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Do politics from home resonate with Swiss abroad?

Stop-motion animation of plane crossing the US
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Born in Switzerland, Eric Gutknecht came to the US with his parents. Today he runs a sausage factory in Colorado.

Just before the Swiss parliamentary elections in 2019, SWI swissinfo.ch visited Swiss abroad clubs in Denver, New Orleans, Minneapolis and Boston. Our aim was to meet Swiss living in the United States, who had moved their lives and families to a different country, and find out how they felt about Swiss politics. How connected were they to the issues defining the elections back home? The resulting videos give an insight into their daily lives and reveal their motivations for starting again overseas.

Swiss in Denver: Making sausages is in his blood


Swiss mum an ‘unofficial cultural ambassador’ in America

She kept dreaming of being on a plane that never reached its destination. Those dreams stopped about a year after moving to Colorado.


Swiss circus performer brings her passion to New Orleans

At a young age, Meret Ryhiner moved to the United States to study circus arts. An accident changed everything.


Following Swiss footsteps in New Orleans

Thanks to a shipwreck, this man was born in Louisiana rather than Switzerland.


All fired up – with Swiss army rifles in America

Swiss rifles were coveted during the American revolutionary and civil wars. Today they’re used for fun by the Swiss Rifle Club of Minneapolis.


From yodel to bebop

Gabriela Martina left the Lucerne countryside to study jazz in the US. Today, the vocalist and composer teaches at Berklee College of Music in Boston.


Baking the Swiss way in Boston

Swiss couple Helene and Thomas Stohr run their own bakery in Massachusetts. Every day, they produce an array of Swiss and European treats.



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SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR