Swiss Review 2/2020

20 Swiss Review / April 2020 / No.2 Report integration. I never felt ‘foreign’” re- calls Erica, a vet who notably cares for the cats of the Japanese teachers, amongst other animals. Meanwhile, the Director of SHMS, Portuguese Virgilio Santos, is father to twins who attend school locally. They speakwith the regional accent. A further group to add to this mixed community is those who have emigrated from southern Europe. This world, set half way between sky and plain, seems to provide a peaceful life, far from the noise and demands of the city, but also far from ostentatious wealth. During our visit, on a Monday in low season, the ski station seemed to be slumbering in deep hibernation. Above, the build- ings are tall and generously spaced. Below, the village is dense and low. “We have good quality immigration and there are no tensions,” says the president of the municipal council, Serge Pfister, who teaches in Laus- anne. Political life seems calmed by the reputedly healthy climate in Leysin. Jean-Daniel Champagnac, originally fromneighbouring France, describes the meetings of the munic- ipal council as being consensual. The foreign vote In amunicipality inwhich the foreign population has the right to vote – af- ter having lived there for ten years, of course – the municipal council wel- comes elected representatives whose French is sometimes spoken with an accent. When askedwhether this cos- mopolitan presence has changed any Leysin American School used to be a sanatorium for tuber- culosis patients. It is now a place of learn- ing for children of the wealthy. Photo: Niels Ackermann A village you never leave “I’ve never found anywhere else quite like Leysin,”is a common remark in the village. The inhabitants have tried to define what it is in particular that draws them to the ski resort. Leysin-born artist Nicolas Vaudroz, who likes to set out on lone hikes through the snow, explains that this village has places “pulsing with life and which are good for meditating”. John Southworth, director of LKAS, praises the feeling of security in the area. Virgilio Santos, of SHMS, enjoys the peace and tranquillity of his home surroundings. Christoph Ott appreciates the direct access to nature and that his children can walk around the village in complete safety. “The secret,” considers Erica André “is that the Swiss inhabitants have often travelled a lot, which broadens the mind.” Hippies, climbers, backpackers: all have contributed something. Indeed, in the 1960s and 1970s, they would meet at Le Club Vagabond, a lodge now globally renowned. aspects of life in themunicipality, the council president, who took on the role in 2018, admits that “it’s difficult to say.” For Leysin-born designer and architect Marc-Henri André, the right to vote should have remained reserved for the Swiss only, even if the impact of the ‘foreign’ vote has not been felt in local politics. “Leysin is made up of little communities of people who live amongst themselves, but none of them represents a major- ity. The Swiss themselves do not make up the majority and that’s why they don’t kick up a lot of fuss about it. That’s just how it works between people.” Reproduced with the consent of swisstopo (BA200029)