Heightened Tensions in the Swiss Cantons of Tichino and “Bündnerland”

At the moment there is a lot of uneasiness in “Bündnerland” (the Grisons) and in Tichino because of an argument between three girls from Lugano and students from the cantonal school in Chur. According to police sources the Bündner school students made racist remarks while under the influence of drink to a young Somali woman in Lugano during the night of Sunday resulting in fists flying and the young woman from Somalia being knocked unconscious. The version of the Bündner school students sounded very different. In their version the girls from Somalia abused the group of students by using nasty talk and insulted one of the Bündner girl students.

When the Lugano police arrived fireworks really started. The police immediately waded into the cantonal school students using their truncheons. Legal proceedings are now being taken against the Bündner youngsters for racial discrimination and for causing actual bodily harm. In addition, a complaint has been made against the action of the Lugano police in turn because the action they took was “brutal, arbitrary and excessive”.

We obviously have no idea who actually started all this. However, the reports in the media are typical for such incidents. On the title page of the free daily paper "20 Minuten" they wrote that grammar-school pupils had beaten a “16 year-old coloured girl requiring hospital treatment”. Leaving aside the ridiculous statement of “coloured girl” for a full African the "20 Minuten" claims that the Bündner youngsters had caused the incident and were alone responsible. Other papers also laid the blame for the role as culprits on the students from Chur whereas the girl from Somalia is portrayed as the innocent victim.