For ever the Swiss have been a hard working,peaceful nation in the centre of a Europe often engaged in warfare.The Swiss simply got on with it,minding their own business and keeping their own country as good as they could.
Now they are being accused of not accepting the criminally prone from anywhere.How awful that they should be so bloody fussy not to want the riff raff who would love to turn their country into another third world resembling the rest of the third world.
They too could have ethnic gangs,no go areas in their towns where the ghettoes deter the natural citizens.
They have no idea of the real effects of Multiculture, shame.

ORRRRR......could it be:

"The systemic failure of immigrants, to integrate, and the ensuing criminality, is at the heart of Switzerland’s escalating reaction to the discrimination by certain immigrants toward their hosts"

If anecdotal evidence is valid.. then the above is far more accurate.

All immigrants have to do is... accept Swiss culture, values and language...and not gather into ghettos.. and all would be well.

How hard is that ?

Ooooooh.. I 4got.... it's meant to be the other way round right ?

-Migrants come to a host country...
-the HOST country is meant to adjust to THEIR foreign culture...

Aaaaaah... NOWW.. I get it :) sorry for being to incredibly thick as to think 'new' comers should adjust to the 'existing' ways... well I better hive off into the cultural dunces corner for the next week for my terrible lapse in reason.

XENOPHOBIA- Irrational fear of people of foreign races, racism.

INVESTORPHOBIA - Justifiable fear of investment banks, Amity-chambers-of-commerce and governments using immigration to 'GO 4 Economic Growth' while providing ZERO plans for creating necessary sustainable environment, infrastructure, water, energy, social services and free space to house them without chaos.

Only a raving looney or someone with deliberate intent to overpopulate and harm Australia (or Switzerland) for personal profit would confuse the two.

Never mind the swiss, Australia CANNOT support more than the current 21 million people and even that number should be reduced by 1 million (with counterveiling Nuclear-industry & technology industry based security & human services programs)as we approach PEAKOIL.

With our mineral wealth, Australia can afford to have high class Scandinavian style democracy and rid ourselves of the "go-4-ridiculous immigration growth" that is Howard's utter drought stricken insanity.

"It is evident that there are significant problems with the integration of immigrants into Swiss society. It is usually expected that immigrants learn to speak the host nation’s language, obey its laws and understand its predominant values. However the host nation and its people also share a responsibility for integration, beyond the mere opening of their borders. After all, to integrate means to ‘combine into an integral whole’."

If the Swiss need people to clean their toilets and collect their garbage I'd suggest they seek to employ "Mickijo", "BOAZ_David" & "KAEP", alas, I feel they may consider themselves above such meaningless work - I'm sure we could encourage their assimilation though...if we really want them to.

BORRI...that was an interesting reaction..... not very helpful though, as you didn't do much except cut and paste the obvious, and have a few potshots at me Kaep, and Micki

I'll try to take up one thing you pasted,and run with that to the finishing line of 'constructive dialogue'.

You quoted:

>>and understand its predominant values. However the host nation and its people also share a responsibility for integration, beyond the mere opening of their borders<<

COMMENT:

1/ The migrants need to go further than 'understanding' the predominant values, they also need to ADHERE to them. (or get out/go home/run back 2 where they came from)

2/ Host nation responsibility: Yes.. very important. Be more specific?
-a) Inform prospective migrants of the VALUES an social habits of the Host, and advise them if they cannot feel comfortable about them AND share them,...DON'T COME.

3/ Re-Structure all 'migration related' services so their goal is 'integration/assimilation' not separation and retention of any incommpatable political, social or religious identity.
( a simple example is the advise Serbs and Croats NOT to bring their rather conflict ridden history into Australia)

Further. All migrants must be clearly advised that it is fully expected of them, that they will consider themselves AUSTRALIAN's first and Croats/Serbs/Bosnians/Arabs/Sudanese etc 2nd.

Programs must be initiated to fulfill this objective. Funding which currently facilitates 'multi cultural' activity should be re-directed into 'citizenship' and assimilaton related activities.

You know what ? :) if we do that, there will be NO black sheep to kick. We will all be 'Aussies'.

Borri,

Thanks mate. You comment (with fairly obvious assumptions in brackets):

"I'm sure we (southern Euro-Immigrants with cutthroat ambitions and divided loyalties) could encourage their (Australians believing in free speech and a fair go for all) assimilation though...if we really want them to."

This comment is sure to wake up all true Aussies to the intrinsic and important difference between INVESTORPHOBIA as opposed to XENOPHOBIA.

INVESTORPHOBIA where average Australians are disadvantaged in favour of certain immigrant groups is a LEGITMATE and non-racist reason for a majority vote against a multiculturalism that has IMHO had its fair run in Australia.

Next time we buy a kebab or pizza we can all think of being forced to clean some foreign shopowners dunny. See what that does to your precious immigration program that by all other world standards is a complete and utter freeload, particularly for southern Europeans in states DISPROPORTIONATELY dominated by politicians of direct italian or greek descent.

Ah ... Australia & free speech. That's my country!

PS I don't know exactly what is going on in Switzerland but judging by attitudes in suburban Sydney and Wollongong(http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/developers-bribe-offer-30k-4-u/2007/11/05/1194117934371.html), I think I have pretty damn good INVESTORPHOBIC idea.

Do any of you people actually know anything about Switzerland? Its one of the most zenophobic, insular, narrow-minded countries in Europe. Having lived and worked there I still have many more open-minded Swiss friends who are the ones who frequently bemoan the above.

