At 164,700 people, the Portuguese make up the third largest foreign community in Switzerland, after the Italians and those from Serbia and Montenegro.(...) Though once regarded with mistrust, the Portuguese are now well established in Swiss society. But, as with many other foreign communities, this does not mean they are well integrated.
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Young people have to contend with discrimination in the job market. A high percentage of them are unemployed and it is still difficult to gain access to skilled occupations. Da Cunha [president of the Federation of Portuguese Associations in Switzerland and professor of geography at Lausanne University], who is also president of the Forum for the Integration of Migrants, says the Portuguese community leads an almost "invisible existence" due to its lack of involvement in Swiss social and political life. Some of the blame for this can be taken by the host country, says the professor. But he adds that many ex-pat Portuguese have tended to avoid contact outside their own communities. Many limit their horizons to their families and to voluntary and sports organisations.
They now number 312,000 - the largest foreign community in Switzerland, according to official statistics for 2003.(...)But there are still some integration problems - especially for first-generation immigrants who, on reaching retirement age, decide to remain in Switzerland so they can be close to their children. "It is apparent that these people are not so well integrated as we thought," said Micheloni [Italian-born general secretary of the Forum for the Integration of Migrants]. The younger generation, on the other hand, were born and brought up in Switzerland, speak the country's national languages and have embraced Swiss habits and customs. But they do not feel fully accepted by the Swiss, especially as it remains very difficult to gain Swiss citizenship. Last September voters threw out proposals to grant automatic citizenship to third-generation foreigners and ease naturalisation restrictions on the second generation. This means that the community cannot take part in the political life of the country. Only a handful of cantons grant voting rights to foreign nationals. "It is only when immigrants obtain political rights that will we be able to say that they are successfully integrated," concludes Micheloni.
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