Appeal against basic aid stop – City of Zurich continues to distribute aid to Sans-Papiers – News
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The Zurich District Council ordered that financial aid for undocumented workers be stopped. The city is defending itself against this.
The City of Zurich will continue to support poor foreigners who have fallen through the meshes of the social system. The city government has appealed against an order from the Zurich district council, according to which this “additional social assistance” has been discontinued. Because the decision of the district council is not yet legally binding, the payment to undisclosed papers and other people affected by poverty can continue.
The background to the legal exchange of blows is a Zurich pilot project. The city wants to support poor foreigners who die who are not entitled to social assistance with a total of two million francs. These suffer badly from the pandemic and should therefore be supported with so-called “basic economic aid”. The money is distributed across several aid organizations.
The FDP had resisted this project. SIE is of the opinion that this financial aid violates the law on foreigners and had submitted a supervisory complaint to the district council. Based on this complaint, the district council ordered the city about ten days ago not to make any further payments for the duration of the proceedings.
In the current situation, basic economic aid is indispensable support.
Now the city government has appealed against this order to the Zurich cantonal government. This now has to judge the interim decision of the district council. Until then, the city will continue to provide basic economic aid, according to a statement. Because this help is not against overriding law and is indispensable in the current situation.
Many people in Zurich are dependent on support
The fact that the pandemic continues to hit poorer people in the city of Zurich hard is shown by the example of Zurich’s Europa-Allee right behind the main train station. Long queues have formed here every evening since the Zurich association Incontro started distributing free groceries and hygiene items in March 2020.
The association is financed by private donations, also by supporting the churches or the Rotary Club financially. Part of the Sans Papiers project is not, the association does not receive any money from the city.
Currently, more people in Zurich need support again, says the association’s founder Ariane, a Zurich nun and street worker. She and her team – a pool of up to 500 volunteers – would have to support slightly fewer people in the summer. This is now changing: “We have always distributed 250 meals, and now it is increasing again.” And one constant will remain, Sister Ariane continues: “There are still people here who have fallen through the cracks.”
There would be women and men from the milieu, migrant workers, homeless people, addicts, old people in old-age poverty, families or single parents who lost their jobs because of Corona and had not found anything since then. Far from all of them could apply for social assistance. To change this, you need a willingness to see the need, says Schweser Ariane: “You need a sensitivity for the people who are marginalized.”
It takes a willingness to deal with people in need.
And: The city of Zurich believes that targeted financial support is needed – with basic economic aid. Therefore the project should be continued. According to the city, 49 adults and 24 children had been supported with around 90,000 francs by the end of October – half of them are sans-papiers.