Erstellt am: 9. 8. 2013 - 12:59 Uhr
The sinister tale of Oprah and the handbag
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Switzerland is not known for being overly friendly towards immigrants. You may remember the controversial ban on new minarets a few years back, and while the official figures on the asylum seekers they take is one of highest in Europe, there is nevertheless a strong racist undercurrent among the general public.
EPA/MARCEL BIERI
However, the Swiss are generally credited with being good business people with a flair for selling luxury goods - which makes the latest headline among the "racism in Switzerland" stories all the more embarrassing.
Somewhere in Zürich, a black American woman went shopping for a new handbag in a fashionable boutique. She asked to see a bag she liked that was on display on a shelf behind the assistant. The assistant refused, saying the bag was "too expensive" and the woman should look for something cheaper.
EPA/TRACEY NEARMY
The black American woman was Oprah Winfrey, who is maybe not a familiar face on Swiss TV, but still one of the world's richest and most influential women. Oprah could not just afford the bag, she could easily afford the whole shop, if she wanted it.
Oooops! One missed sale, and one shop assistant who will undoubtedly re-live that moment over and over for the rest of her life.
Of course, it's an amusing anecdote - but it carries a very sinister subtext regarding the very serious problem of racism in Switzerland. This is reflected in the plans by some Swiss towns to ban asylum seekers from some public places, in measures that are being compared to apartheid.
In today's Reality Check, Imogen Foulkes reports from Berne on the measures being proposed and the public attitude towards them.
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Steve Crilley reports on why the beautiful and historic French island of Corsica is also Europe's murder capital.
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