Citizens of the World - Meyrin

This is a collection of photographs taken of families in the Swiss town of Meyrin, near Geneva. Geneva itself is the centre for many international concerns, from the International Red Cross to Rolex, and the United Nations. In this nearby town, there are ambassadors from over 100 nations living harmoniously together. The similarities of their lifestyles only serve to point out their differences; they have identical apartments, send their children to the same schools, buy clothes from the same shops and food from the same supermarkets. The photographs are traditional family portraits, and the nationalities covered include Greek, Jordanian, French, Swiss-Haitian, Spanish, Polish, Moroccan, German, American-Italian, Bosnian, Israeli, Rwandan, Austrian, Russian, Japanese, Columbian, Iraqi and Finnish-Taiwanese. There are doctors, factory workers, teachers, secretaries, political refugees and UN officials living in the town. The contrast lies between the suburban homogeneity of their surroundings and the cultural differences in dress and decor. Each family is interviewed, contributing to a piece of cultural and economic research of international significance. 

by : Nicolas Faure, Andre Klomann