«Dialogue for understanding»

The group is composed of individuals who were themselves subject to compulsory measures or had been placed in foster care, as well as other members of the ATD movement. The participants, working individually or in groups, are in the process of writing down the story of their own lives and involvement with the subject of administrative detention. Volunteers assist them with that project, which was started in 2014. A group of some 15 individuals meets regularly for the purpose of writing a history of Switzerland from the perspective of families that have been struck by poverty in the past or in the present.
The purpose of the meeting between ATD Fourth World and the IEC was to promote an exchange between those involved in academic research on the use of compulsory measures in Switzerland and individuals who were directly concerned by such measures. The IEC’s research design provided a starting point for the discussions.

«How does a patchwork of individual personal histories come together to make history? »

The members of the group «Investigating history» had prepared in advance for the meeting at a workshop where they formulated comments and questions on the IEC’s research design. The questions were presented by the people chosen to represent the group. Of the many pertinent questions that were raised, three are here considered in greater detail:

• Poverty: The question of whether poverty can also be seen as one of the causes of placement in incarceration is articulated and discussed.
• Current relevance: There are many questions relating to the inter-generational aspect of the use of administrative detention. A number of those present had been subjected to compulsory welfare measures and had been placed in foster care as children, only to face the same treatment when they themselves became parents. They had either lived in constant fear that their children would be taken from them, or had actually been deprived of custody over them. The question is also of topical political relevance: how is it possible to reach the people who are in charge of taking such decisions today – particularly if one assumes that «people back then thought they were doing the right thing, just as people today think they are doing the right thing», as one participant put it?

• Mutually complementary perspectives: An academic, historical reconstruction of the past and the testimony given by a single individual reflect two very different perspectives. To properly understand the issues, it is necessary to consider both of those perspectives. In other words, the widely different frames of reference are not mutually contradictory – they complement one another. The individuals who were subjected to such treatment have a very personal need to understand what they experienced. Historians, on the other hand, normally focus on the overall context of events. The stories told by individuals of their own personal experience enable historians to more thoroughly grasp the challenges involved in investigating the subject while still maintaining a critical distance (as, for example, in questions of terminology).

«From 'you' to 'us'»

At the closing discussion, it was notable that the discussions had progressed from the use of «you» to the creation of an «us». In spite of their different perspectives, expectations and approaches to the issues, the members of ATD and of the IEC share the common objective of making this history known to the general public. Such encounters make it possible for the participants to familiarise themselves with different perspectives and to sharpen their critical understanding, particularly with regard to the stigmatisation of people who have been subject to compulsory measures or who live in poverty – a phenomenon that continues to this very day.