An interesting city, Geneva. I visited it in 2019, to attend an IT conference. I found the Swiss (other than the people I met at the conference), whether they were the hoteliers, the shop assistants etc, not particularly accommodating or friendly. As a black woman born and raised in the UK, it’s unfortunate that when having these experiences, the reason is racism and nothing more. So yes, I can imagine, when black people congregate in a workspace and perhaps more so in Geneva, there is something totally threatening about that, to white workers.

The weird thing also, just last week I was having a conversation with my brother about this very topic. He explained how his black colleagues, at work, were seated together when the white manager walked by and asked in a jokey manner, what were they discussing? As he walked away, he said, in a bantering tone, that he hoped they were not ‘plotting’ something. I am a middle-aged woman and for as long as I can remember, a black people gathering is always perceived as a threat. It is not anything thing new. A great article, by the way.