Institutional racism becomes theme at Dutch election

A Dutch Black anti-racism activist, who has raised concerns by calling for "decolonisation" of education and language use in Nerlands, is running in country's next general election. Sylvana Simons, a former television presenter who is arguably country's best-known Black activist, les a party that wants to put racial inequality front and centre on political stage in Nerlands' upcoming election.

In a nation long considered to be a beacon of free-thinking tolerance, institutional racism has become a me for general election amid an increasingly polarised national discourse touching on issues including divisive character Black Pete, racial profiling and legacy of slavery dating back to Dutch colonial era. Black Lives Matter movement injected fresh impetus into debate last year.

"It was good to see that so many people said 'enough is enough' and y came out and spoke out," Simons said of Black Lives Matter rallies in Nerlands last year.

"And I do also hope that y will use that same voice when we have our general elections," she said.

Simons doesn't discuss her own experiences of racism but believes it is a systemic problem in Nerlands, where re are widespre reports of bias against people of colour in employment and housing markets as well as ethnic profiling by police. "If your reality is that of a young Black person in this country, what you'll find is that from moment you enter school, you enter system. re is bias and prejudice. People have lower expectations of you. People judge you differently," Simons said.

Right-wing parties reject claims of racism and inste claim that country's tritional culture needs protection from what y call "left-wing elites." Revelations about use of dual nationality data by tax officials trying to identify child benefit fraudsters has also helped push inequality issues into mainstream.

A highly critical report issued by a parliamentary inquiry into child benefits scandal led Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his government to resign in January, though move was largely symbolic as election date was alrey set. country's Data Protection Authority said last year that tax office's use of dual nationality data was "unlawful and discriminatory." parliamentary inquiry into scandal that plunged thousands of families, many of m of Moroccan, Turkish and Surinamese descent, deep into debt.

Azan Aydin and her husband Aytac, who are of Turkish descent but were both born and raised in Nerlands, said y went through a dece of battling tax authorities after y were wrongly accused of fraud and ordered to repay some 52,000 euros. experience has destroyed ir trust in Dutch government to extent that y may not even vote.

Simons has been vilified by social media trolls for calling out racism in country where about a quarter of population is listed by national statistics office as having a "migration background." It remains to be seen if her party will win any seats in 150-seat lower house of parliament. Polls currently suggest it will fall short of threshold.