Swiss asylum critics get ‘refugee’ makeover

GENEVA: Several of Switzerland’s right-wing politicians in favor of tougher asylum laws failed to see the funny side Monday when Amnesty International gave them a make- over and portrayed them as refugees in a media campaign. In the campaign, right wing politicians Christoph Blocher and Defense Minister Ueli Maurer — both leading figures in Switzerland’s largest party the Swiss People’s Party —
are photoshopped into refugees at a windswept Swiss asy- lum center. Sitting next to an outdoor stove with a pan bubbling away, a shivering “Mustafa” Blocher tells Maurer he is hungry and asks when their meal will be ready. On closer inspection the pan appears to contain the party’s mascot, a horned goat. “You need to be creative to get your- self noticed, given the amount of news that happens every day,” campaign organizer Magdalena Urrejola of Amnesty International’s Swiss chapter said in a statement. The cam- paign, which features posters, an online video and images on Amnesty’s local website and its Facebook page, aims to raise awareness about “incessant revisions” to Swiss asy- lum laws which “deprive the right to asylum of its sense,” the organization said.