Swiss Review 5/2020

Swiss Review / September 2020 / No.5 21 Despite the COVID-19 restrictions, thou- sands demonstrated against racism in Basel at the begin- ning of June 2020. Photo: Keystone siz committee, has been calling for the peak to be renamed for the last 15 years. However, the threemunicipalities bor- dering themountain have steadfastly rejected the request. Misgivings have also centred around Zurich entrepre- neur Alfred Escher, whose well-connected family owned coffee plantations in Cuba where slaves worked. And even Henri Dunant ran his own colonial business before found- ing the International Committee of the Red Cross. In their book entitled “Postkoloniale Schweiz” (Postcolonial Swit- zerland), a group of Swiss historians document howDunant set up a financial scheme for a Genevan grain producer in Sétif, Algeria. According to the same book, Switzerland’s “colonialism without colonies”was beneficial not only towealthy indus- trialists but tomembers of themiddle andworking classes as well – like the mercenaries who fought for the French Foreign Legion in the French colonies. Hence, the long-hid- den legacy of Switzerland’s role in colonialism is an issue that transcends the rights and wrongs of knocking down statues. The role of black people Of greater immediacy are the recent protests that have fuelled the conversation onhow institutional racismaffects the lives of black people in present-day Switzerland. Most black peoplewho speak publicly say that racial profiling by the police and authorities is an everyday aspect of their lives. A UN report has criticised Switzerland for doing too little to combat it.