Advertisement ::

Enlarge Cartoon

The decision in Zug by a small commune to refuse citizenship to a severely mentally disabled child, one of three in the family, from the Balkans, to apply to become Swiss, has only one positive aspect: it might get people thinking about what citizenship is, who deserves it and why. Does everyone have a right to be a citizen of a country and what are the criteria? At what point do you switch nationality – call it allegiance – and at what point does the country where you feel at home have the right to refuse you or the responsibility to accept you?

This all assumes you are able to make these decisions. In the case of a mentally disabled child, and I am the mother of one, the criteria simply have to be different: the child, even as an adult, will always need care from the family and everything possible should be done to ensure that younger family members, who will be there when the parents are gone, share the same citizenship. If the other children are now Swiss, then it’s crucial for the family that the handicapped child is, too.

In our case, the family became citizens of St Prex, and therefore Swiss, two years ago. The commune never saw our daughter’s disability as an issue – to the contrary, they were welcoming and helpful. No, she doesn’t speak, is unable to make any judgements about her new citizenship, but they accepted our request for what it was: a practical matter. She was born here, has grown up here, and it is home to her. Her Swiss world needs to embrace her, and I hope Zug citizens find it in their hearts to be as generous as those in Vaud.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.