Switzerland wants to get rid of Rashid Amini, but the Iranian does not want to: he is stuck in emergency aid

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The life of Rashid Amini (58) is limited to a few square meters. The Iranian spends his days on a bed, right next to a small refrigerator. “All day, all night,” says Amini. Everything he owns is on the windowsill, on the floor, compactly in one room: egg cartons everywhere, toilet paper, toothbrush, a table lamp and medicine.

Amini lives in the Flüeli departure center, a former warehouse for school classes that towers above the Graubünden mountain village of Valzeina. Amini came to Switzerland more than twenty years ago and applied for asylum here. He said he was politically persecuted in Iran. If he returns, the regime will kill him. Whether this is true cannot be verified. The State Secretariat for Migration did not believe him and rejected his asylum application.

Fear of the regime

But the Iranian refuses to leave Switzerland – to this day. The authorities cannot deport him because Iran only issues entry documents if someone returns voluntarily. And so Amini lives here, under precarious circumstances. Although tolerated by Switzerland, it is illegal. He is not allowed to work and lives on emergency aid.

The emergency aid regime has been in place since 2008. As the latest figures from the end of 2022 show, more than 68,000 people have claimed it so far. This cost the state more than 840 million francs. The majority of those rejected do not stay in the return centers for long and leave voluntarily – or go into hiding.

However, there are people who defy all expectations, so-called long-term addicts. By the end of 2022, there were almost 2,600 people. They stay here because, unlike the authorities, they are convinced that they are at risk of persecution in their home country. Like Amini. However, some cannot leave the country at all because they cannot obtain the necessary entry documents from their home country. And forced return to other countries is not possible.

Work prohibited

Not only those who are rejected are in a dilemma, but also the authorities – especially when children are involved. The aim is for the rejected asylum seekers to leave the country. Those who live on emergency aid are therefore not integrated. Only basic existential needs are covered. Amini receives no money, only benefits in kind – food, used clothing, hygiene products. But at the same time it is a reality that some rejected people persist and depend on support.

Emergency aid is arranged differently depending on the canton. In Aargau, rejected asylum seekers receive a benefit of 7.50 francs per day, in Basel-Stadt 12.30 francs. In many cantons, to receive the money, they have to appear at the asylum seeker center once or twice a day for a check. Others pay out the money weekly. Some migration authorities prohibit leaving the canton or municipality. Violators risk jail time.

Although most rejected people are prohibited from working, in some cantons they are allowed to participate in employment programs. In Schwyz, for example, some emergency aid recipients can help fight neophytes or in the forest. There is no pay.

Every time Amini goes to the therapist, he gets a ticket for public transport. The Iranian needs psychological help because he cannot sleep at night. Years of living on emergency aid have left their mark: “It is psychologically damaging. Your body breaks down too. So much worry, so much fear,” he says. No future, no perspective, no horizon – Amini has crashed, like most recipients of emergency aid.

Eight to nine in ten recipients of emergency aid suffer from depression. One in three people has suicidal thoughts. Three quarters have multiple mental health conditions. This is the outcome of a 2018 study. From the perspective of 500 experts, the situation is dramatic. That’s why they signed an open letter in 2022 calling for a fundamental overhaul of the system.

One of the requirements is that people like Amini are allowed to work. But: he himself took his own life a long time ago. His wish for the future is: “Nothing. I’m not 30 or 40 years old anymore. It doesn’t matter,” he says resignedly. Amini believes death awaits him in Iran – and he has no prospects in Switzerland.

Source:Blick