As a young Dutch person, many of us feel ashamed that this has stayed a tradition for so long and cannot comprehend how. Following protests, the city I live in has banned any Zwarte Piet, but this is not enough, not until the entire country moves past this shameful racist tradition and recognises it to be exactly that.

I am so sorry that you had to experience this, or that any person of colour does, and as a Dutch person I truly apologise for this awful behaviour and we will continue to work on eliminating it completely and teaching children correctly.