Migration expert Omar Benhamida grew up in a Swiss children's home under the auspices of the Kinderdorf Pestalozzi organization and now works in Zurich
– In your opinion, how do the competent authorities of Switzerland and other European countries treat migrants?
– Both Switzerland and European countries in general treat migrants well, especially those from the Islamic world. Europe has given them everything that the wealthy states of the Middle East region denied them. As far as I know, for example, Saudi Arabia has not accepted a single refugee from Yemen, Syria, or Iraq.
Given the location, size, and population of Switzerland, it can be stated absolutely clearly that the Confederation has fulfilled and even exceeded its humanitarian mission. It should not be forgotten that more than 20% of this country's population are foreigners. Since 2011, as soon as political unrest began in the Arab world, the Swiss have done a great deal for them, both politically and on a purely human level.
– A couple of months ago, some Swiss politicians proposed no longer accepting refugees. How should such a call be understood in the context of what you have said?
– Let's rewind a bit. A lot has changed over the past decades. First, all immigrants arriving in Switzerland in the 1950s and 1960s were Europeans. Moreover, they were all Christians, meaning they already had something in common with the Swiss. But even in that period, seeing the number of Germans, Italians, and Portuguese gradually increasing in their country, the Swiss began to worry; they felt that their familiar way of life was beginning to crumble before their eyes.
Then, in the early 1980s and 1990s, when Arab, Turkish, and Albanian immigrants began to arrive in the country, an Islamic community emerged in Switzerland. And that was when the Swiss truly encountered completely new traditions, customs, and cultural aspects. This ultimately led to a change in their attitude towards foreigners in general for the worse. Of course, the difficult international situation, the increase in the number of armed conflicts, acts of violence, and terrorism also played a role. Therefore, the Swiss see a huge difference between "German or Italian labor personnel" and "asylum seekers from Tunisia or Iraq."
– Many people think that all foreigners are "parasitizing" Swiss society and taking jobs away from locals, don't they?
– Not at all! Such negative images began to be spread by the media especially persistently after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. But this position is simply surreal, because many sectors of the Confederation's economy would simply come to a halt if foreigners suddenly left Switzerland. Who built the cities in the 1960s, who cleans them now? Who built the roads, dug tunnels, and erected bridges? Of course, foreigners!
This country will not be able to maintain its prosperity either now or in the future without the help of computer specialists from India, bank employees from Germany and America, and so on. Moreover, the Swiss healthcare system would simply stop working if doctors, nurses, and support staff from the Middle East suddenly all left at once. Swiss society sometimes forgets this. And then the media adds fuel to the fire, emphasizing only the problems and negative aspects of immigrants' lives in the country, instead of also pointing out all the facts I just mentioned.
– One often hears that foreigners do not make enough effort to successfully integrate into Swiss society. However, it seems to me that issues related to the integration of Italian immigrants were discussed in a somewhat different tone in their time, especially compared to how the problem of social integration of people of Arab, Albanian, or Turkish origin is debated now?
– Actually, there were no significant differences. I well remember how Italians in the 1960s-1970s lived virtually in ghettos, forced to work from dawn to dusk. After work, they returned to their families or socialized with their friends, also Italians. For example, I have Italian friends who have lived in Zurich for over half a century but still do not speak German.
I believe that integration begins with learning the language. Language is the first thing you need to understand the "rules of the game" in a new social environment. Integration itself was a very complex process, because in the past Switzerland did not particularly support or care for migrants. Now everything has changed. Today, every canton and every city has integration offices or services that provide foreigners with the necessary assistance for as rapid integration as possible.
Furthermore, these services offer various opportunities for foreigners to learn the country's languages. It should also be noted here that, as a rule, for Italian, French, and Portuguese immigrants, the principle was: "I'll go to Switzerland, work there for about five years, and then return home and build myself a house with the money I've earned and saved." The same was true for North African immigrants who moved to France after World War II.
Foreigners who act this way have no incentive to learn the languages of the host country, and subsequently they do not understand the peculiarities of how Swiss society functions. On the other hand, over the decades since the 1950s, Switzerland has formed and strengthened an attitude towards migrants as temporary people! It was believed that they would all one day uproot themselves and return to their homeland. But from personal experience, everyone understands after the first few years of living in Europe – when they already have children who start going to school – that this hope is illusory, that no one is going anywhere anymore.
