Authorities in Switzerland say around half of the refugees who have arrived from Ukraine are falling through the cracks of the welfare system. Some are having to rely on food handouts from charities.
Switzerland has taken in around 40,000 refugees from Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in late February. Providing for the arrivals is putting pressure on the authorities and on host families, but it is mainly the refugees themselves who are feeling the pinch, and even going hungry.
In central Zurich at the weekend, hundreds of Ukrainians lined up for handouts from a food bank called Essen für Alle (Food for All). Kristina, who was waiting outside the center along with her seven-year-old daughter, lives with a Swiss host family. She told the Reuters news agency that their host did not have very much money and could not provide every meal. "We come here to take food because we need it," the 42-year-old from Kyiv said.
Refugees in official accommodation in Switzerland are entitled to some financial support from the state. Those who, like Kristina, are being hosted privately, are also paid state support. In some districts, or cantons, they also receive a contribution to their host family’s expenses. Yet in a country where the cost of living is among the highest in the world, many of the refugees are still struggling to get by.
Swiss charities say large numbers of people have been turning to them for food, clothing and medical treatment. "Some refugees stay with families who can no longer pay for their food," Ariane Stocklin from the Christian aid project 'incontro' told Reuters. "Others are in asylum centres, where the food is insufficient. We see a lot of demand."
Host families left in the lurch
Heike Isselhorst, a spokesperson for Zurich's social service department, told Reuters that refugees and asylum seekers housed by the authorities had their basic needs covered. But she said there was no procedure for providing aid to Ukrainian refugees who were staying with host families.
Last week Gaby Szoelloesy, who coordinates cantonal social welfare departments, apologized to families who felt left in the lurch: "It is simply very, very difficult if we don't even know of the host family's commitment because it did not go via official channels," she told a news conference.
Some Ukraine refugees get less than other asylum seekers
Like many other European countries, Switzerland has allowed refugees from Ukraine to apply for temporary residency and work permits.
They receive a special protection status ('S') without going through the same lengthy procedure as other asylum seekers such as those from Afghanistan or Eritrea.
But despite the benefits of 'S-status', the Sonntagszeitung (Sunday newspaper) recently reported that in some parts of the country Ukraine refugees were financially worse off than other asylum seekers. This has led to growing calls for more to be done for those fleeing Ukraine.
Even Andreas Glarner, an MP from the far-right populist SVP party who is well known for his anti-migrant stance, says support should be increased because, he says, the Ukrainians are "real refugees" and Switzerland should ensure that they are doing well.
Less than 8 francs per day
Before the Ukraine crisis, welfare payments to asylum seekers were not enough to live on in many parts of Switzerland. In 2017, Zurich decided to lower welfare payments to asylum seekers to about 500 Swiss francs per month, 30% below standard social welfare levels.
According to the Sunday Newspaper’s calculations, a family of three refugees from Ukraine in the canton of Aargau does much worse than "regular" asylum seekers entitled to state welfare payments – receiving less than 8 francs per person per day – or around 2.65 francs each for a main meal. (As a comparison, a Big Mac at the McDonald's in Aargau's capital Aarau costs 7.20 francs.)
Anna, a 38-year-old refugee from Ukraine, is living temporarily in the Zurich suburb of Winterthur with her two young children and her mother.
In the apartment of a friend's parents, things are at least better than they were when the family first arrived in Switzerland in late February.
The 38-year-old told Reuters: "We slept in a refugee centre when we arrived, but it was not a good place for the children, no privacy, no good food."
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