Chapter 103: Voting

In mid-September, Switzerland has already begun to gradually get colder, and Lucerne, on the border between mountains and hills, is surrounded by the convection of this cold air, combined with the water vapour from Lake Lucerne, which forms a large cloud of fog on the ground every morning.

As the sun rises, these clouds of fog gradually rise, forming clouds in the sky. They may gradually dissipate into the air, but most of the time they will turn into rain clouds, bringing with them showers of rain.

The weather forecast here is inaccurate, heavy rain can fall at any time, and the sun can poke its head out at any time.

Jonas drove his car and his grandmother sat next to him, driving towards the town at a speed of no more than thirty kilometers per hour.

The car drove through the rolling hills, surrounded by clouds and mist, like a fairyland.

The fresh air that enters the heart and breathes into the lungs can make people feel that the air is sweet, and life is nourished by nature.

The car was parked in the courtyard of the town office, and the town office that talked about no one on weekdays was very lively today, and the two wooden signs at the door of the small building of the town office were newly pasted on the white paper, revealing the reason for today's liveliness.

On the wooden sign on the left is a ballot proposal to expand the lynx's right to live.

The lynx, once considered a scourge by Swiss farmers, has now declined dramatically in number to the point where it needs to be protected.

But Swiss law is never something that can be determined by a small number of people patting their heads, and any change in the law requires a referendum.

On average, every Swiss votes more than 40 times a year, ranging from amending the constitution to protecting animals.

The wooden sign on the right is not a referendum sign, but a vote for a small town of Algerian refugees.

The Saeed family, from Algeria, took refuge in Switzerland as refugees in the early sixties and were placed in refugee camps, and in the small town of Megan in six or five years.

They have lived in the town for as long as Jonas, but they have to go out of the camp during the day to work and return to the camp at night to rest.

These refugees do not have the right to move freely, they do not have the right to work freely, and their children do not have the right to education.

Said is one of the five most educated refugee families, and he has received a Western education and actively integrated into Swiss society, which has won many people's recognition.

Naturalization of refugees is not possible, but in addition to naturalization, Switzerland has different residency permits for foreigners.

With a third type of permit, they have conditional access to education and work, and permanent residence permits, which give them access to most of their citizenship rights.

Jonas, who turned eighteen years old, had the right to vote for the first time, and it was also his first time voting.

Eleven members of Said's family gathered at the town office today, and their family has now multiplied to the third generation.

At this time, they were like prisoners on trial, humilly awaiting the judgment of the townspeople.

Seeing the robes, wrapping their heads, and the face carves that women were carrying, Jonas couldn't help but frown.

In addition to them, there are five families of refugees in the town, and in other camps, there are refugees like them. So the right to reproduce, they still have a choice.

After experiencing the wave of refugees in later generations, the whole of Europe was messed up by these refugees, although their family seemed to be pitiful, but Jonas did not have any pity in his heart.

Regarding the vote for the lynx, direct voting is sufficient, and there is a two-day time limit.

But about the Saeed family, there is an inquiry, and then their fate can be decided directly.

Although the clouds were thick, it had not yet rained, and the inquiry was held in the courtyard of the town office.

Meghan has a total of 3,000 people, about 700 households, and today there are about 500 family representatives, meeting the two-thirds requirement for the vote.

Because of the fear of rain, under the auspices of Mayor Clayty, the inquiry went quickly.

He gave a brief account of the Saeed's family's contributions during their eighteen years in the town, how much dirty work they did, how much tiring work, and how many families they served.

Then let the townspeople ask him some questions, which were answered by the Saeed family.

First of all, a few townsfolk who supported the Saeed family, and the questions they raised were superficial, and everything seemed to be going well.

But soon Mrs. Straub, who was working as a guide in the town, stood up and asked: "Mr. Said, you have been in town since I was a young girl, but after eighteen years you still wear national costumes and your children still do not speak German fluently, how do you prove that you are perfectly integrated into our society?"

"I have six children, four of whom were born in Meghan, and we call her home. Their German is not good because they have been living in refugee camps, which is due to environmental factors. If they could live outside and receive an education like ordinary people, their German communication would be better. ”

Another voice asked, "We are a Catholic community, are you willing to give up your original religion in order to integrate with us?"

