who plays on television the leader of the pages of Sinterklaas (San Nicolás), an assistant who responds to the generic name of Zwarte Piet (Pedro el Negro), announced on December 6 the filing of a complaint against the death threats received on social networks for having suggested to priests to buy gifts for their children, in case the saint and his support did not arrive in time.
The festival, equivalent to the Magi or Santa Claus, is celebrated on December 5, even the day before the packages are dropped off in homes. In reality, Van der Laan had concluded in the air that the best thing was to trust the pages, and before the intimidation, he had also discovered his own humor: he said that if he was looking for San Nicolás and El, “he lives in Madrid”, because he is from Spain and where the saint arrives by boat, according to tradition.
The television program is called The San Nicolas Newsletter (Sinterklaasjournaal), and is a series for children which has brought together, since 2001, the adventures and tribulations of the saint and his assistants since his arrival in the Netherlands on November 15. Published in the public channel NTR, in one of the chapters, Van der Laan, who organized the Pedros (Pieten), was looking for alternatives to recovering the missing gifts. At one point he suggested that priests and abusers might buy and hide them for their money. They could all avoid canceling the Feast of San Nicolas. This fragment was brief, then I decided it was best to leave everything in the hands of the pages. Despite himself, social networks were immediately filled with criticism because he was confused by his words towards the little ones, who lost the illusion of an enterprising and special party.
The Dutch comedian in turn presents a show on television, and it was in his own space that he explained this Saturday that “a complaint has been filed and the concrete threat seems to have occurred in the past”. Luego bromeó with the idea that, for some people, it seems that “it is not easy to separate the man from the role he plays”. A song was also sung, making it clear that he Diaries of Saint Nicholas “It’s not made for adults, it’s just for children who still believe in it.” Gouke Moes, Minister of Education, Science and Culture, has privately discussed the situation in recent months with Van der Laan.
Zwarte Piet is probably the most popular character at the San Nicolás festival, because he approaches the children and plays with them. This contrasts with the solemnity of the legendary bishop of Mira (Anatolia, now Türkiye), even though he was responsible for the gifts. However, the paje, who is a servant traditionally dressed as a Moorish, with a black painted face, a wig, red lips and an ear ring, is also a racist stereotype. This is a person presented “as a happy black man, who offends the community of African origin and has arrived at the moment of change”, said, in 2014, the Jamaican historian Verene Shepherd, then advisor to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. A year later, she also advised the Netherlands to change it because its roots in popular culture did not justify discriminatory stereotypes.
In 2014, a group called Kick Out Zwarte Piet (Echa a Zwarte Piet) was formed, which advocates for the demise of the paje because it claims to glorify Dutch colonialism and slavery. One of its founders, artist Quinsy Gario, from Curazao, was arrested in 2011 for disrupting the arrival of San Nicolás. Since then, annual protests and counter-protests have taken place on Mondays by citizens in favor of maintaining the tradition. However, the black man left aside the other colors until he came to the current situation in which he finds himself alone. This is an allusion to the hollín of chimneys for those who supposedly want to leave gifts in homes.
Although the concentrations against Zwarte Piet date back to 2011, the first quejas reseñadas date back to 1927. That year, a black man had to appear before the judge for beating another who at all times called him a page because of his skin color, according to the historic promotional portal Historiek. On the other hand, the first criticism of the character in the media appeared in 1930 in the newspaper De Groene Amsterdammer, where the presence of black people in advertisements for dark products like betún or regaliz was deplored, and where “a black San Nicolás and a white Zwarte Piet” were offered. This year, activists are objecting that in a series of Dutch municipalities – there are 342 in total – they only stain their faces. They continue to protest and send messages to others seeking change.
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