Switzerland. Geneva. Homeless people stay at nights in the fallout shelter Richemont during the winter season. A story about poverty, migration and harshness of modern society. The bunker was constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War and is a unit of the Civil Protection. Switzerland is unique in having enough nuclear fallout shelters to accommodate its entire population in case of emergency.
The men and women who sleep at the shelter come from near and far...
more »Switzerland. Geneva. Homeless people stay at nights in the fallout shelter Richemont during the winter season. A story about poverty, migration and harshness of modern society. The bunker was constructed as civil defense measures during the Cold War and is a unit of the Civil Protection. Switzerland is unique in having enough nuclear fallout shelters to accommodate its entire population in case of emergency.
The men and women who sleep at the shelter come from near and far – locals from Geneva, other Swiss citizens and foreigners. What they almost all have in common is that they have suffered serious blows in life: a failed marriage, losing a job, psychiatric troubles, various addictions or simply a miserable exile.
When the nights become cold, the city of Geneva offers them 200 places to stay in two civil protection shelters. Open from mid-November to the end of March, these relics from the Cold War date from a time when Switzerland wanted to be able to provide underground shelter for its entire population in the case of a nuclear attack. Today they serve as dormitories. Doors open at 7.15 pm, the guests eat soup, may take a shower, they talk for a while and then go to bed. And in the morning, after breakfast, everyone has to leave at 8.15 am.
Accommodation and food are provided free of charge to the most vulnerable. But there is no question of settling at the shelter: no one can spend more than 30 nights there, only renewable on presentation of proof of an emergency. Run by the city authorities, in partnership with various charities, the two shelters welcomed 1,500 people of 65 nationalities during the winter of 2013 / 2014. Each person stayed on average 19 nights, with 58% coming directly from the street and 54% with no income. For all those tormented souls, the shelter is a haven of peace, a place where they can be heard and even a question of survival.
Initially conceived as a hospital, the Richemont shelter is located under an athletics stadium, bordering the Grange Park.
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