Eritrea: Veronica Almedom - A defender of Eritreans’ human rights

Veronica Almedom, who arrived in Switzerland from Eritrea as a baby, is now a member of the Federal Commission on Migration.

Immigration affects everyone in Switzerland, but some people more directly than others. Veronica Almedom, who arrived from Eritrea as a baby with her family, is now an activist for the human rights of Eritreans.

“There's a great deal of communication and information work still to be done at a political level,” she says.

Almedom grew up in Martigny in French-speaking Switzerland and is now a student at the University of Geneva. Since 2016 she has been a member of the Federal Commission on Migration.

In the lead up to October's parliamentary elections, this is the second in a video series dedicated to looking at how political decisions affect the everyday lives of Swiss people.

Since 2017 Switzerland has steadily tightened its admission criteria for Eritrean asylum-seekers, who represent the largest foreign community seeking asylum in the country. However, having visited asylum-seekers sleeping rough, Almedom is angry and also critical of the Eritrean government.

“They’ve been abandoned by the whole world,” she says. “These young people have a resilience that I never will. Since I was born, I’ve had everything. I haven’t had to fight for my freedoms.”