Foreigners, Switzerland Sees More and more Positive

The results of the CS Youth Barometer show that Swiss youths, foreigners and refugees in Switzerland, far less perceive them as a problem than just a few years ago. Since 2015, the number of youths who view migration as an important problem has dropped from over 50 to 29 percent. In the refugee crisis, the importance of the topic was raised briefly in 2015 and 2016, but it again fell to 2018 at the pre-crisis levels. Instead, youths are more concerned about their pension. In 53 percent, retirement is by far the most pronounced problem, writes “20 Minute”, records Albinfo.ch.

In addition, migration is becoming more and more positive. In 2010, only 7 percent of those surveyed have valued immigration as an advantage or an opportunity, compared to 16 percent in 2018. For 24 percent, immigration is no problem, in 2010 it was only 14 percent. And the number of people for whom increasing numbers of foreigners are a major or huge problem has dropped from 46 to 31 percent.

For Chloe Yans, coauthor of the CS Youth Barometer, this development is surprising. This is a massive change in the perception of the problem within a few years”. Many things are probably related to the fact that emigrant generation from the Balkans is well integrated in Switzerland. Many young people were educated with people from the Balkans, and they viewed them as part of the Swiss society. In this case, the school has played the role of an Integration machine”.

However, for older Swiss, scepticism is still high because such an integration experience is lacking. Another factor may be social media. Among platforms such as Facebook or Instagram, teenagers take in knowledge of the lives of others worldwide. This promotes tolerance and understanding of other situations”.