Category Archives: News Switzerland

News Switzerland

Stumbling Stone

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Stumbling Stone

The first Stolperstein in Switzerland dedicated to a member of the Sinti community was installed in Koblenz, commemorating Anton Reinhardt, a victim of Nazi persecution.

Reinhardt, who sought asylum in Switzerland, was arrested and deported back to Nazi-occupied territory, where he was executed by the SS in 1945.

The memorial highlights the historical accountability of Swiss asylum policies during WWII and the specific vulnerabilities faced by Roma and Sinti.

News Switzerland

Travellers in Zürich

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Travellers in Zürich

The Canton of Zurich is expanding a transit site for travelers in Vorderen Pfannenstiel, allocating 3.2 million Swiss Francs for the project. New sanitary facilities, including toilets, showers, and utility connections, will be added to meet minimum requirements for the site.

The site will also feature 20 new visitor parking spaces, with plans for 60% of them to support electric mobility.

One has to know that “Transi” Sites are solely for “foreign” travellers (i.e. Roma), while other camping sites are reserved to Swiss travellers, i.e. Jenische and Sinti.

News Switzerland

Jenische in Switzerland

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Jenische in Switzerland

The canton of Freiburg has initiated a project to support the education of children from traveling Jenische families, following the recognition of Jenische and Sinti as national minorities in Switzerland in 1999.

A guide has been created to ensure the integration and educational support of students from Jenische families, focusing on cultural awareness and joy in learning.

Educational activities have been developed for French-speaking schools, with materials being translated into German, addressing the history and culture of the Jenische community and promoting understanding among students.

News Switzerland

Travellers in Switzerland

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Travellers in Switzerland

The canton of Lucerne is reinitiating the search for stopping places for travelers, with the Social Democrats (SP) and Greens seeking clarity on Ebikon’s role in this process.

A report indicates that there are still dozens of missing stopping places in Lucerne, despite the obligation to provide adequate facilities for travelers such as Jenische, Sinti, and Roma.

The previous attempt to establish new sites was unsuccessful due to strong opposition from local municipalities, prompting a new cooperative dialogue approach to find a socially acceptable solution.

News Switzerland

Switzerland and Roma

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Switzerland and Roma

A blog, “Inside Paradeplatz”, usually more specialised in finance news and gossips in Switzerand, published an article about an attack against an antiquarian in his shop in the centre of Zurich. He was hit, and the attacked fled with ca. 600 Swiss Francs. It states the attacker was “presumably Roma”… We’d be interested to know what prompted this comment.

It looks like stereotyping…

News Switzerland

Travellers in Switzerland

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Travellers in Switzerland

The Canton of Baselland plans to take more responsibility for providing spaces for travellers, specifically the Jenischen and Sinti, to alleviate the burden on municipalities.

A proposed law revision aims to improve the availability of designated sites for these communities, as current provisions have been deemed insufficient.

The Canton will coordinate with municipalities to establish these sites and will also assume responsibility for their maintenance and operation, with additional costs covered within the existing budget.

News Switzerland

Travellers in Switzerland

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Travellers in Switzerland

A group of Roma travelers from France has set up camp with 60 caravans on a city-owned field in Oberwinterthur, Switzerland.

They were previously forced to vacate another site in Stadel due to the presence of a high-voltage power line. The situation highlights ongoing issues regarding the accommodation of traveling communities in urban areas.

News Switzerland

Beggars in Geneva

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Beggars in Geneva

After the courts rejected the anti-begging laws, the Geneva right wing intends to continue the fight focusing on the occupation and cleanliness of public spaces. Read this as a measure against Roma…

News Switzerland

Roma in Geneva

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Roma in Geneva

The article discusses the media focus on the Romani communities in Geneva, highlighting the political attention on their living conditions and the push to remove their presence from public view.

It criticizes the right-wing political stance that prioritizes cleanliness over the welfare of these communities, suggesting that their systematic removal exacerbates vulnerability and exploitation.

The article calls for a more humane approach to social integration and housing solutions for the Romani families, emphasizing the need for long-term support rather than punitive measures.

