The new face of Swiss immigration: Ruth's tiny body is hunkered down and her lips are moving, but I can't hear a word. Her young daughter, born in Sudan when Ruth was 16, plays quietly on the floor. After a few tries, I make sense of the whispers coming from Ruth's dry lips. 'I do not know what I feel here. I feel sad,' Ruth says. 'Always sad.'.

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POLITICS - Cover story

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The new face of Swiss immigration: Ruth's tiny body is hunkered down and her lips are moving, but I can't hear a word. Her young daughter, born in Sudan when Ruth was 16, plays quietly on the floor. After a few tries, I make sense of the whispers coming from Ruth's dry lips. 'I do not know what I feel here. I feel sad,' Ruth says. 'Always sad.'.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Ruth is one of thousands of 'new' Swiss immigrants, people from Africa, Asia and South America who are challenging Europeans to rethink their ideas about diversity and racial and religious boundaries. This spring, Swiss News sat down with dozens of immigrants and refugees in Geneva who are trying to integrate into this Alpine country.

Two women, one challenge

Ruth and I are sitting in the home study room of the Agora Centre, an ecumenical centre for asylum seekers and refugees, run by Protestant and Catholic churches since 1987. Ruth is on a break from her French class, which is taught by a young Swiss man doing his mandatory...

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