Switzerland forum < Why is it so hard to make friends in Switzerland??

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    Switzerland & Racism

    posted by  Roger B in Switzerland forum 

    Look guys, as you know by now, I'm not an apologist for racism in Switzerland. It does exist, it's not good. I'm also not stating that it was easy making friends in Switzerland, for this, the comments in this forum are just too obvious.

    However, I once again will try to put some of your criticism into the context of a Swiss liberal and try to throw in some arguments you might not have thought of yet.

    First about Swiss coolness, well, I say it again guys, don't think that such behaviour is exclusively geared against foreigners. The Swiss are a seclusive and reserved people. In a way, our culture is very geared towards allowing for privacy (how else do you think we became famous for our banking services - wasn't that exploiting exacetly this character trait?). It might not offer any solace to you, but I can tell you that there is a whole lot of Swiss feeling the same way, having the same problem. Only difference tough, is that usually the Swiss are less restrained by language. Something you have to keep in mind is that for English-only speakers it's even tougher. English is taught in schools these days but only since a relatively short period of time. Today, people from the mid-twenties bracket on probably speak a "sub-optimal" level of English, except if they were at college (which is a minority, given our system of professional education). Ads just another layer of complexity to it. I personally had some business encounters or know some friends, that literally lock up when they are confronted with someone speaking English or French because they fear being ridiculed for their language skill or, they possess only such a limited level of English so that the topics they can talk about are very limited.

    Second about racism, well, first and foremost it's probably something you can easily find anywhere in Europe these days. It's a sad truth that problems of immigration have been glossed over for too long, that they have not been adressed properly by the "normal" parties so that now we observe a back-lash of sorts. For too long, political correctness has prevented any meaningful and honest debate about the topic. But again, this is nothing uniquely reserved to Switzerland, how else would you explain the successes of the Flams Belang in Belgium, Geert Wilders' Party in the Netherlands, the Front National of France or the BNP in the UK? How else to explain the treatment of Roma/Sinti in France or Italy? Or Tilo Sarazin with his thesis in Germany? The difference is though, that measured by these examples our SVP is actually quite tame (not so the SD) and not a single topic party (as said somewhere above, it's lots of grayscales). The SVP is genuinely conservative, with a conservative agenda not so different from those of the conservative wing of the GOP, Tea Party or even the Torries. Furthermore, I think the reason why they became popular in the first place was not necessarily the immigration issue but the discussion about entering the EU or not (was practically the only party to be against such an endeavor). The thing is that with their provocative attitude, they managed to get themselves a reputation as racist party on par with the FN or Geert Wilders. Their provocative attitude and campaigns were also the sole thing you could hear about them outside Switzerland. There are many Swiss that consider them to be racist (especially from the left), but to be honest with you guys, I don't share this characterization. As a person thoroughly opposed to the SVP/UDC and knowing their program, I still don't think their characterization as a racist party is appropriate. While their views on some topics might be extrem and provocative, basing the judgment or characterization of a party only on, this would go too far. So Karim, I think citing articles with the subject of racism in Switzerland to proove that we, as a whole people, are genuinely racist, is absolutely unfair. Especially if one can repet this excercise for the UK, the US, France or any other country on this planet.

    Now, let me explore the immigration topic somewhat more. We have to keep in mind that (in 2009) roughtly 22% of the population living in Switzerland was not-Swiss, i.e. foreign non-naturalized (not counting temporary working permits etc. this would levy up the number to 35% for 2006). To compare that, in the US its 7% in the UK 10.6%. So the impact on a relatively small, relatively densely populated country like Switzerland naturally is higher. Now, what's it all about blaming "Jugos". Well, first we took in a lot of refugees during the Balkan Wars from Albanians to Serbs. And second, many of those remained in Switzerland, were allowed to bring in family, raised children and settled definetively. The truth about the situation is that politics turned a blind eye for too long to the problems boiling up. This is exactely a situation where well meaning political correctness was detering real and fair solutions. Violent behaviour was and is common place among their youth, something that actually pops up in statistics. The sole difference between now and back in the 90's is that today the media attention is skewed towards exposing youth violance instead of glossing it over (as in the 90's). To make it clear, I'm not judging yet where such aggressivenes comes from. Many Swiss entirely blame it on them, saying they were offered all oportunities in terms of health care, education and social security. While you can probably say that the "drive to integrate" amongst the Balkan population was low (due to high numbers and local concentration), the Swiss attitude started to become negative and with that, people started to, in fact, discriminate. Now that this is ingrained in the people on both sides, it's very hard to get out. I really try to be open and fair, but still I get a bad feeling whenever crossing some Balkan youth late at night at a train station. I know it's wrong but I have witnessed too many things to the other side to shake it off easily (and therefore I'm contributing to the overall picture).

    And the general experience with the Balkan immigration, I'd say, also influenced the general attituted towards foreigners. As did the recent wave of immigration through the agreements with the EU. While this last phenomenon might be economically useful, it still leaves many Swiss with a certain anxiousnes. If you walk throu Zurich and every second person you meet is a German, you might understand what causes that anxiousnes. The unease is not purely cultural (as with the Balkanese) it is more economic. People fear that they're only here to take their jobs away. But again, pointing to discussions in the US or other European countries, that's not something exclusive to Switzerland.

    So why is this unease far easier to detect in Switzerland than elsewhere in Europe? Blame the political system. Unlike in any other European country or by extension the US (except for some of its states), people in Switzerland have a direct say and this not just through elections every four to five years. Here, social-democratic voters can vote social-democratic at the elections but still vote in favor of the extradition initiative (which, judging from the polls, many will do). And this then gives the media a story to talk about. Direct Democracy means a direct feedback about how people feel. Sometimes, as probably will be in the case of the upcoming extradition-initiative or as has happened with the anti-minaret initiative, the outcome is ugly. But in the UK, France or any other European nation, people simply would not have the opportunity to vote on such a thing. For the considerable merits the system brings, it also inherits some risks.

    This was a long answer, I think I could even expand it. The main point I wanted to bring forward: Yes, there is racism in Switzerland, yes, there is a certain unease with immigration and Yes, the Swiss are very bullish on privacy. But guys, look around, sadly that is not something exclusive to Switzerland (except for the privacy thing). It might not offer you solace, but these kinds of tendencies are visible througout the western world. And observing these trends, it really bugs me if you portray Switzerland as proto-racist hell on earth as it probably would bug you if I walked around depicting Switzerland as the motherland of happyness and tolerance. The world is too complex a thing to be seen in black and white. But the overall trend in the Western World deeply worries me.

    We need to do something against it. What do I do? Well, while I certainly cherish my privacy as much as do other Swiss, I try to be as open to foreigners as possible. I try to include people at my work place or my community, try to be open for conversations (you might have noticed that) and for a beer after work (or during it, depending on occasion :-)...

    Maybe one last tip, learn something about our history, politics and culture. Depending on occasion, it makes quite an impression and flatters us (at least me) if we notice that someone actually has dug into those topics and want to know something about us.

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