Somali women recount integration journey
Switzerland is home to some 8,000 Somalis who have fled the civil war in their homeland. They receive help with practical integration problems from the Somali Association for Integration in eastern Switzerland, among other groups.
![](https://www.swissinfo.ch/content/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2023/12/julie-hunt-profileImage-42390985.png?ver=6ca3d5e4)
Julie worked as a radio reporter for BBC and independent radio all over the UK before joining swissinfo.ch's predecessor, Swiss Radio International, as a producer. After attending film school, Julie worked as an independent filmmaker before coming to swissinfo.ch in 2001.
The founder, Leyla Kanyare, is set to receive a prestigious prize for her integration work from the Foundation for Human Rights and Freedom in Bern. At a party to celebrate her award, swissinfo.ch spoke to her and other Somali women about escaping their homeland and the hurdles they faced on arrival in Switzerland. (Julie Hunt, swissinfo.ch)
Popular Stories
![black-and-white photo of men's yodelling group](https://www.swissinfo.ch/content/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2024/08/252182454_highres.jpg?ver=4b64d5c9)
More
How centuries of Swiss emigrants left their mark on the US
![ugly house](https://www.swissinfo.ch/content/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2024/08/599378740_highres.jpg?ver=eff1d8bc)
More
Switzerland’s struggle: balancing architecture, densification and heritage
![A CHF100 banknote lying in a cardboard coffin next to a lit candle](https://www.swissinfo.ch/content/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2024/08/Death-of-a-banknote.jpg?ver=464eb4c7)
More
How a Swiss banknote’s life comes to an end
![handshake](https://www.swissinfo.ch/content/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2024/08/303639690_highres.jpg?ver=0132873c)
More
What’s behind a CEO’s paycheck in Switzerland
![Alpine permafrost is present above an altitude of 2,500 metres and stabilises geologically unstable slopes. Pictured: the Schreckhorn, a Swiss mountain in the Bernese Alps.](https://www.swissinfo.ch/content/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2024/08/Schreckhorn_peak.jpg?ver=4e2ec4dc)
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.