A mile-long line for free food in Geneva, one of world's richest cities

By 4am, more than 100 people stood waiting in the darkness outside the ice hockey stadium.

But in economic terms the crisis has been ruinous for Geneva's underclass - the unauthorised and underpaid workers often forgotten about in a city better known for its bankers, watchmakers and UN officials. The coronavirus infection rate has plummeted in Geneva in recent weeks, allowing authorities to markedly ease social distancing restrictions.Sukhee Shinendorj, a 38-year-old from Mongolia, was already living on the cusp of poverty even before the coronavirus reached Switzerland. He earned about US$1,600 a month as a restaurant cleaner - barely enough to feed his two children in expensive Geneva.

Geneva is home to several arms of the United Nations, including the World Health Organisation, the International Organisation for Migration and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. But the ethos of those institutions has not been entirely embedded within the city at large. 'NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE THIS' A group of seasoned activists first spotted Geneva's need for the food aid. In late March, campaigners from Caravane De Solidarite, a group originally founded in response to the 2015 refugee crisis, began handing out food in the street.

International aid group Doctors Without Borders has joined the effort, bringing its expertise from countless war zones to help manage the operation. At a nearby homeless shelter, set up by city authorities at the start of the crisis, staff members said they initially welcomed people who had already been living in the streets. But now they are sheltering a new kind of visitor: People who've lost their homes as a result of the economic side-effects of the pandemic.

🤣 What a joke!

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