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Monday 17 December 2012

Trying to prevent another "national Negro day" in Holland



(Please scroll down for the English version)

Peace folks,
Vorig jaar was Howard Komproe het gezicht van het belachelijk racistische fenomeen ‘negerdag’. Met deze oproep tot het indienen van een klacht bij het Meldpunt Discriminatie willen we proberen te voorkomen dat dhr. Komproe ons in 2013 (en alle volgende jaren) weer lastig valt met z’n nonsense.
Actie
Evenals bij de succesvolle acties tegen producten met de term 'neger' in de naam willen we mensen wederom vragen om een e-mail naar het Anti Discriminatiebureau te sturen. Als extra verzoek willen we jullie ook vragen om het e-mailadres soapbox.amsterdam@gmail.com te CC-en. Niet omdat we bezig zijn met een mailinglist of spam maar vanwege een gezond wantrouwen richting organisaties die statistieken verzamelen, uitwerken en analyseren.
 - E-mailadres Anti Discriminatiebureau: discriminatie@mdra.nl
- CC naar: soapbox.amsterdam@gmail.com

Voorbeeldtekst

Geachte heer, mevrouw,
Hierbij dien ik een klacht in tegen Howard Komproe. Deze klacht heeft betrekking op de discriminatiegrond die u in uw jaarverslagen kwalificeert als ‘ras/ afkomst/ huidskleur’.

In maart 2012 riep dhr. Komproe 9 maart uit tot nationale ‘negerdag’. Vorig jaar werd het nieuws bekend toen het kwaad al was geschied maar ik hoop dat er met deze tijdige indiening van mijn klacht (binnen een jaar na het oorspronkelijke voorval, zoals u op uw website verzoekt) adequate maatregelen kunnen worden genomen om te voorkomen dat dhr. Komproe de Zwarte gemeenschap in Nederland opnieuw zoveel sociale schade toebrengt.

Op uw website vermeld u dat de media “alleen bij hoge uitzondering, in zeer principiĆ«le gevallen” wordt ingeschakeld. Zou u mij kunnen laten weten hoeveel klachten u voor welke datum dient te ontvangen zodat ook deze zeer kwetsende kwestie tot deze categorie te rekenen?

Met vriendelijke groet,
[Naam en woonplaats]

 
>>>>>>> English <<<<<<<
Peace folks,
Last year Dutch ‘comedian’ Howard Komproe (picture) introduced Holland to ‘national Negro day’. With this call to file complaints we’re hoping to prevent him from damaging our community in 2013 (every year, actually) with his nonsense.

Please note: If you’re in the business of mocking our community and/or you want to talk about how ‘extremely sensitive and humourless’ Black people are, I strongly urge you to make your own event page and take it from there.

Action
Please add soapbox.amsterdam@gmail.com (our e-mail address) in the CC of your digital complaint. Not because we want to spam you or add you to our mailing list but because we have a healthy sense of distrust when it comes to Dutch statistic and their representation of racism against Black people in Holland.

E-mail address Anti Discrimination Bureau: discriminatie@mdra.nl
CC to: soapbox.amsterdam@gmail.com

Example of a text
Dear sir, madam,
With this e-mail I’d like to file a complaint against Howard Komproe. My complaint is related to discrimination on the grounds of what your organisation qualifies as ‘race/ origin/ skin colour’.

In March 2012 mr. Komproe declared March 9 as Holland’s national ‘Negro day’. Last year the word got out when the damage was already done but I hope that this complaint reaches you early enough (within a year of the original incident as your website requests) to take proper action to prevent mr. Komproe from once again socially damaging the Black community in Holland.

On your website you state that you only approach the media when it’s a highly exceptional case. Could you please let me know how many complaints need to be filed (and before what date) before your organisation will qualify this highly demeaning case ‘media worthy’?

Sincerely,
[Name and city]
 

Thursday 8 December 2011

Update: Amsterdam's City Theater (Stadsschouwburg) and their racist print

Dear folks,
The Anti Discriminationbureau reacted to our complaints (see blog post below) and wrote that they will send the Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg a letter but they won't take action against the cartoonist. We still urge people who haven't done so already to send an e-mail to both the Stadsschouwburg and the Anti Discriminationbureau to let them know what kind of impact this has on the community! Thanks in advance.

E-mails

Example of a text to send
Dear Sir, Madam,
With this e-mail I, too, would like to file a complaint against the Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg for using a racist print that uses the term “kutneger”. I’ve read the reply your organisation sent to the people who sent their complaint before December 8, 2011 and I’m not sending you this e-mail in the hopes to change your mind about how your organisation deals with this issue. I truly hope that my e-mail adds to your understanding of the impact an illustration (that even the director of the Stadsschouwburg describes as 'disgusting') like this has on the community.

Melle Daamen, the director of the Stadsschouwburg tried to explain the non-racist nature of his theater by mentioning that they 'also' had Spike Lee and Jesse Jackson on their stage. Perhaps your organisation can inform him that racism isn't a matter of quota; even someone whose best friend is Black can still have racist tendencies.
I trust that you register this e-mail as a discrimination complaint on the basis of what you categorize as ‘race/ heritage/ skin colour’.

With kind regards,
(Name and city)

Wednesday 7 December 2011

Filing complaint against Amsterdam's City Theater's racist print

Dear folks, 
At the height of Sinterklaas, Holland’s annual celebration of blackface in the Netherlands, the Stadsschouwburg (Amsterdam City Theater) published a cartoon in which Sinterklaas (a version of Santa Claus) tells Zwarte Piet (his blackfaced servant) to “Get lost, fucking Negro”.

This image (see photo) was used for their Sinterklaas party for adults-event. For our non-Dutch readers: the character on the left says: “It’s December 5th again… Time for your annual stroll, Sinterklaas”

We truly hope that you’ll join us in our quest to fight racism in the Netherlands by sending the text below to the Anti Discrimination Bureau and the director of the City Theater. Please add soapbox.amsterdam@gmail.com as a CC. We’re not adding you to our mailinglist and we won’t spam you; we’re just keeping a very close eye on the number of complaints so we have some actual numbers when people are trying to prove "there's no racism in the Netherlands!"
Sending the e-mail
To:
discriminatie@mdra.nl, Melle.Daamen@ssba.nl
CC to: soapbox.amsterdam@gmail.com

Example of a text:Dear Sir, Madam,
With this e-mail I’d like to file a complaint with the Anti Discrimination Bureau against the Amsterdam City Theater (de Amsterdamse Stadsschouwburg) for using an illustration in which a Black character is told to, and I translate “Oh, get lost, fucking Negro.”
Such a cartoon is absolutely racist and I urge you to follow the proper procedures and handle this matter the same way you handled the issues with products like face paint with the name Negro black (negerzwart-schmink) and wigs with the name Negro wig (negerpruik). If saying “fucking Jew” is anti-Semitism then surely this should be considered anti-Africanism
Sincerely,
(Name and city)