Tibetan Swiss
 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 8,000+[1] | |
| 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. Tibetans have lived in Switzerland since the 1960s, when the Swiss Red Cross helped resettle 300 Tibetans in Switzerland. In addition, approximately 150 Tibetan orphans were adopted by Swiss families.
A number of Tibetans settled in the mountains of the Swiss Alps, due to the terrain there being similar to the terrain of their homeland on the Tibetan Plateau.[2] Initially, Tibetan children had some difficulty in school, due to the massive language barrier between German and Tibetan, but the Tibetans were soon able to gain enough fluency in German to join the same classes as regular Swiss children.[3] Some Swiss people even learned to speak some Tibetan.[3] In 1968, in the village of Rikon im Tösstal, the Tibet Institute Rikon was established. It is the only Tibetan monastery in Switzerland.
In the Tibetan diaspora, the Swiss community is the largest in Europe and one of the largest outside of the Himalayas and United States. With over 4,000 residing in the country in 2011, Tibetans made up the second largest Asian immigrant group in Switzerland, right behind Filipinos.[1] In 2018, the community numbered 8,000 individuals.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Dhardowa, YC (Feb 2011). "Tibet PM Thanks Swiss for 50 years of Refugee Shelter". The Tibet Post International. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
- ^ Buchser, Corine (Apr 9, 2010). "Why the Swiss accepted Tibetans with open arms". swissinfo.ch. Berne: Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
- ^ a b "Tibetans in Switzerland". The Observer. London: Tibet Sun. 27 June 1964. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
- ^ "Visite de quatre jours du Dalaï Lama en terres zurichoises". www.laliberte.ch (in French). Retrieved 2020-11-30.
- ^ 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.
