Candles light up Swiss cities in show of support for poor households
NGO Caritas, with the help of the Swiss population, lit candles in Bern to draw attention to poverty in Switzerland.
Obs/caritas Schweiz / Caritas Suisse
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2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
With its “One million stars” campaign, NGO Caritas expressed solidarity on Saturday to the more than one million people in Switzerland who do not have enough to live on.
Oceans of light with up to 2,000 candles were lit in around a hundred locations, Keystone-SDA reported.
The events, which were open to all, began at dusk. The action took place in big cities and small towns alike, and also offered a programme for families and for reflection.
Poverty is often invisible, says the NGO, which is why Caritas invited everyone to come along and light their own candle as a sign of support.
According to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), 745,000 people are affected by poverty in Switzerland. Almost as many live on the minimum subsistence level. In total, around 1,240,000 people – one person in seven – do not have enough money to live on. Their income is well below that of the population as a whole.
Families with three or more children are more likely than average to be affected by poverty.
And the phenomenon is getting worse. Since 2014, poverty in Switzerland has been rising steadily. The increase in health insurance premiums for the new year will further worsen the situation of people whose financial situation is already precarious.
They are also suffering more than the average from the rise in the cost of living. Caritas points out that food prices have also risen more sharply than general inflation.
“Poverty often results in social isolation. The Christmas period is particularly difficult when there is not enough money for everything”, explains Christine Gerstner, coordinator of the event for the regional Caritas organisations, quoted in the NGO’s press release.
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