The much-respected Professor Mary Beard says she faced a “torrent of insults” for pointing out that Britain under the Roman Empire was ethnically diverse. And the Netherlands is not alone of course. The Dutch Freedom Party’s Geert Wilders wants a bill that would enshrine Black Pete in law as a way to “protect” Dutch culture.
#A tad of christmas cheer skin#
And that, as highlighted by a new report on immigrants and minorities by the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (*), too many Europeans feel discriminated against because of their ethnic or immigrant background, with almost half of those interviewed saying that they believed that discrimination – when looking for work, housing, in shops or on public transport ‒ was due to their skin colour or physical appearance.įar Right groups have jumped on Black Pete with glee. Lost in the brouhaha is the fact that black and brown Dutch children are confronted with Black Pete insults, racist bullying and negative stereotypes. Others, including the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, are angry over a United Nations recommendation that the Netherlands “actively promote the elimination” of the racist character and his inclusion in festivals. Many Dutch people tell me that they genuinely did not realise that “Black Pete” could be viewed as racist. Many are genuinely worried about seeing their old way of life fall by the way side. True, not everyone clinging to a white Christmas or Black Pete is a racist or an Islamophobe. “Unity in diversity” may be the EU motto but its translation into reality – especially when that reality includes other religions and “people of colour” – isn’t easy. Diversity is a fact of life but it does bring challenges of living and working together. Yes, Mr Orban, one can be black, secular, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist and European.Īlso, of course, change is complicated and can be difficult.
People don’t just see life in black and white. The only problem is that life in the 21st Century is a tad more complicated. Let’s call it the “Geert Wilders/Marine Le Pen and Viktor Orban doctrine” of exclusion and discrimination. If not, before you know it, it will be “Shariah for all”. Europe is white and Christian – and should stay that way. The simple answer is that people don’t want to tamper with tradition or mess around with cultural identity. So why all the angst, the angry denunciations and, in some cases, the violent confrontations? Even as the supermarket stood firm on its inclusive ad – which also showed a black family, a same-sex couple and a single parent family enjoying supper ‒ the rants on social media were reminiscent of the way in which the now-discredited Fox News anchor Bill O’Reilly once raged again the alleged “War on Christmas” being waged by Muslims.Īnd then there is the even more exclusive and fanatic fight in the Netherlands to cling on to Zwarte Piet or Black Pete, Sinter Klaas’s little “black” helper‒ traditionally played by a white person with a blackened face, red lips, golden loop earrings and a curly afro wig ‒ despite the discomfort and unease this portrayal causes the country’s black citizens. Christmas trees and lights are still to be found in Indonesia, Pakistan and some other Muslim majority countries.įor many, however, the Tesco advertisement was an outrage. But they don’t represent the majority of Muslims. My multi-cultural family loves it.Ĭertainly ISIS and their hard-line friends and sponsors across the world frown at Santa and target Christians and other minorities – and Muslims – as they congregate for prayer. In my experience it’s something many Muslims do, out of respect for their friends and because it’s fun. Christmas fun and traditions are only for Christians, not the other riff raff that are part of multicultural Europe.įor proof, look no further than the recent furore in Britain over an “anti-Christian” advertisement by a British supermarket chain Tesco, showing a Muslim family sharing a Christmas meal with friends. Much to my regret, those who claim to “own” Santa/Father Christmas/St Nicholas want to keep him exclusively for themselves. Recently, however, it’s turned one-sided. My mother has pictures of me as a little girl looking up adoringly at Santa Claus as he distributed presents and good cheer at a once-iconic hotel in Karachi.
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