Campaign launched to encircle anti-refugee Swiss village with rosebush

A Swiss socialist youth party has kicked off a crowdfunding campaign to grow a 12-kilometre rosebush around a wealthy village in protest of inflammatory remarks made by the village's head to close off the alpine country with barbed-wire.

The Young Socialists Switzerland [JUSO] launched the online campaign to plant the hedge around the wealthy village of Oberwil-Lieli, which at the beginning of the month voted to pay a fine of $290,000 instead of accepting ten refugees into the picturesque alpine resort.

"The rosebush will also be a gift to the 48 percent who voted for the asylum policy. The roses can be picked up at the port by the residents and taken to their own gardens. As a symbol of resistance," JUSO said.

The president of the municipality of Oberwil-Lieli, Andreas Glarner, called for extreme border control this month to keep out an "invasion of asylum seekers".

"Switzerland must close all of its green borders with barbed wire," he told local media.

On May 1, Oberwil-Lieli - a village of 300 millionaires - held a referendum on whether to let in their quota of ten refugees.

The village voted against giving refugees a home by narrow margin of 52 percent to 48 percent.

The villagers' decision was largely made because of fears women would be at risk of Cologne-style sex attacks from the less than a dozen refugees and that they would spoil their peaceful way of life.

Voters in Switzerland are preparing for a vote next month on laws that could make it more difficult for refugees to seek asylum in the country.