Swiss Review 4/2020

Swiss Review / July 2020 / No.4 28 news.admin.ch The biggest repatriation operation in Swiss history The COVID-19 pandemic plunged the world into a crisis like no other. Many Swiss nationals abroad were also severely affected. How did the FDFA help these people at the height of the crisis? JOHANNES MATYASSY* Since becoming director of the Con- sular Directorate of the Federal De- partment of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) around two years ago, I have already overseen numerous challenging cases in which we were able to assist Swiss nationals in difficulty abroad. Never- theless, the crisis management meas- ures that we initiated in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic were on a scale that even the FDFA would scarcely have imagined not so long ago. But how exactly did we assist thosewho needed our help? Andwhat could the ‘new normal’ possibly look like after the hoped-for end of the pandemic? How it started Once the Federal Council declared an ‘extraordinary situation’ on 16 March 2020 in light of the rapid spread of COVID-19, the FDFA focused its atten- tion on crisis management at all lev- els. However, the coronavirus had al- ready been preoccupying the FDFA and Swiss representations in China on a daily basis for some time. From the end of 2019, an increasing num- ber of inquiries came in fromworried citizens via the FDFA helpline. The pandemic then started to overshadow everything else from the beginning of March 2020, forcing us into over- drive. Into the public consciousness The ensuing crisis saw a change in public attitude towards the citi- zen-oriented services that have tra- ditionally been a key component of Swiss foreign policy. The media and wider public normally take little no- tice of these services, but things were much different this time. On the one hand, the provision of assistance to our fellow compatriots has long been a widely debated and, at times, emo- tive issue. On the other, many thou- sands of Swiss nationals abroad fi- nally gained direct first-hand experience of what ‘citizen-oriented services’ mean in the context of Swiss foreign policy. People also discovered that the FDFA would not have been able to offer its services in many in- stances had it not been for its wide global network of representations abroad. It was this broad network that allowed the FDFA to tailor its re- sponse to local conditions and pro- vide uncomplicated and effective as- sistance without ignoring the quintessentially Swiss virtue of per- sonal responsibility. Stranded abroad The action taken by the FDFA during the coronavirus crisis benefited two different contingents of Swiss nation- als. Firstly, people who had travelled abroad and wanted to return to Swit- zerland needed our support. But then we also had Swiss living abroad who had got into difficulty and were no longer able to do anything about it. Therefore, we initially wanted to help stranded tourists returnhome. At the beginning of the crisis, it wasmore or less still possible for people to re- turn to Switzerland independently on commercial flights. Swiss representa- tions were on hand to inform and as- sist tourists where necessary. Thirty-five FDFA-organised flights However, the deteriorating situation prevented others from getting back from many parts of the world under their own steam. The FDFA conse- quently launched a repatriation oper- ation. From the outset, we could not have predicted that this would be the largest airlift of its kind in Swiss his- tory. The federal government organ- ised 35 flights in total, repatriating about 4,200 Swiss in the process. The campaignwas remarkable not only for its size, but also for its success in ex- tremely challenging circumstances. Staff at many Swiss representations had to work day and night to obtain the necessary landing rights and en- sure that stranded citizens made it to the departure lounge in the first place. Support continues Now the focus is on assisting those who, until now, have been unable or Johannes Matyassy: “Many people finally gained experience of what ‘citizen-orient- ed services’ mean in the context of Swiss foreign policy.” Photo donated Consular assistance for Swiss returning home; Bangkok Airport, Thailand. Photo: FDFA