What is Happening in Switzerland?
I am writing this in English for hopefully more reach. Some of the links attached are in German/French/Italian/Romansh.
This Sunday, on June 14th, Switzerland will vote on the "No 10-million Swiss initiative", also called the "sustainability initiative".
This initiative was launched by the far-right party, the SVP/UDC. If the people vote with a 'Yes', that would mean Switzerland would have to cap its population at 10 million. The government would have to start taking 'drastic measures' (whatever the fuck that means) at a population of 9.5 million. This initiative is incredibly xenophobic. We would be breaking multiple human rights laws, multiple contracts with the EU (such as the freedom of movement of people, the Schengen Agreement, etc.). Imagine Brexit, but somehow worse and more racist.
The SVP/UDC is using fear tactics and blaming immigrants for everything, such as not having enough affordable apartments, full trains, criminality, high health care costs, etc., now lovingly calling this the "sustainability initiative" to "preserve swiss nature and traditons" (again, whatever the fuck that means). Meanwhile, most of the party are millionaires, living in huge mansions, driving the people against each other. Every time we wanted to pass climate bills, increase public transport infrastructure, fund schools, or wanted to put a cap on rent, the SVP was the party fighting against it. This is ecofascism.
A yes vote would mean not only a collapse of our economy, but it would also mean that immigrants will lose their rights, they might be deported, might not be able to bring their families, and asylum seekers might not be able to get asylum here. Not only that, but neo-Nazi groups, such as "Die Junge Tat", are using this initiative to make remigration palpable, even popular. I am sick to my stomach, and I cannot even begin to imagine the racism my immigrant friends have had to endure these past few weeks.
Before we signed the bilateral contract in 2002, we had a system called "saisonierstatut". Meaning, rich people hired workforces from out of the country (for 6–12 months). These workers barely had any rights, were severely underpaid, and sometimes had to live in barracks that didn't even have a functioning plumbing system. We cannot go back to this. We must protect the immigrants, we must protect our rights. So please, if you are Swiss, go and vote NO, if you have not already.
If you are not Swiss, share this around, a Swiss person might see it and get encouraged to vote, if they have not already. It is going to be very, very tight according to recent statistics. Even though a lot of damage has already been done by the SVP/UDC, we cannot let them take away our rights!!
Switzerland is not just a nice country to go visit. It is actively needing to fight against our deep rooted fascim. Please help by sharing this.
sources and resources:
easyvote: https://www.easyvote.ch/de/abstimmungen/14-juni-2026/10millionen
Official governement website: https://www.admin.ch/en/sustainability-initiative
Amnesty International Schweiz: https://www.amnesty.ch/de/laender/schweiz/10-millionen-schweiz-initiative
SP/PS (social democrats) statement: https://www.sp-ps.ch/in-leichter-sprache-nein-zur-10-millionen-initiative/
About the "Saisonnierstatut" https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saisonnierstatut
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