Being South African in Switzerland
About Alice Sikora
Alice is a teacher at ZIS Lower School. She can usually be found reading or talking to her friends! She has one child (me), and a husband, Eddie. Being South African is something that is important to her, and she was born there and grew up there. She moved to Switzerland about 20 years ago. She is proud to be a South African and it has helped shape her identity today.
Can you start by telling me how being a South African shapes your everyday life- how does it affect you?
“Well, it is interesting because I have lived in Switzerland for nearly 20 years now and there are definitely ways that being a South African still plays into who I am in Switzerland. One of them is that I am an English speaker. I grew up in South Africa speaking English so moving to Switzerland, I have had to learn to speak German which I'm ok at. I notice in Switzerland that just who I am is really interesting here. [In South Africa] South Africans generally are very open and friendly, and you go into a store and people just chat to each other, … they are very happy and enthusiastic about life and very proud to be South African. I find that is interesting here because I wouldn't say Swiss necessarily have the same openness and sometimes I crave that connection that you get in South Africa…”
Is the fact that people know that you are South African important to you? Are you also proud to be South African?
“I am extremely proud to be South African and it's something that I really like talking about. I enjoy talking about what it was like to grow up there when I grew up there and yes, I think for me it is something that I am very much proud to tell people [that I am South African] and I'm proud to identify as a South African. As South Africans it is also very important to us to be South Africans. We don't say, ‘oh I’m a South African whose ancestors came from Britain’ or ‘ I'm a South African whose ancestors came from Holland’ I won't say ‘I'm a Dutch South African’ or 'I'm a British South African’. We are very proud of saying ‘we are South African and that is our identity’.”
What are some stereotypes that fit you being a South African?
“… I'm not sure about ones that fit me, but sometimes my colleagues tease me because I can be very apologetic and I think that is something that we can do as South Africans. We say ‘sorry, sorry’... I think that there is an important one that doesn't fit me - I grew up during what was called Aparthied, which was the law at the time which separated people of color. I think that there is a stereotype that a white South Africans must be racist, or a white South Africans must have supported a Aparthied. In the case of me, or my family that is definitely not true, and is one stereotype I find hurtful.”
How would you say that shaped who you are today?
I think that experiencing what I did and seeing what I did growing up in South Africa has definitely given me a perspective on things like diversity, equality, discrimination. It was a very, very difficult time in our country and a very difficult time to grow up. I realized as I got older that I knew what was happening in the country, thanks to my parents but many people did not. A lot of people in my generation had no idea what was going on around them as kids. I think it has really given me appreciation for knowledge - for being informed, for really understanding what's going on in the place you live and standing up for what's right.
“We [South Africans] are very proud of saying, ‘We are South African and that is our identity.”
-Alice Sikora
You mentioned that being a white South African people have a lot of stereotypes that can fit them. So would you say that there are some privileges that come with that?
Well absolutely … I am not proud of it, but yes, growing up as a white South African I never had to worry about where I would be allowed to study, or if I would be allowed to study, or if I would be allowed to go into a restaurant... or if I would be allowed to go to the beach. Those are things that we were able to take for granted to some degree. Once again, thanks to my parents and some of the work they did I didn't take it for granted but absolutely, I acknowledge that I grew up with a lot of privilege.
Have you ever been discriminated against living here because of being South African?
Well, not really but there were two things that were very interesting to me when I moved here. One was that I made a phone call to apply for an apartment and as soon as I said where I was from, the person said ‘oh no, the apartment's not available anymore.’ and it had been available a few seconds before. The second surprising thing was that when I lived in South Africa, I used to donate blood regularly and coming to Switzerland they would not allow me to donate blood, based on where I'm from. That's not something personal against me but those were just two interesting experiences coming to Switzerland.
“I think [growing up in South Africa] has really given me an appreciation for knowledge - for being informed, for really understanding what's going on in the place you live and standing up for what's right.”
