Den idylliske, schweiziske landsby Oberwil-Lieli har 2200 indbyggere. 300 af disse er meget velhavende. Når den schweiziske regering tvang alle kommuner til at modtage asylansøgere, nægtede landsbyen. Efter en afstemning, besluttede de, at de hellere vil betale boden på to og en halv million kroner. De var bange for, at kvinder ville blive overfaldet, a là Köln. Ved afstemningen var der 48%, der ville acceptere asylansøgere så byen var temmelig polariseret i eftertid. Mange er flove og sagde, at beslutningen var racistisk.

Men det var egentlig bare det samme andre lande gør, når de “hjælper folk, hvor de er.” Man betaler sig ud af problemet for at holde egne lande og samfund. Dette var blot i mindre målestok.

Nogle af de rigeste indbyggere tilbød at betale den bod, som myndighederne beordrede dem. En af dem forklarede til Daily Mail:

We do not want them here it is as simple as that. We have worked hard all our lives and have a lovely village that we do not want it spoiled. We are not suited to take in refugees. They would not fit in here.

Borgermesteren i byen uttalte:

‘It was a narrow victory for those of us who did not want the refugees, but Oberwil-Lieli is not the place for them. What job would they do? There are a few businesses and farms here but there are no jobs to speak off. They are not likely to be able to speak the language and if some of the refugees have children they will have to go into the local school where they will need special focus.’

‘The rejection was a protest at the quota being imposed on us by the Government. We were not to be told if the ten were from Syria or if they are economic migrants from other countries. Yes, the refugees from Syria have to be helped and they are better served by being helped in the camps nearer their home.

‘Money could be sent to help them, but if we are housing them here it sends out the wrong message. Others will come and risk their lives crossing the ocean and paying people smugglers to bring them.’

Generelle problemstillinger, der gælder for de fleste steder i Europa, kan man sige.

Borgmesteren i landsbyen synes at være mindre bekymret for parallelsamfundene, der vokser frem i de store byer. Skønt, det er jo ikke hans problem eller ansvar:

‘Migrants would fare much better in a city where there might pockets on their own community. There are none here.’

Oberwil-Lieli ville bevare idyllen. Det er ingen kriminalitet i landsbyen som ligger et par mil udenfor Zürich.

Daily Mail