Observer 21/07: Text: Urs von Tobel / Image: Renate Wernli
Twelve-year-old Sonia Idemudia can stay in Switzerland until the Zurich government council has decided on her lawyer's appeal.
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| Sonia is allowed to stay in Switzerland for the time being. |
“The suspensive effect of the appeal also means that a positive decision is possible,” says lawyer Marc Spescha, interpreting the latest decision. A quick look back: Two years ago, Sonia's father Elvis Faluyi Idemudia, a Swiss citizen of Nigerian origin, brought his daughter to Switzerland illegally. When he wanted to legalize their presence, the migration office refused.
It argued that Sonia had lived with her now 67-year-old grandmother and her 89-year-old grandfather in Nigeria for ten years and that her ties to her grandparents were stronger than to her father, who had been absent for a long time (see article on the subject). The fact that Sonia learned German surprisingly well in just two years and that teachers and school psychologists speak of successful integration was not noticed. Sonia herself leaves no doubt that she does not want to go back to Nigeria. Her Swiss friends also demand that she must stay here. Now it's the government council's turn - a little humanity would probably be appropriate for them.