The Switzerland of Others - How do they live? What do they think? On trying to get closer to young people from Dietikon and Spreitenbach. (Swiss Press Text 2021, by Tuğba Ayaz) - Swiss Press Award
Das Magazin
Tuğba Ayaz
In the spring of 2019, young people from Dietikon and Spreitenbach are brawling in the Tivoli shopping centre. Those involved are predominantly Swiss from an immigrant background. The author wants to find out what motivates these young people to become involved in this scene. Her plan fails. The teenagers refuse, avoid her and make themselves scarce. Nevertheless, a story emerges which does provide some insights. For example there’s Géraldine. She is Swiss and has no history of immigration in her family. In the schoolyard she gets called “shitty Swiss girl”. At school they make fun of her dialect, so she starts talking like the others. At home, her family scold her for it. Or there are the students at the technical college. They experience rejection because they are perceived as foreigners. They appreciate the opportunities they have in Switzerland, but do not feel completely at ease here. The author writes: “These young people are Switzerland. But their stories still don’t connect with those of the majority of society.
Interview with Tuğba Ayaz
