Swiss Review 6/2020

Swiss Review / November 2020 / No.6 5 Mailbag Switzerland’s “colonialism without colonies” Many Swiss multinationals are still busy ex- ploiting the south. The idea that Switzerland be- came one of the richest countries in the world solely through its own hard work is absurd. Co- lonialism is still here. All we have done is replace the white racketeers with national puppets we approve of.We keep them in power withmoney and weapons. ERICH GAMBA, BOAC, PHILIPPINES It is quite incredible how Switzerland has developed this col- lective guilt because a few Swiss benefited from colonialism and slavery. And nowpeople todaywho had nothing to dowith it have to pay compensation. The recipients of the compensa- tion cannot be traced back to the real victims either. This is no moral tale. MARKUS ZEHNDER, LOS ANGELES, USA History is the study of the past. What happened then was the accepted norm of that era, not necessarily the present. To try to apply the norms of the past to those of the present is an un- acceptable comparison. Yes, the past waswrong in our eyes, but it was the acceptable practice of that time. Arewe to be blamed for the actions of our ancestors? The answer is no, nor would it be acceptable in any court of law. As long as we live our lives, in away that makes us proud, without harming others, andwith- out breaking any current laws we are leading good lives. Who knows how the future will judge us? NORMAN GERSHON, USA We should look and searchmore the present - howmuch is the West including Switzerland, benefitting from slavery today? The past is the past, we should learn from the past and adapt our action today - do we? Can we afford our western lifestyle, or are we living on the back of others? I venture to say, we still do - slavery still exists, maybe it is not as visible as in the past - but it is still as brutal as it was. It is a complicatedworld - greed for money and power is an obstacle for humanity to flourish. ERIK WAELCHLI, SOUTH BEND, USA Tearing down statues because people’s values have changed? Granted, making money from the slave trade is reprehensible in today’s world. Then again, maybe a CEO’s salary at a hun- dred or a thousand times more than the minimum wage will also be seen as reprehensible in a few years. Someone who is highly thought of today may be seen as an exploitative crimi- nal in future. Changing values could affect us all, evenme and you. This is why I would prefer if every monument were changed to incorporatemodern perspectives. For example, you could add another plaque to Mr de Pury’s statue showing the source of the wealth used to finance his philanthropy. ANDRE BURKI, PERTH, AUSTRALIA The divisive issue of 5G People will not rest until everything is de- stroyed. Then it will be too late. Climate change is enveloping us and causing problems that 5G cannot fix. Real progress can only happenwhen people look inwards instead of outwards all the time. But who wants to hear that? New ideas come from inner peace, not from being con- stantly bombarded with information. IRMA FURRER, BAVARIA, GERMANY I was disappointed not to see anymention of the pros and cons of Huawei in the “Swiss Review” article on 5G. Unlike in Eng- lish-speaking countries, this issue almost seems non-existent in Switzerland. The significant security concerns associated with amanufacturer froma totalitarian state do seem justified to me in some respects. PATRIK SCHMUKI, GERMANY Inmy view, there are two important arguments. First, whowill benefit themost from5G? The big corporations that can gather more information on users. Second, dowe want to entrust our personal data and all our interests to a totalitarian state that tears up agreements? CORNELIA BAUMGARTNER, NEW ZEALAND La Brévine, Switzerland’s very own Siberia Thank you for this rural article on La Brévine. It warmed my heart! Born in Lausanne in 1950, and having spent the last 40 years in Miami, my heart re- mains in the forest and ourmountains. JEAN PERROD, MIAMI, USA Great article! Thank you for granting me this moment of nostalgia. DAISY BENTURQUI, FRANCE Thank you for this lovely walk through Little Siberia, Switzer- land. I was born not far from this town, in 1956. On the way home from transporting the milk from the farm to the dairy, I got lost in thewind and the snow. I foundmyway thanks to the electricity poles, but my ears were freezing. They didn’t fall off, but I couldn’t feel them! I put up with the cold for years. BERNARD COLOMB, PLAN TAWAN, THAILAND