Said pondered for a moment and said: "The Swiss constitution gives everyone freedom of religious belief, and I don't think that different religious beliefs will affect the harmony of our lives. ”

Jonas shook his head slightly, only to be noticed by Hannah. She whispered, "Jonas, what do you think?"

"I don't think they're ready to be one of us. ”

Hannah nodded and said, "Eighteen years have not changed them, they are hiding in the refugee camp and enjoying our help, but they are unwilling to integrate into our society, it is really very sad. ”

"Meghan is a harmonious town, and we would rather continue to raise them than let them be an unstable factor that affects harmony. ”

Hannah paused for a moment, looked at Jonas' calm face, and asked, "Don't you sympathize with them?"

"I sympathize with them, but sympathy doesn't mean I'm willing to accept them as one of us. ”

"It's cold......"

"But that's ...... life"

After the inquiry, it is time to vote. Hannah let Jonas call the shots, ticked a negative box on the ballot, and left the town hall with old Theon without waiting for the final results.

The old Theon and his wife did not drive today, they sat in the back of the car with Hannah, and Jonas drove to Maltes Farm together.

Several old people had already made an appointment to practice together today, and when they heard this arrangement, Jonas didn't want to go to the team to practice.

Hannah's youth coincided with World War II, when Switzerland was truly a country where all soldiers, including women, had to undergo military training.

Hannah looked weak, but her marksmanship was better than Jonas's. Now that she's older, she doesn't practice her marksmanship every week, but she does practice it at least once a month.

At the shooting range, seeing Grandma Hannah holding an automatic rifle in her hand and completing the first round of shooting with 10 guns and 96 rings in a standard posture, Jonas was ashamed to see that he only had 85 rings.

What else can I do? Keep practicing! I can't even be compared to an old man all the time!

After a few rounds of playing, the old men sat in the rest area and chatted, and Jonas shot at least twenty rounds, feeling that his right shoulder was a little heavy, and he was ready to take a break.

In the rest area, a group of sixty or seventy-year-old people were chatting about the news from the town office, and the application of the Saeed family was unsurprisingly denied.

Although they have lived here for eighteen years, they still retain a look of misfit, and it would be surprising if they could pass.

Seeing Jonas return, old Theon called him to sit down beside him and asked, "Did Enzel call you?"

"The training camp started on October 3, but I haven't received a call from him yet. ”

Old Theon said with relief: "Maybe he's waiting for you tomorrow's game, and tomorrow's game will continue to play a little better." ”

Jonas knew Yannick's behind-the-scenes movements better than he could, and knew that Enzelle was deliberately waiting for him to play a few more games before calling him up, so he didn't have the slightest concern. "I will. ”

The next morning, Jonas arrived at the team for a two-hour training session under the arrangement of the goalkeeper coach.

Jonas's ability has been recognised by everyone in the team, and everyone is proud to shoot through the gates he guards.

However, apart from the penalty kick, no one has been able to score in the free-kick training so far.

In the afternoon, they took a bus to the Olympic stadium in Lausanne in the heavy rain.

In this game played in the heavy rain, Jonas had the toughest game, covered in mud but kept the goal open.

Although he didn't score in this game, it really tested his goalkeeping skills.

At the press conference after the game, the head coach of the national team, who had come to watch the game, appeared at the press conference and sent a call to Jonas in person.

In front of the journalists, Jonas was honoured to accept the call-up and promised to use his goalkeeping skills to try to bring the Swiss team to the European Championship finals.

The Swiss national team has been a powerhouse in world football since its inception.

There are no stars in this country, but there are many players with outstanding skills, and the world ranking has remained in the top 20 in the world. In 2019, when Jonas crossed, they were ranked ninth in the world.

Of course, this is not just a true reflection of the Swiss football team, because the Swiss team has no stars, but there are 12 people off the field.

The Swiss team is the only team in the world that has not encountered unspoken rules and has always been supported.

FIFA, the IOC, and UEFA are all in Switzerland, and most of the world's referees are trained in Switzerland.

If it were dark in Switzerland, no official or referee would be able to do well.

At next year's European Championships, the Swiss team has reached the most dangerous situation. The remaining two trials must be won, and Belgium will have to be prayed for to lose one.

It is also strange to say that the Swiss team has a good record in the World Cup, but it is difficult to qualify for the European Championship.

Jonas was now seen as a savior, with two matches against East Germany and Scotland on October 5 and 12 respectively.

After these two games, the four teams in their group will compete for the only qualifying spot.