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| (C) Tracey Vale 2014 |
From 1850 to as recent as 1979, and particularly prevalent during and immediately following World War Two due to economic degradation, children in Switzerland were taken from their homes and moved to foster homes where they worked as farmhands. Some were as young as two. Children were forcibly removed amid claims of poverty and where there were situations of single parenting. Often, the children were taken from single mothers. If the parent refused, argued or fought against the forced extraction of their children, they were threatened with prison.
On arrival, the children were uninformed as to what their new life would entail. They worked long days, before and after school, often from 6am to 10pm; were not given the privilege of a secondary education; and were not considered family. They suffered ongoing psychological problems, with many later turning to suicide. This was due, in part, to their extraction from their mother, separation from their siblings and the lack of love they endured under 'foster care'. They also suffered abuse, including physical and sexual; and endured hardship through punishment and withholding of food if their foster parents considered they hadn't worked hard enough.
Regardless of their appearance of undernourishment, abuse and the physical strain of over-work on their young bodies, teachers or other figures who raised such issues with social services were usually ignored. Case files have now been made available on a number of these children but, noticeably, much, if not all, of the documentation--by way of complaints and inquiries about the foster parents--are missing.
On occasion, social services would visit the various foster homes. The foster parents were alerted of
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| (C) Tracey Vale 2014 |
this by way of a white sheet strung out in the town. Subsequently, the social worker was greeted with the picture of a family eating together--the foster child or children included in the family meal and with no evidence that they were involved with child labour. It was the one time the child or children were given a reprieve from hard work. Social workers never spoke one-on-one with the child, instead asking questions of them in front of their 'carers'. Naturally, the children were too afraid to speak the truth.
The following article, with haunting photographs, tells the story of some of the children of these stolen generations who have recently been given access to their case files and continue to seek answers and peace.
From the BBC:
