Sinterklaas in Beiroet/Saint Nicolas in Beirut

This is part of your Inburgeringscursus (assimilation course) into the Dutch Culture, so pay attention. Sinterklaas (St. Nicolas) was on his way to Holland, where he is supposed to celebrate his birthday on December 5th with the Dutch children, and he decided (as he does every year) to make a stop-over for the Dutch children in Beirut. Sinterklaas was not deterred by the recent political upheavals that have plagued the country for quite some time now. He’s too old to be worried about minor details like that.
So here a picture of Sinterklaas as he was on his way out, with some of the children. What are these two rather black people doing by his side, you may wonder? Ah, that is a remnant of Dutch culture which will not be around much longer if we are going to be any more culturally sensitive and tolerant then we already are. Those are the Zwarte Pieten (Black Peet). They are the helpers of Sinterklaas. Sinterklaas, for those who don’t know, lives in Spain, and these black Peets are actually Moors, from the days when Arabs still were the rulers of Spain.