In a viral TikTok video that has been viewed over 328,000 times, a young woman from the United States, who moved to Switzerland with her German husband “for a better life,” tearily talks about the “hatred people here have toward immigrants.”
“Switzerland is theoretically a great place,” the woman, who lives in Thurgau, said, adding that she has been experiencing "a lot of rejection" in her daily life – including from her neighbours, who ignore her or even scowl at her, she says.
“What have I done to deserve this – besides being born in another country?” she asks.
READ MORE: Are foreigners in Switzerland likely to experience some form of racism?
‘Have you tried to learn the language’?
Many of the 15,600-plus commentators sympathise with her predicament, encouraging her to “hang on.”
Others say that aloofness toward foreigners is not exclusively ‘a Swiss thing’ but also exists in many other countries in Europe and beyond.
“Come to Finland,” one commentator said. “We can go our entire lives without saying hello to our neighbours, even if they are related.”
Others suggested that perhaps she is treated this way because she has not tried to integrate.
“Today, many expats come, don't learn the language, and expect everyone else to adapt." one person said. "Have you tried to learn the language?"
"I live in a small village and locals look at you like dirt if they hear you speaking English," said another.
Some respondents chalked up the treatment the woman has received to Swiss mentality rather than xenophobia.
“The culture here is just different. We don’t do chit chat or small talk, no matter where you are from," one said.
And the hostility is not only directed towards foreigners. “There is enough hatred for Swiss coming from another canton," said one.
But some commentators have another take on the woman’s difficulties in being accepted.
“It’s not about you personally. Switzerland is a very small country and they are fed up with being flooded by immigrants.”
Not a unique case
The American woman in question is far from the only foreign national who has experienced the infamous ‘cold shoulder’ while living in Switzerland.
Surveys carried out over the years indicate that while Switzerland is the best country to make money, it is the worst place to make friends – often a long and onerous process:
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