The discussion about Zwarte Piet in Drunen is not over yet. A group of twenty supporters will ride in a cart behind the Sinterklaas arrival in Drunen on Sunday. The group of Petes plans to ‘normally’ paint themselves black. They do not agree with the decision of the municipality and the Sinterklaas committee to organize the arrival with soot sweeping Petes. “The municipality gives in to people who do not agree with our tradition. I think that is a shame,” says Claudia Laurens.
Last week, Kick Out Zwarte Piet (KOZP) announced that it wanted to demonstrate at next Sunday’s arrival because Black Petes were still accepted at the Sinterklaas arrival in Drunen.
The municipality of Heusden then decided, out of fear of possible disturbances, to only allow soot sweepers. “We have agreed with the police and the Sinterklaas committee in Drunen that they will switch to an entry with Piets as you see in the national Sinterklaas news,” the municipality said in a written statement on Wednesday.
Small group
KOZP is happy with the decision and has indicated that a demonstration is now out of the question. However, the municipality’s decision has gone down the wrong way with a small group. A group of more than twenty Petes has announced that they will drive behind the parade in a cart next Sunday, painted in black.
One of them is Claudia Laurens. She has been involved in the Sinterklaas arrival for seven years and finds it difficult to accept the decision of the municipality. “The municipality suddenly cancels a few days in advance.” According to Claudia, the municipality owes itself the provocation. “Then the municipality of Heusden should have come up with this earlier. We want to maintain the tradition.”
Heartbeats
Tradition expert Ineke Strouken sees that Black Pete has almost completely disappeared in Brabant. “Traditions move with the times. Sinterklaas comes from the Middle Ages and the festival has changed many times over the years.”
Eventually everyone gets used to the soot sweepers, Strouken thinks. She even expects that they will disappear in the long term. “How are you going to explain to children what soot is? Nobody has a stove anymore. In the long term I would turn them into ‘pies of the heart’. Then you don’t have to adjust the songs.”
Municipality response
Bas Schel, spokesperson for the municipality of Heusden, which includes Drunen, says that the municipality is aware of the announced action. “We are looking at the situation and hope that it will be a safe and carefree entry for the children.”
Schel does not expect that KOZP will still decide to demonstrate. “The Sinterklaas Committee in Drunen has made agreements with them,” says the spokesperson.
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