- The head of the Swiss canton of Lucerne's social services and health department, Guido Graf, has been accused of "racism". This followed his remarks about Ukrainian refugees, the local newspaper Luzerner Zeitung reported.
Earlier, in an interview with the newspaper Blick, Graf noted that Ukrainians "in some cases are more demanding" than other asylum seekers. In every wave of refugees, he said, the first to arrive are not the most needy, but those who can afford it.
Graf said locals were very unhappy that refugees were driving around in SUVs and receiving welfare assistance at the same time. "Other refugee groups also don't understand why they are not allowed to have a car while Ukrainians can," RIA Novosti quoted the department head as saying.
Following these statements, the official has faced accusations of "racism", according to the newspaper. For example, Cantonal MP Urban Fry accused him of spreading "deliberately negative generalizations" against Ukrainians. In Fry's opinion, Graf's statements threaten local residents' sense of solidarity with Ukrainians.
Earlier, it was reported that a Polish resident kicked out of her home a Ukrainian refugee and her daughter, whom she took "out of the goodness of her heart". According to her, the main problem was pelmeni. Teresa, a chef by profession, said she offered to cook pelmeni and Ukrainian borscht for the Ukrainian woman. At first things went well, but later the Ukrainian guest started trying to establish her own rules and the kitchen became a production site. In the end, the Polish woman could not stand it and found the Ukrainian woman a live-in job.
