Racism is omnipresent in Switzerland

• Paul Seewer

• Screenshot SRF

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  SRF presenter Angélique Beldner experiences racism in front of the camera.

For once, SRF presenter Angélique Beldner (44) was the subject of a program herself. In a documentary that was broadcast this week, the woman from Bern deals with the racism she experiences in Switzerland because of the color of her skin.

They are grotesque, painful scenes. For example, those in whom a close reference person insists on continuing to name a popular sweet dish by its formerly common racist name, although her Beldner says that the term was hurtful to her and that she was insulted with it as a child.

Or discussed as a group of men what is supposed to be so bad about the N-word and whether they would also use it to name Beldner (yes, come to the end).

Even more shocking is the gentleman who almost physically harassed Beldner with an apparently lacking feeling for appropriate distance – and wants to tell her that there is no racial discrimination in the Bernese Oberland while he throws problematic terms and prejudices around.

The program shows: We white Swiss have learned nothing from the “Black Lives Matter” discussion.

We still deny how deeply racism is anchored in our society, in our thought patterns and in our language use. We still set our habits over the feelings of those affected. And we are still not ready to really listen to them.

That must finally change. Because the fact that such scenes will still be documented in 2020 is an indictment.