Around 50 caravans belonging to members of a travelling community attempting to enter canton Valais in southern Switzerland without prior warning were blocked by police.
The article does say that it was the local council that wanted to prevent them from moving there.
I’m not saying there definitely is a discriminatory motive… I do not know how the people of Switzerland look at the Romani people.
But given the way Roma are treated in much of Europe, and Switzerland’s reputation for being somewhat conservative, I am not discounting the possibility that they are being discriminated against here.
The equivalent in the US would be if a couple of families of black people wanted to move to a predominantly white town in the south, and the county would step in claiming there are no more homes available.
Specifically the Valais is very conservative, so I would not be surprised if it were purely discriminatory. Also free camping above 2k is legal and a lot of Valais is above 2k.
The article does say that it was the local council that wanted to prevent them from moving there.
I’m not saying there definitely is a discriminatory motive… I do not know how the people of Switzerland look at the Romani people.
But given the way Roma are treated in much of Europe, and Switzerland’s reputation for being somewhat conservative, I am not discounting the possibility that they are being discriminated against here.
The equivalent in the US would be if a couple of families of black people wanted to move to a predominantly white town in the south, and the county would step in claiming there are no more homes available.
Specifically the Valais is very conservative, so I would not be surprised if it were purely discriminatory. Also free camping above 2k is legal and a lot of Valais is above 2k.