Actually, we were planning to go back home

By Yusuf Yeşilöz

Documentary – TV

52 min – Schweiz 2012

Synopsis

They came to Switzerland to have a better life in the future – when they would return to their home countries. Thirty or forty years later they are still here. In the meantime they have reached retirement age. Three couples from Turkey and the Balkans have reached a crossroad in their lives and now face a crucial decision: do they return home or stay here in Switzerland? This question has accompanied these immigrants the whole time they were here. Now that they are older, the answer becomes urgent. Their families and children’s families must make a decision. Will the older generation go back or not? Who will look after the parents whether here or there? What happens now?

The inner conflict between here and there has left its imprint on the lives of the immigrants. The decisions they make in the end show their capacity to deal with a continuing dilemma and difficult situations as well as to adjust to new conditions and find practicable solutions.