Good grief, just look at their history. They were one of the most war-like countries around: divided into little cantons who were for ever knocking each other off on the basis that their canton was tip-top, number one and top of the pile. "Peaceful" little people "minding their own business" indeed!

Yet they are upheld here as paralleling Australia on the immigration question?

Well,...maybe the zenophobic, insular and narrow-minded sections of the Australian community perhaps?

Perhaps some of my earlier commentators would rather we emulate the insular attitudes of countries like Syria or North Korea! Have a good look at yourselves. Before we judge our contemporary immigrants we should remember that "Aussies" have done NOTHING to integrate themselves with the original inhabitants of this country.

"Mickijo", "BOAZ_David" & "KAEP" I can see that the only way is your way or the highway.

Hello all. I have some contact with Switzerland, so maybe I can add something here.
One of the other calls the SPP made was for a moratorium of the building of minarets, and probably mosques altogether. I suspect this is the key to understanding the call for foreigners who commit crimes to be deported.
Switzerland is a very christian country; mostly protestant but with a significant catholic minority.
Muslims are no-where in Switzerland or were, at least, up until very recently. Remember that Albania is Muslim - the rape by two Albanian children of a Swiss child will have indicated to many Swiss that the problems that Denmark, Holland, France, Germany and Sweden have been having are now starting to occur in Switzerland.
I take this as another European country saying "No" to the Eurabia project of the last many decades.

The Swiss are xenophobic by definition. Always have been. That is why they have never had any problem whatsoever making money at the expense of others. After all others are not Swiss.

Having said that, for such a small xenophobic nation they have still taken in more refugees per head of population than large roomy Australia.

The Swiss reaction is understandable when they can see the problems that are so serious in other parts of Western Europe, when immigrants are not helped to adapt, as they must, and the existing population does not know how to help, as they must. In parts of UK visiting Australians report 'near civil war' bubbling as immigrant groups long down-trodden produce new rebellious generations.
Australia has managed very well with most of our immigrant groups, but there are still problems when migrants bring with them values and practices that downgrade women, cannot allow religious freedom, or where youth has been accustomed to violence. We have had/have all these in our own past too. At present our African refugees are receiving practical help from the State in housing etc, and personal help from community groups, but inadequate help in cultural matters such as car driving, keeping the peace in face sometimes of provocation, and family planning.
It would be better for all of us including immigrants, to know and accept a shortened version of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, than have a citizen's test of trivial information that most of us would fail.

I do not condone the Swiss People Party's position, however: Because of its position and its wealth, Switzerland has always attracted people from all over Europe wanting to live and work there. In the 50s, 60s and 70s it were the Italians, Spanish and Portuguese then Turkish workers. Now they come from Albania, Romania.The influx of people has increased manifold. Adding to this are myriads of refugees first eg. the Hungarians, Czechs, Poles, lateron refugees from Vietnam, former Yugoslavia and African countries. Switzerland is a small country - about the size of Tasmania with a population exceeding 8 million. For the past years Switzerland has tried hard to integrate migrants, eg in the Cantons Basel-Stadt and Basel-Land where a Swiss dialect is spoken as opposed to High German which is the written official German language, even kindergarten teachers have to speak High German in class so migrant children will have it easier to express themselves in the written language. It is also a fact that there are criminal gangs of Albanian, Rumanian, Bulgarian and Russian backgrounds committing crimes from prostitution to robbery.
Switzerland may not have the best track record but I find it a bit rich to point the finger at Switzerland when Australia is even worse with its approach of dumping refugees including children into detention centres. Fear of the unknown is being exploited by political parties worldwide.
I was born and educated in Switzerland, a child of a Swiss mother and a Dutch father who had grown up in Germany. I grew up speaking various Swiss dialects and High German at home, fluently and without any accent - I got my fair share of ridicule because of my High German. That's life. Switzerland is not as safe as it was when I grew up. So do not blame the Swiss if they try to protect themselves and support the Swiss People party. After all there are Australians who suspect that every Muslim is a terrorist....

Clarisa Kiel's article about Switzerland follows the customary approach of the modern post-Marxist who's dream of multicultural utopia is becoming unravelled, blame the whites.

If immigrant groups are four times more likely to engage in criminal behaviour than Swiss, the fault lies not with the immigrants, it is the fault of the Swiss. She claims that the Swiss have been remiss at "integration" when the concept of "integration" has been denounced by multiculturalists like her as "racism" for decades.

People like Clarissa have been programmed to believe that nationalism and racism are two new Deadly Sins, to add to the existing seven. With all the enthusiasm of crusading evangelicals they think that by denouncing these two new evils that they will herald in a new Age of Aquarius. Multiculturalism is seen by Clarissa and her comrades as a way to destroy nationalism while the resulting white racism is savagely attacked. The fact that criminal behaviour can be perceived as immigrant racism towards whites is studiously ignored. Such unpleasant facts must never be allowed to sully the holy scriptures.

The fact that multiculturalism has been a disaster in every state it has been tried will never deter the likes of Clarissa Klein. Belief is a wonderful thing, and she is a True Believer.

Fortunately for Switzerland, they have a real democracy where the central government is weak and the local cantonal governments are strong. This direct demcratic process makes it difficult for Swiss elites to ignore the wishes of the people through a party political system where the public can be ignored by common agreement by party leaders.