Basel carnival takes steps to avoid being racist

"What many seem to want in words: fewer Turks and Serbs and Kurds," was written on a lantern of the Old Guard of the “Alti Stainlemer” group in 2019 SRF-SWI

The organising committee of the Basel Fasnacht (carnival) has drawn up a guide against racism for the first time.

Biting satirical verses, daring subjects from groups of musicians, rude slogans on lanterns: at the Basel carnival, revellers often tackle sensitive topics.

The Basel Fasnacht is an “issue carnival”, according to the Fasnacht committee, which organises the sale of Fasnacht badges, the parade and the distribution of the money from badge sales. Satire is allowed, even encouraged, it says; racist slurs, on the other hand, are not.

In 2019 the drum major of the “Alti Stainlemer” group wore a burka costume and the drummers were dressed as grim-faced migrants from Africa, Turkey, Sri Lanka and as Islamic preachers and Albanians. SRF-SWI

The carnival committee has had this attitude for some time. This year, however, it has expanded its guidelines on how to deal with sensitive issues and has focused more on racism, publishing revised guidelines on its website.

“Racism, xenophobia, sexism, verbal abuse and insults, belittling those who think and feel differently and all forms of discriminatory behaviour are not in keeping with the spirit of the Basel Fasnacht,” it states.

“We are not a censorship authority,” says Daniel Hanimann, who is responsible for communication at the Fasnacht committee. He says the committee cannot give orders, it can only make recommendations.

Sensitive topics are tackled. Here, Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi holds Federal Councillor Hans-Rudolf Merz in his lap in 2010. Merz had previously promised to bring two Swiss hostages home from Libya, but failed to do so. (KEYSTONE/GEORGIOS KEFALAS) SRF-SWI

Nevertheless, it does have one lever: money. “We give bad marks for racist and discriminatory behaviour, which in turn means that the group in question receives fewer subsidies, i.e. less money,” says Hanimann.

Who is penalised remains unknown

However, the carnival committee does not reveal how often it has already applied this “punishment”. It is also unclear which groups have been penalised.

In 2017 Donald Trump played golf with the world on a lantern. Trump had been elected US president the previous year. SRF-SWI

There have been several “faux pas” in recent years, such as cases involving the traditional “Alti Stainlemer” group. In 2019 the group’s Old Guard caused a stir with racist lantern verses and jokes at the expense of the multicultural population in the Kleinbasel district. The drum major was dressed in a burka costume. He was followed by drummers dressed as grim-looking foreigners.

The theme led to a lot of criticism, even within the group. The Young Guard and the parent organisation publicly distanced themselves from the Old Guard.

Accusations of racism against ‘Negro Rhygass’ and ‘Moor’s head’

A black figure with thick lips, large earrings, a bone in his hair, dressed in a raffia skirt. This is what the logo of the “Negro Rhygass” music group looked like for decades.

In 2018 the logo and name were suddenly criticised. The group had previously celebrated its “Negro-Fest” in public. The festival site was decorated with the logo. It was therefore clearly visible and outside the carnival season. This was particularly alarming for people who are not active carnival revellers.

A wide-ranging discussion ensued. The Negro Rhygass name and logo were branded racist. The group felt it had been misunderstood. In the end, they decided to abandon the logo but keep the name.

The “Moor’s head” music group was also criticised for its name. However, it kept its name.

The public discussion about the two bands was sometimes spiteful. One petition even called for the groups to be disbanded. This in turn led to a demonstration of solidarity: hundreds gathered and stood behind the criticised carnival formations.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts