Tibetan Swiss
 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 8,000+ | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Zurich, Geneva | |
| Languages | |
| Tibetan, Chinese, German, French, Italian, English | |
| Religion | |
| Buddhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Tibetans |
Tibetans in Switzerland (German: Tibeter in der Schweiz; Standard Tibetan: སུའེ་ཙེར་གྱི་བོད་རིགས་) are people of Tibetan origin or descent living in Switzerland. The Tibetan community in Switzerland began forming in the early 1960s and is now the largest Tibetan diaspora group in Europe.[1]
A number of Tibetans settled in the mountains of the Swiss Alps, as the terrain there is similar to that of their homeland on the Tibetan Plateau.[2] Initially, Tibetan children faced difficulties in school due to the significant language barrier between German and Tibetan, but the Tibetans were soon able to gain enough fluency in German to join regular Swiss classes.[3] Some Swiss people also learned basic Tibetan.[3] In 1968, the Tibet Institute Rikon was established in the village of Rikon im Tössal. It is the only Tibetan monastery in Switzerland.
History
[edit]In the early 1960s, Switzerland began accepting Tibetan refugees. Following the 1959 Tibetan uprising and the Dalai Lama’s flight into exile, public sympathy for Tibetans was strong in Switzerland, which defended its decision to resettle refugees by citing its humanitarian tradition in response to Chinese objections.[1] In 1963, the Federal Council approved a request to admit 1,000 Tibetan refugees. The Swiss Red Cross and industrialist Charles Aeschimann were involved in facilitating resettlement, including the arrival of an initial group of 23 refugees from Nepal and the placement of children into Swiss foster families. This aspect of the program later became a subject of public and historical debate.[1]
In 2015, the Dalai Lama defended the controversial fostering of Tibetan children by Swiss families in the 1960s. The program, arranged in agreement with the Dalai Lama, resettled around 200 children in Swiss foster homes or the Pestalozzi Children’s Village, although later reports revealed that only 19 were orphans.[4] The Dalai Lama stated the children had been in desperate circumstances and needed care.[4]
By 2022, Switzerland had become home to the largest Tibetan community in Europe, according to the Swiss National Museum.[1]
In 2025, a Swiss government-commissioned study conducted by researchers at the University of Basel found that members of the Tibetan and Uyghur communities in Switzerland had been subject to surveillance and pressure by agents of the Chinese government.[5] The report described cases of threatening phone calls, pressure to spy on fellow exiles, and references to relatives in China. It also noted that these actions contributed to mistrust within the communities and created a climate of fear.[5] According to Swissinfo, the Swiss government stated that the findings would be addressed through its ongoing human rights dialogue with China, a mechanism that some critics have described as symbolic.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "The Dalai Lama's long journey to Bern". Swiss National Museum. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
- ^ Buchser, Corine (Apr 9, 2010). "Why the Swiss accepted Tibetans with open arms". swissinfo.ch. Berne: Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved July 22, 2011. [dead link]
- ^ a b "Tibetans in Switzerland". The Observer. London: Tibet Sun. 27 June 1964. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
- ^ a b "Dalai Lama speaks out about fostered Tibetan children". Swissinfo. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
- ^ a b c "Tibetans and Uyghurs in Switzerland fear long arm of China". Swissinfo. 17 February 2025. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
- ^ Brigitta Niederhauser (2014-07-18). "Im eigenen Film". Tages-Anzeiger (in German). Retrieved 2014-11-19.
- ^ ""Eisenvogel" – Yangzom Brauens Familienchronik über die verlorene Heimat Tibet". Kulturplatz (in German). SRF 1. 2009-10-21. Retrieved 2014-11-19.[dead link]
