Friendship at 13,000 feet: how climbing in the Swiss Alps is bringing refugees together
A mountaineering project in Switzerland helps exiles from countries such as Afghanistan, Iran and Ukraine recover from trauma by conquering summits
At 4,000 metres, conditions can be challenging. The air is thin, movement takes effort, and the ice and snow demand proper gear: warm layers, crampons, an ice axe, ropes for crossing glaciers.
Yet a group of refugees in Switzerland – from Afghanistan, Iran, Palestine, Ukraine and elsewhere – say this is exactly where they have found freedom, calm and even respite from the trauma of war, political persecution and imprisonment.