DISCRIMINATION IN A COUNTRY OF TOLERANCE
BY MMH
As a multicultural country, the Netherlands is proud of its
high level of tolerance and liberal values. As one walks down the streets of the
city of Amsterdam and observes the high diversity of people with about 180
different backgrounds, every individual seems to be welcome. There seems to be
no discrimination at all. However, reading chapters in ‘The Condemnation of
Blackness’ by Khalil Gibran Muhammad made me reconsider this topic. In the
United States in the nineteenth century, blacks were seen as biologically
inferior (Muhammad 2011, 42) and a frequent target of violence, which was even
applauded by the white press (ibid, 59). I realized that even though not as
extreme, these types of ideas still exist, and also in the Netherlands. Similarly,
the black people in the Netherlands have also been linked to criminality.
Moreover, in my high school, there was only one black
boy. Even though he has never been bullied or discriminated as far as I can
tell, I found it remarkable that he
was the only black person in the entire school. This while there are many
blacks living in the Netherlands, especially Surinamese. How did it happen that
this boy was the only one in the entire school? Has this been a result of
discrimination and is the famous Dutch liberal values just something that
appears on the surface? This leads to my main question: To which extent do
blacks in the Netherlands face discrimination? In this blog post I would like
to question the famous tolerance of the Dutch, and gain and provide knowledge
about a side of Dutch society I have never really been thinking of.
Looking at the experiences of African Americans in the
north of the United States, has made me realize that the Surinamese in the Netherlands
face similar experiences. Just as African Americans migrated from the southern
parts of the US to the northern parts following their emancipation, the
Surinamese sought out better economic opportunities following the independence
of Suriname in 1975. The Netherlands has
been seen as the perfect place to migrate to, mainly because of its historic
colonial bonds with Suriname. However, the Surinamese do not always fully
benefit from the advantages of living in an economically rich country as the
Netherlands. In many cases Dutch people see the Surinamese as inferior. For
example, when applying for a job, one has a better chance to get asked for an
interview if their application is signed with a typical Dutch name (for example
Klaas van der Plas), than with a foreign (Surinam) name (for example Abdul
Sewdihal). Maybe even more shocking for many people who are unfamiliar with the
Dutch traditions is our celebration of Sinterklaas on December fifth. Similar to the Santa Claus tradition,
Sinterklaas is a white male with a very long beard, who arrives with his
helpers from Spain on his boat to bring the good Dutch children presents and
candy. His helpers are the so-called ‘Zwarte Pieten’ (Black Petes). As this
name says, these Zwarte Pieten are white males who paint their faces black.
Even though this shocking ‘black face’ tradition did indeed start during the
period of slavery, over the past 150 years Zwarte Piet has been changed to a
part of the Sinterklaas celebration that is widely popular and cannot be
missed. I used to be the happiest girl on earth whenever I met Zwarte Piet, who
showed me his acrobatic tricks, told jokes and gave me candy and presents. I
have never seen Zwarte Piet as unequal or a slave, just as a bringer of joy.
However, I do understand that blacks could perceive it as discrimination. Even though I love the country in which I am
born, have grown up in, and will live in the rest of my life, I think it is important
to realize and criticize the problem of discrimination that is also present in
the Dutch society. The Dutch show a lot of complacency, arrogance and pride
about their liberality and tolerance, but the problem of discrimination towards
blacks is still as big as it is in many other countries. This problem is
something that I will look back at upon my return and something that I hope
people will realize in the future.
This is a fascinating post. Just like you, I grew up in a school district with really only one or two black kids. From my experience, these children never received different treatment, so growing up I never gave much thought to issues of race and discrimination. Your description of the Sinterklaas celebration is especially notable because the "Zwarte Pieten" are while males impersonating black males. This is a twist that seems even more strange than simply a tradition of Zwarte Pieten played by black males because of the idea that they are impersonating the persona of another race. Are black males allowed to play this role as well or is it only a role for whites? Has this tradition been reconsidered and are there plans to alter it? I would be interested to know.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting subject that you have brought up. Living in America as well as being African-American myself, I have only been aware of the struggle in which my people have had to go through throughout the country's history. However, I am becoming increasingly aware of black struggles in international places such as Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and now the Netherlands. Although the country will not likely experience a genocide like my other examples, it is very interesting to me the fact that other countries experience a social hierarchy with blacks farther to the bottom and whites closer to the top. I would agree to the attribution of Suriname being a colony of the Netherlands in the beginning to the fact that its people are looked down upon nowadays. While the whites were born in the mother country, the Surinamese are outsiders who don't belong to the roots of that land. If and when you do return to Amsterdam, I pose this challenge to you. Observe your surroundings even at home with a watchful eye that you wouldn't normally do: listen to the underlining of elder community members' conversations. Do they come off to you as simple and innocent as you heard them as a child, or is there a mindset against Surinamese that you didn't catch before?
ReplyDeleteI think you made a very good point about discrimination still existing in countries at some level of society. It is interesting to see how a seemingly harmless holiday celebration ritual has roots to a discriminatory past. It is also interesting to see how, over the years the image of the Zwarte Pieten has evolved. I wonder if there are people fighting to stop white males from painting their faces black. In the beginning were the Zwarte Pieten, Black slaves? And if they were, what caused the shift to having white males paint their faces black?
ReplyDeleteThis article struck me instantly as being interesting when I read the title. I always presumed the Netherlands as being one of the least discriminatory countries because of all of its racial backgrounds. I like how you showed unbiased opinion when writing your article about the Netherlands. This tradition which began over 150 years ago seems by our standards as racist and wrong, but for people from the country it’s more of a celebration. I don’t think this holiday should be changed because it’s a standing tradition. The people who are painting their faces now are doing it to promote joy to little kids during the holiday season. I’m sure even to older members in the Netherlands if you asked them to look more closely they wouldn't find any racial discrimination but only a tradition that has been passed down for generations. This tradition in the Netherlands is harmless and does not try to promote discrimination to any African Americans. I think for any country to try and begin a tradition like this today especially the U.S.A. it would not be acceptable. We understand the offensive attributes this tradition could have to us because it is a reminder of a regretful past and social discrimination that continues today.
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ReplyDeleteThank you all for replying on my blog post. To answer Sarah's question ('Has this tradition been reconsidered and are there plans to alter it?'): every year again there is a enormous debate around the 'Zwarte Piet' tradition. This year actually, it almost came that far that the whole 'Sinterklaas' celebration got cancelled. The United Nations even got involved! Even though it is true that the idea of 'Zwarte Piet' was coming from black slaves (Answering Urvi's question), and even though we are not proud of this period in history, nowadays he does not reminds to period of slavery. Removing 'Zwarte Piet' because he is black is in the eyes of Dutch people the same as removing Santa Claus's elves because it is discriminating little people. Saying this I just want to emphasize that there is not a single thought about slaves when seeing a 'Zwarte Piet'. Also older members are not looking down on them. As I stated in my blog post, he is just a bringer of joy. Yes, I do believe that it seems to be racism and I agree with Antonio that nowadays it would not be acceptable to begin a tradition like this. But since it has been a tradition for a long time and since children and older members in the Netherlands do not link the Zwarte Pieten to slaves, I think the tradition should remain the way it is.
ReplyDeleteMerel Hermans