Return to Eritrea for 15,000 francs
Source: Zoffinger Tagesbladtt
September 6, 2015, 3:59 PM
Eritreans should be financially rewarded for returning to their homeland. Honorary Consul Toni Locher proposes an incentive system.
Eritreans make up by far the largest group of asylum seekers in Switzerland. Toni Locher is the honorary consul of Eritrea in Switzerland and is familiar with the situation in the African nation.
In a guest article for “Schweiz am Sonntag,” he writes: “With the 2005 ruling by the Asylum Appeals Commission, Switzerland opened its doors wide to young men from Eritrea. We called on conscientious objectors – and young people came.” This must change. “A clear message must be sent to the young people in Eritrea that the journey to Switzerland is no longer worthwhile – and that it is worthwhile to return to Eritrea.”
The new Eritrean migrants are to receive temporary admission “prima facie” (at first glance) in an accelerated 14-day procedure. After three weeks, they are to be distributed among the cantons and be able to look for work there without bureaucratic obstacles. Locher anticipates that only 15 percent of the Eritreans will integrate. His proposal: These young people must be given the prospect of returning to Eritrea.
Locher advocates for an incentive system aimed at accumulating return bonus points (a “return bonus savings account”). In the “Schweiz am Sonntag” newspaper, he calculates how this could generate CHF 15,000 for a fresh start in Eritrea. Locher explains:
“Upon their return to Eritrea, these savings account balances will be managed by the future Swiss embassy in Asmara in cooperation with the Eritrean Development Bank. Based on these savings account balances, the bank will provide loans for the establishment of SMEs and start-ups. The bonus incentive system is temporary: it applies to young people who are already here or who will arrive in Switzerland in the coming months.”
Note: Tony Locher has long been a supporter of the Eritrean regime, and is the Eritrean honorary consul in Switzerland
Martin Plaut 