Does Switzerland have a moral duty to confront its links to colonialism? How should it do this?
Switzerland had no colonies of its own, but it was able to profit from colonialism and the slave trade. How should the Alpine country, today a commodities trading powerhouse that still benefits from its global business ties, confront this past?
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From the article Colonialism: How Swiss multinationals set their sights on the world
From the article Zurich’s historical ties to slave trade are exposed
From the article Switzerland and its colonists
We can condone the bad things that happen in the past but shouldn't dwell on that. You can only act in the present and make the future better - give access to good healthcare, education and work opportunities to all.
I'm personally getting really tired of the continual griping about colonialism and making restitution for things that happened 300 years ago. Move on, work hard and do your best. Educate yourself before voting to pick the best politicians to make it a fair and honest playing field now.
Born in Switzerland, raised in another country partly, I feel the immigrants must adapt to the culture, learn the language and work very hard to do well. If they don't like the new culture, then, yes, consider going back to their homeland or trying elsewhere - maybe finding a political or value system that would correspond more to their way of thinking and living.
Discrimination is part of Swiss culture. Just look at the 3 generations rule. It basically says you will never be citizen in your life time. This is very relaxing as it means you never have to integrate sooner than 3 life times.
As an Italian I fully agree. This discrimination is not something you see in Italy where I have quite a few french, spanish, portugese and serbian friends and all of them were welcomed with open arms.
If Switzerland has no moral duty then Germany has no moral duty to admit to WW2 crimes or the US to own up to the atomic bombs. You chose for yourself. I chose responsibility.
Switzerland will never admit to its crimes. We can pay people not to say a thing
The most successful nations of the world maintain political, legal and economic models working together with the shared goal of advancing the cause of citizen prosperity. This is achieved through maximizing education, minimizing corruption and balancing the interests of the individual vs. larger institutions (government, businesses, etc.). The only way to correct the sins of the past is for the developed world to export this model to those nations who don't have it. The problem is, many underdeveloped nations are run by power hungry, morally bankrupt leaders who would rather steal from their own citizens than build a better country.
Not all underdeveloped nations are corrupt. Also if you look at money flows and trade value chains you will be shocked to see how little Africa earns for its products. Pay a fair price and this alone will make a huge difference. Developing countries dont need help....they need fairness.
We should not have to re-write history because what was acceptable in the past is not acceptable now. That goes for anything such as racism, sexual misconduct, gender discrimination, LGBTQXYZ, etc, etc. Instead, simply say the rule from now on is ..... . What does the BLM movement expect us to do? e.g. Destroy the Pyramids, which were built by slaves? The focus should be on All Lives Matter, and eliminate e.g. modern day slavery, which affects people of all colour.
I think the point w BLM is exactly that...to draw attention to systemic racism so it can be rooted out. One dilutes this focus by insisting on ALM as this will not then concentrate on specific causes. To be actionable ones needs to get down to the detailed level.
There are issues related to business and morality in Switzerland, but colonialism is not a major one, because Switzerland had no colonies. What worries me is that a news portal discusses a rather artificial topic but stops discussion on possibly more important ones. Its a good way to make itself irrelevant. Which is actually a worry of the media worldwide.
Thanks for your feedback; we'd love to hear from you which topics you'd like to see put out for discussion. Feel free to share here, or through an e-mail to english@swissinfo.ch.Here's how we're trying to evolve our conversations with readers, and why we regularly bring issues for debate through these "questions in blue": https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/changes-at-swi--we-want-to-hear-about-your-expertise-and-experiences/45948524
It is surprising that staff actually cares about these replies. Topics? As others said, how to rein big corporations in topics like social responsibility? Not abusing child workers in faraway countries, but for example eroding job security right here in Europe. Here journalists themselves can do much by naming and shaming. But Europe-wide action is necessary, to prevent companies from shopping around for the weakest government to set location.Another is how to keep objectivity in reporting? It is so easy to inflate small problems and present false equality. Example was the case of wolves in Switzerland. For me, it was 80 dog-sized animals which cannot do a significant damage, and the very discussion of this topic cost more than the wolves could possibly do harm.Another is Swiss infrastructure. I would argue that Swiss roads, railways, etc. do not keep up with the modern times, especially looking at Asia. Lorries still squeeze through medieval narrow streets because nobody build bypasses around villages. Trams and trains are so slow that crossing little Zurich feels like going through much bigger city. Part is probably that Switzerland compares itself with rural neighboring areas of other countries, rather than Asian cities. it stuck me in referendum posters that 'will be to crowded' betrays inaction: instead of more buses, wider roads or new houses, the idea is to ban people. best regards,
The large international companies need to stop exploiting the non-white populations and observe human rights - which apply to ALL races.
As if white populations all around the world are good and safe? There are "white" nations where people suffer a lot too
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