Swiss trade union Unia has launched a campaign against xenophobia as it seeks to counteract what it describes as the “current climate of exclusion in Switzerland”.

"/> Swiss trade union Unia has launched a campaign against xenophobia as it seeks to counteract what it describes as the “current climate of exclusion in Switzerland”.

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IMMIGRANT

Swiss union starts pro-immigrant campaign

Swiss trade union Unia has launched a campaign against xenophobia as it seeks to counteract what it describes as the “current climate of exclusion in Switzerland”.

Swiss union starts pro-immigrant campaign
Unia

Unia said the goal of the “Without us – no Switzerland“ campaign is to demonstrate the importance of having foreigners living in Switzerland.

The union, the largest trade group in Switzerland, said it wants to give a voice to people who have had enough of “smear campaigns“.

Unia said on Monday that without its immigrant workforce Switzerland would have fewer building workers, fewer footballers, a shortage of doctors, fewer care assistants and limited scientific research. Also, there would be a major dip in the country’s famed chocolate production since more than 60 percent of chocolate factory workers do not hold Swiss passports.

Instead of receiving recognition for their contribution, Switzerland’s immigrant population often encounter discrimination and ostracism, Unia said.

Unia’s campaign is mainly targeted at the far-right SVP (Swiss People’s Party), who are currently running a prominent anti-immigration election campaign.

For years, right-wing populist groups have been agitating against migrants, stirring up fear and xenophobia in the general population and poisoning the societal climate with terms like mass immigration’,” Unia chief Rita Schiavi said in a statement.

The time has now come to actively oppose anti-foreigner sentiment in Switzerland, according to the union.

“How does it feel as a foreign tourist to see a placard on arrival in the train station suggesting that foreigners are threatening Switzerland like an army?” Schiavi asked at a press conference in Bern on Monday.

“And how must one feel as a worker without a Swiss passport to be constantly confronted with the accusation of being a criminal despite working day in and day out for the good of Switzerland?“ she added.

Compared to other European countries, Switzerland has one of the highest foreigner-to-total-population ratios: 21.9 percent at the last census in 2005, rising to 37.8 percent in Canton Geneva.

The Swiss economy and labour market depend heavily on a migrant workforce, with Italians making up the biggest migrant group followed by citizens of the former Yugoslavia and Portuguese.

In the coming months, Unia plans to distribute postcards and flags, which are available to order free via their campaign website.

Unia will conclude their campaign on December 17th and 18th with an International Immigrant Day.

Campaign website: www.ohne-uns-keine.ch

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IMMIGRATION

Danish MPs agree to send asylum seekers outside Europe

Denmark's parliament on Thursday adopted a law enabling it to open asylum reception centres outside Europe where applicants would live while their case is processed, with the host country also taking them in if granted asylum.

Danish MPs agree to send asylum seekers outside Europe
An Eritrean refugee child stands under an umbrella at Mai Aini Refugee camp, in Ethiopia, on January 30, 2021. Danish media have mentioned Ethiopia as a possible site for the camp. Photo: Eduardo Soteras / AFP

Known for having one of Europe’s harshest stances on immigration, the wealthy Scandinavian country aims to deter migrants from coming to Denmark at all.

Despite criticism from humanitarian organisations and some leftwing parties, the bill, proposed by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s Social Democrats, was adopted by 70 votes to 24.

Under the law, asylum seekers would have to submit an application in person at the Danish border and then be flown to an asylum centre outside Europe while their application is being processed by the host country.

If the application is approved and the person is granted refugee status, he or she would be given the right to live in the host country, but not in Denmark.

If it is rejected, the migrant would have to leave the host country. No country has agreed to collaborate with Denmark yet, but the government says it is in talks with five to 10 countries, without identifying them.

Danish media have mentioned Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia as possibilities. Denmark is meanwhile known to be in talks with Rwanda.

The two have signed a memorandum of understanding on asylum and migration cooperation, though the document doesn’t specifically cover external asylum processing.

The UN refugee agency, the UNHCR, criticised the law as “contrary to the principles of international refugee cooperation.”

“By initiating such a drastic and restrictive change in Danish refugee legislation, Denmark risks starting a domino effect, where other countries in Europe and in neighbouring regions will also explore the possibility of limiting the protection of refugees on their soil,” UNHCR’s representative in the Nordic and Baltic countries, Henrik Nordentoft, told news agency Ritzau.

Denmark has repeatedly made headlines in recent years with its anti-immigration policies, including its official “zero refugees” target, its withdrawal of residence permits from Syrians now that it deems parts of the war-torn country safe, and its crackdown on Danish “ghettos” in a bid to reduce the number of “non-Western” residents.

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