Swiss Review 3/2019

Swiss Review / May 2019 / No.3 21 undertaken to access this option. But aside from the in- trinsic value they see in their missions, supporters of this path highlight a number of advantages when compared withmilitary service. The first is the possibility of return- ing home in the evening. The second concerns the reim- bursement of expenses for this activity, which is paid on top of the amounts given to conscripts by their insurance for loss of earnings. Tinguely also received an additional 500 francs from Tremplin, for a total of 2,300 francs per month. Better than in the army. A further advantage is the issuance of work certificates: “I was able to use my work experience in the NGOwhere I completedmy civilian ser- vice,” explains Milan. This would not have been the case with military service, even if the latter option can also sometimes open doors. Government moves to restrict civilian service Civilian service meets needs in the social, healthcare and educational sectors, and is becoming an increasingly pop- ular choice for young people. Between 2010 and 2017, the number of days completed as part of a civilian service missionmore than doubled, jumping from878,000 to 1.78 million, with 6,785 admissions and almost 48,000 peo- ple serving at the end of 2017. Alarmed by this success, the Federal Council has launched an offensive aiming tomake New film pays tribute to the pioneers of civilian service It’s the incredible story of a group of young protesters who, in support of ci- vilianservice inSwitzerland, laiddown theirweapons anduniformsbefore the Federal Parliament building and had womentearuptheirmilitarypassbooks. This event tookplaceon22April 1971 in Berne and is the starting point for the film “La preuve de l’existence de Dieu” (Proof of the existence of God) byGene- vanFredBaillif. Screened inGeneva on 14March 2019 as part of the Geneva In- ternational FilmFestival andForumon Human Rights, this pseudo-documen- tary functions as a tribute and raises questions relating tomilitant activities, aswell as “the statusof theelderly inour social context, where they are shut out from society once their work is fin- ished”, states the producer-director. “La preuve de l’existence de Dieu” is played by the real-life protagonists of this militant action alongside ex- perienced actors, Jean-Luc Bideau and Irène Jacob. In the film, six sen- ior protesters campaign against weapons exportation and turn to ter- rorist methods, blowing up an arms factory. In reality, the actions in Berne were to lead to prison sen- tences of up to four and a half months, explains Alain Simonin, one of the protagonists in the film. The Genevanmilitants’ operation in- volved 22 men and 8 women and was prepared with the help of two Gene- van lawyers who would go on to be- come State Councillors: Christian Grobet and Bernard Ziegler. The aim was to plan a crime which would lead to criminal sentences, in the case of the women for the destruction of military equipment. In the end, the objective was not met. The group, which notably included a theologian and a garage owner, wanted a collec- tive conviction, and so a political trial, but each group member was judged separately and the women were released. Nevertheless, the group achieved a substantive re- sponse, signed by the Federal Coun- cil, to which a 400-page manifesto on civilian service had been delivered. “Our actions influenced the creation of civilian service,” reflects Michel Sermet, who served his sentence in Geneva. Born of a Genevanmilitant group which had established a concept em- bodying civilian service for the pop- ulation, the movement in favour of a community-based service was re- flected in other French-speaking can- tons and attracted support from in- tellectuals in the German part of Switzerland too. “We paid for our ac- tions, and our sentences brought us credibility,” recalls Alain Simonin with satisfaction. (SH) Michel Sermet Photo fresh prod Alain Simonin Photo fresh prod