A few years ago, I watched a short video that spoke to me. In the video clip, “Finding the Right Answers”, Dewitt Jones, a photographer for National Geographic, shares his wisdom about what photography has taught him in life and business.

In challenging situations, we must choose the lenses through which we look. Sometimes you must look wider, other times deeper, and often you must choose to look from someone else’s perspective. The Swiss situation has forced me several times to choose another lens.

Refugee camp in Zurich

As part of the ICS Community Impact club, we visit a refugee camp in Zurich on Fridays. The refugees are mainly mothers and children who have fled from countries such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan for various reasons. All European countries are required to accommodate refugees.

Most refugees enter Europe through Greece, where the Greek police have treated them harshly. From there, officials transfer them to different countries. They remain in the refugee camp for three months while their formal application for official refugee status is pending.

The refugee camp in Zurich is neat, has clean facilities for bathing and sleeping, and cooked food. However, trauma and insecurity are visible on their faces. The refugees speak different languages, and their English is very limited. They do learn to speak German when entering Switzerland.

Interacting with the refugees

We play games with the little ones and communicate using limited German, body language, sounds, facial expressions, and touch. I will never forget the little girl who climbed on my lap to draw a picture. While I was lightly rubbing her back, she looked up and kissed me.

As foreigners, the ICS moms understand the adjustment a new country requires. The big difference is that the refugees live in total insecurity, have only a few belongings, and cannot return to their own country. The experience significantly impacted my perspectives on change and adaptation in a new country.

Scooters and skate parks

With Zander’s approaching birthday, he requested a stunt scooter as a birthday present since all the boys his age own one. One afternoon after school, we went to the nearest scooter shop to learn more about scooter options. His new friend, Nate, was invited along, and I was grateful for his complete technical lesson on scooters. After another two days of research on the internet, I was well informed and ready for purchase.

In Switzerland, there are many skate parks where children can practice their stunts with their bikes, scooters, and skateboards. The scooter birthday present forced me to select a wide lens when looking at skate parks. Using my current lens, I see graffiti, teenagers with sagging pants and smoking funny stuff.

On his birthday, Zander wanted to hang out at the nearest skate park with his new scooter! I had to look through a different lens and see that it may be a good way for him to engage with other boys and get healthy physical exercise instead of sitting in front of his computer.

I baked cupcakes for his birthday and sent them to school with napkins with Afrikaans words on them. The Dutch children in Zander’s class were pleased that they were able to understand some of the Afrikaans words.

Lens of trust

I am still working on my levels of trust, but a recent incident contributed positively. In Switzerland, all children must wear a helmet when they ride a bike or a scooter. My OCD was so pleased when the turquoise helmet was the same colour as the new scooter of Zander.

One afternoon after school, I realised something was wrong when I noticed tears. The helmet stayed behind on the train. When Zander tried to get back on the train, the doors closed in front of him.

Out of desperation, I tested the systems and registered the helmet as a lost item on the train’s website. A week later, SBB informed me that they had found the helmet and that I could pick it up at Stadelhofen train station. I could not believe our luck. At school, the only locked scooter is the one belonging to Zander Goosen. The instruction came from his mother. Even though the bicycle parking is on the street side of the school, you will find no other locked bicycles or scooters.

When the glasses of my family members look half empty, I often tease them that they should clean their lenses and look at a situation again. Switzerland sometimes forces me to choose a new lens.

Kind regards
Emsia