Swiss charities overwhelmed by offers of help for refugees
Switzerland’s main charities have been so overwhelmed by donated items to help the Syrian refugees that they have made an appeal for money only. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)
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When the Catholic church appealed for clothes donations in Arlesheim, canton Basel Country this weekend, they were completely overwhelmed. They had feared that they would struggle to fill a shipping container. Instead, they ended up filling five.
And Switzerland’s main charities have been inundated with offers of donated items. The Swiss are anxious to open up their homes to Syrians and help in any way possible. But charities insist that what they really need is money to help the thousands of refugees in camps.
Earlier this year, the Swiss cabinet agreed to welcome an additional 3,000 refugees over the course of the next three years. Since the war began four years ago, Switzerland has taken in around 9,000 Syrian refugees.
The cabinet also approved an additional CHF20 million in humanitarian aid to Syria, bringing Switzerland’s contribution to CHF50 million for the war-torn country in 2015.
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