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Anyone who accuses others of racism and who does not see the racism of their race or people is entirely unbelievable

 (This is a column I wrote for a Dutch conservative website on June 9, 2020)

Nothing more dangerous than a movement based on half-truths. The ideal pursued can become the opposite. I am talking here about the anti-racism movement, with George Floyd as its symbol. Floyd was the victim of a cruel and racist police officer, but he was also a dangerous criminal. He had been sentenced to five times in prison and threatened a pregnant woman with a gun to her stomach in a burglary seeking money and drugs.

It is much wrong with the anti-racism movement. Moscow and Beijing laugh because of the naivety in the West. Racism in the United States and Europe is nothing compared to racism among the Russians and the Chinese, not to mention racism and the continued slavery in Arab countries and black Africa.

 The anti-racism movement would gain momentum and take real steps towards a more equitable treatment of minorities if, instead of just accusing, supporters came up with constructive proposals.

In this article, I would like to weigh up all the accusations against the whites against what has happened and is still happening in Africa. I give some examples below.

May it be recalled the Mau Mau rebels in Kenya who raided English farmers' farms, tied up the parents as they watched their toddlers be skinned alive?

Who still thinks of the Flemish sisters in the Congolese city of Paulis who devoted their lives to education and health care? Simba's have them raped for weeks. In the end, these rebels pierced their body through the anus with a spear and put the spear upwards in the ground. Some were still alive when the mercenaries liberated Paulis.

A doctor in Boende, a place in the Congolese Province de l' Équateur, told me that there are hardly any girls aged eight years old who have not yet been deflowered by their father or older brother.

Would cannibalism under Ugandan President Idi Amin definitively be terminated?

Are black refugees from Zimbabwe still being tied up in South Africa, after which a burning car tire is put on them? And what death should white farmers die?

In Kinshasa, I witnessed a severe road accident. A man was lying on the floor, bleeding, and injured. Nobody did anything because he did not belong to their tribe.

The atrocities are still going on in the Kivu. Thousands of women have already been raped and mutilated for life as insurgents pierced their vagina with a bayonet.

Now untold cruelties about the Holocaust could also be listed. However, there is an essential difference. The German war criminals were prosecuted and tried. Tracking never stopped; Until recently, the very elderly were still brought to court. The German people have known debt and made reparations where possible. In Africa, however, most criminals still roam freely. There is a fear that some of them have been granted asylum in the West. The victims cry for justice, but no one hears that cry.

Why am I writing all this down? The main reason is that the truth must come up to give justice a chance. Anyone who accuses others of racism and who does not see the racism of their race or people is entirely unbelievable. The latter plays into the card of the extreme right.

Racism seems ineradicable. However, there is a hopeful sign: no one can name a country less racist than the Netherlands! It can always improve, but the better situation in the Netherlands can learn something about how best to tackle racism. The Dutch are very good at two things: firstly, they are straightforward, and secondly, they show solidarity. They are often blamed for the former because it is perceived as rude, but it has the advantage that with a Dutch person, you always know where you stand. So no half-truths. Solidarity has meant that hundreds of millions have been spent on additional educational facilities for immigrant children, for job placement, for housing, social and welfare work in the neighborhoods, and so on. A former student of mine works as a district director in Rotterdam, and it is incredible how white and colored work together in countless initiatives there.

Most black people will agree with me that life is good in the Netherlands and that it is not so bad in terms of racism. Therefore, I would appeal to them to show a gesture of goodwill to all those white people who are committed to them. My request is to accept black Pete, not as the boy of Sinterklaas, but as the symbol of cordial cooperation.

Juliaan Van Acker ( www.ministrando.org )

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