News Switzerland

Switzerland and Travellers

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Switzerland and Travellers

For lack of camping sites, Travelling Roma from outisde Switzerland try to find spaces where they can stay. They are not really “foreign” as most of them have family ties in Switzerland. Here, a farmer rented a field for 10’000 Swiss Francs until end of September, and he says he was told, this would be for hot air baloon launches. Well, now there are several caravans, and he is getting threatened bu locals.

News Switzerland

Travellers in Switzerland

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Travellers in Switzerland

The municipality of Wädenswil in the canton of Zurich has opened a stopping place for Jenische and Sinti travelers, following renovations costing nearly half a million Swiss Francs.

Despite this new facility, there remains a significant shortage of stopping places for travelers in the Zurich region. The ongoing need for more designated areas for traveling communities highlights the challenges faced in accommodating their needs.

What also needs to be said, is that these places are limited to Swiss travellers. Sinti and Roma from outside Switzerlands are not welcome!

News Eastern Europe News Switzerland Romania

You Don’t Belong Here

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You Don’t Belong Here

“You Don’t Belong Here” won the Golden Leopard for Best Film at the Locarno Film Festival, presenting a moral drama set in small-town Romania, exploring themes of family crisis and societal issues.

The film follows Marius, a surgeon, and his son Ioan, who becomes involved in a violent incident involving racist youths targeting Roma families, leading to a confrontation that impacts their lives.

The narrative examines the complexities of father-son relationships, masculinity, and social violence, using a restrained cinematic style to provoke reflection on personal and societal responsibilities.

News Switzerland

Travellers

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Travellers

In Graubünden, there is a shortage of designated parking spaces for the Jenische and Sinti communities, despite legal obligations for authorities to provide them. The lack of spaces is exacerbated by prejudices against these groups, which hinders the establishment of necessary facilities.

The article highlights the ongoing challenges faced by the traveling communities in securing adequate accommodations in the region.

News Switzerland

Jenische in Switzerland

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Jenische in Switzerland

The Swiss government acknowledges the historical persecution of Jenische and Sinti communities, recognizing it as a crime against humanity and plans to investigate these injustices through an independent commission.

Jenische writer Isabella Huser emphasizes the importance of understanding this dark chapter in Swiss history for the benefit of all Swiss citizens and advocates for immediate action to address ongoing discrimination against these communities.

The government has previously provided financial support to Sinti and Jenische organizations, but there is a call for more substantial changes to improve their living conditions and end discrimination.

News Switzerland

Travellers in Switzerland

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Travellers in Switzerland

A group of travelers from France camped illegally in a protected area in Switzerland, highlighting the ongoing issue of finding suitable stopping places for travelers in the region.

Currently, there are only two designated temporary stopping places in the Rheintal area, both with strict limitations on duration and prior approval required.

Despite a legal obligation established in 2003 for adequate stopping places, progress has been slow, with only 40% of the needed sites realized, and ongoing resistance from local communities complicating new developments.

Switzerland lacks nearly 80 designated stopping and transit sites for Jenische and Sinti communities, particularly in the western regions. Although ten new sites have been created since 2021, the demand for additional spaces remains high, with calls for more political will from local governments.

News Switzerland

Switzerland and Travellers

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Switzerland and Travellers

The report from the foundation “Future for Swiss Travelers” indicates a slight improvement in the availability of stopping places for travelers in Switzerland over the past five years, but significant needs remain.

The traveling lifestyle is a key part of the identity of Jenische,  and of some Sinti, and Roma communities, who require designated stopping and transit areas for their way of life.

While some regions, like Schaffhausen, serve as positive examples, many politicians are still reluctant to support the establishment of more stopping places, despite the acknowledgment of historical injustices against these communities.

Bulgaria News Eastern Europe News Switzerland

Switzerland and Bulgaria

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Switzerland and Bulgaria

The Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation H.E. Pierre Hagmann visited the office of the Amalipe Center and two of the institutions with which the Center works in close partnership – Sofia University “Kliment Ohridski” – the village of Kamen and the Municipality of Strazhitsa, to get acquainted with the organization’s activities. The conversations were about the Roma community and the challenges facing it, education, the contribution of the Swiss-Bulgarian Development Program, the role of NGOs and the support of the Swiss Embassy and the Ambassadorial Group on Roma Issues. The subsequent visit to the village of Kamen and the town of Strazhitsa continued and detailed these conversations.

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