Keystone-SDA
On the Mollis (GL) aerodrome, the largest temporary arena must welcome the federal Swiss wrestling festival at the end of August and alpine games (FFLS). Lack of volunteers, refugees were recruited on the site.
(Keystone-ATS) Since mid-July, refugees and asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine and several African countries have been activated on the FFLS site in Mollis. Their mission: to set up capitals and help to set up the party facilities, the canton said on Tuesday.
The initiative was taken in the short term, because too few volunteers had registered, specifies the Department of the Economy and the Interior of the Glandian. In a short time, organizers and authorities set up the deployment of refugees as part of the employment program for people in the asylum sector in the canton of Glaris.
“At the beginning, they were a little skeptical, but today, they are very committed and love their work,” said Carlo Bommes, of the organizing committee of the demonstration, quoted in the press release. “It is a very integrative mission,” said Christine Saredi, head of the asylum sector in the canton.
Crowded
As a thank you for their commitment, refugees will be able to visit the volunteer’s gallery during the demonstration. From August 29 to 31, the organizers await 56,500 visitors in the arena and 350,000 on the entire festive site.
For nine weeks, ten site managers and a hundred soldiers are at work every day. The equipment comes from different major events, including Formula 1. Currently, the six stands are already in place.
But the most important element is yet to come. 37 tonnes of sawdust will be poured in the coming days to train seven rings in which 274 wrestlers will measure themselves at the end of August.
Self -financing
The federal struggle party takes place every three years. For the president of the organizing committee Jakob Kamm, it is the culmination of a long journey, he told Keystone-Ats. He worked there for 15 years.
At the time, the idea of bringing the federal festival of struggle to the canton of Glaris earned him criticism and mockery. Many judged the demonstration too large for a canton of only 40,000 inhabitants. We also feared the spectrum of a deficit, as in Pratteln (BL) in 2022.
Since the January figures, it is clear that the party is self -financing. Migros, who will celebrate the centenary site with 30,000 employees, has made an important contribution in particular. The total budget is quoted between 35 and 40 million francs, according to the FFLS website.