Italian immigrants remained in Switzerland, and if some did return to their homeland, it was only upon retirement. The majority of Italians never left Switzerland because their homeland had changed greatly both externally and internally. So, on one hand, they failed to integrate into Swiss society, and on the other, they have virtually no ties left with Italy.
– Why does integration always become a topic for various discussions? Who is to blame – new immigrants or the modern understanding of integration?
– In my opinion, both. When refugees from Bosnia and Albania began arriving in Switzerland en masse in the late 1990s and early 2000s, most Swiss had no idea who these people were or that they were mostly from Islamic countries. The Swiss accepted them because they were, first, Europeans, and second, war victims. In the early years, there were no problems at all, but later some among them became prone to crime. This was probably due to the increase in the total number of such migrants, as well as tragic events in their homeland. Thus, the word 'Albanian' became synonymous with something inherently negative; in the public consciousness, they became associated with theft and violence.
The same applies to refugees and migrants from the Arab world. Even before their arrival in Switzerland, a certain negative image had already formed – largely due to media coverage of migration. Arabs are reported on in the context of terrorism, sexual harassment, murder, discrimination against women, etc. On the other hand, some Swiss have a wrong idea about integration: in many people's view, a foreigner is considered integrated only when they adopt Swiss identity 100%. That is, if migrants could dye their hair blonde or change their eye color to green, they might do so without hesitation. But is that what integration is about?
– So what is real integration then?
– Such integration means the merging of two worlds to form a common way of life. The migrant must unite his two worlds – the first, which he will never completely leave, even if he tries very hard, with the second, his new world into which he must integrate, whose traditions he must respect, whose laws he must follow, and whose languages he must learn. The process will be successful when a positive dialogue arises between the cultures of the former homeland and the new country of residence. In fact, Switzerland does not forbid foreigners from preserving their customs and traditions. It even allows everyone to practice their religious traditions.
In the 1960s, for example, there were only three mosques in Switzerland, but today there are hundreds. Swiss law allows the creation of not only civil but also religious associations and organizations. In the 1970s, you couldn't find any special restaurants offering Arab food or halal products, but today such places exist in almost every city.
– Currently, problems arising from the clash of local customs with Muslim traditions are constantly discussed – headscarves, burqas, swimming lessons for girls, handshakes at school, and so on. Many Muslims believe that religion is more important than secular prescriptions. Do you think this might be the source of all problems?
– Yes, that's right! It's about finding an answer to the question: what place should religion occupy in the daily life of society? In Switzerland, this question was first raised 150 years ago. For comparison: if you want to catch up on a conversation that started five minutes before your arrival at a meeting, it will probably be very difficult to understand what was being said before. So in our case – a century and a half has passed, we have lost a lot of time!
We Muslims cannot understand the principle in force here of separating religion, which is a personal matter, from legal laws and generally accepted norms of behavior in public places. Europeans solved this problem only after prolonged wars. Millions of lives had to be sacrificed, and only then did everyone finally realize that religion should stay at home and in the temple, while everyday life is regulated by generally accepted secular laws.
It is precisely this misunderstanding that is the main cause of most problems that arise today between Muslim immigrants and Swiss society. Take the issue of swimming lessons for girls as an example. Muslim families who oppose contact between the sexes want to exempt their daughters from this subject. That is, they contradict Swiss law, under which swimming is a compulsory subject.
Many Muslims demand the removal of crucifixes from school classrooms, even though they are not the majority in this society. And this leads to another problem: Muslims are realizing for the first time that they are a minority. And that is precisely what they cannot or do not want to acknowledge. I ask myself: what would happen if a Christian student in Saudi Arabia made the same demands that Muslims make in the West? The reaction would be completely different than in Switzerland.
– Is there any magic formula for effective integration of Muslims in Switzerland?
– This is a very difficult question. Those who want to live in Switzerland can retain half of their culture and mentality, but they will have to readjust the other half of their identity to the culture and mentality of their new homeland. If an immigrant is unable to compromise, they will not succeed in integrating. Those who want to live in Switzerland the same way they did in their home country would be better off returning home. Perhaps that would be the best solution for both themselves and their children.