Productions
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16 November 2013
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RSI Telegiornale
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The Zwarte Piet debate |
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Each November in the Netherlands, the red-and-white-clad Sinterklaas arrives by steamboat to great fanfare. In Amsterdam alone, hundreds of thousands turn out along the canals to greet the tall, bearded saint and his helpers, jolly types called “Zwarte Pieten” or “Black Petes.” After riding off on a white horse, Sinterklaas is said to roam the country until December 5th, when he lands on Dutch roofs and sends his Black Petes down chimneys to deliver gifts to good little girls and boys. Over the last years there are Dutch that feel that the Black Pete tradition is outdated and discriminating. This year a huge debate arises about the future of Black Pete dividing the Dutch over their Sinterklaas tradition. RSI reporter Tomas Miglierina travels to the Netherlands to cover the arrival of the children's friend and his black faced helpers and the debate.
Activities: find, and organise interview with initiator anti-black Pete movement.