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Switzerland

Does Aid To Poor Countries Stop The Flow Of Immigration?

LE TEMPS (Switzerland)

Worldcrunch

BERN - A study by Swiss foreign policy think-tank Foraus says that aid development policies in poor countries have no direct effect on reducing immigration flows, Le Temps reports.

The study found that most migrants come from countries that are already emerging or developed, but where there aren't enough jobs, like Tunisia or Turkey, not from much poorer countries such as Mali or Sierra Leone. As a result, aid policies that focus on these poorer countries have little to no effect on immigration.

"This thesis strengthens our opposition to the parliament's attempt to tie Swiss aid to the beneficiary countries' efforts to curb departures," Peter Niggli, director of a Swiss aid NGO conglomerate, told Le Temps.

There is an "immigration bump" when the average income per inhabitant is between $1,500 and $8,000 per year, as people gather enough resources to emigrate.

"This exploiting cooperation for interior political gain is dangerous because it generates the false hope of a quick regulation of immigration," said Stefan Schlegel, one of the study's authors. "It also risks diverting aid away from its main goal: reducing poverty in the most impoverished countries."

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LGBTQ Plus

My Wife, My Boyfriend — And Grandkids: A Careful Coming Out For China's Gay Seniors

A series of interviews in Wuhan with aging gay men — all currently or formerly married to women — reveals a hidden story of how Chinese LGBTQ culture is gradually emerging from the shadows.

Image of two senior men playing chinese Checkers.

A friendly game of Checkers in Dongcheng, Beijing, China.

Wang Er

WUHAN — " What do you think of that guy sitting there, across from us? He's good looking."

" Then you should go and talk to him."

“ Too bad that I am old..."

Grandpa Shen was born in 1933. He says that for the past 40 years, he's been "repackaged," a Chinese expression for having come out as gay. Before his wife died when he was 50, Grandpa Shen says he was was a "standard" straight Chinese man. After serving in the army, he began working in a factory, and dated many women and evenutually got married.

"Becoming gay is nothing special, I found it very natural." Grandpa Shen says he discovered his homosexuality at the Martyrs' Square in Wuhan, a well-known gay men's gathering place.

✉️ You can receive our LGBTQ+ International roundup every week directly in your inbox. Subscribe here.

Wuhan used to have different such ways for LGBTQ+ to meet: newspaper columns, riversides, public toilets, bridges and baths to name but a few. With urbanization, many of these locations have disappeared. The transformation of Martyrs' Square into a park has gradually become a place frequented by middle-aged and older gay people in Wuhan, where they play cards and chat and make friends. There are also "comrades" (Chinese slang for gay) from outside the city who come to visit.

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