Stereotype: <<The Swiss are an individualist lot.>>

“Everybody takes care of his own business and the cows will be well guarded,” is a Swiss saying. People do not like to get involved in others’ problems and things are usually kept within the family. A common saying is On lave son linge sale en famille. (One washes his dirty laundry in the family.) People will assume that if you are in trouble, it must be because you have done something wrong and until you prove the contrary, they will not interfere. Not that their hearts are made of stone, but remember that this is a people who had nothing but mountains and poverty going for them a hundred years ago, so they just don’t blindly except everything to come from the state or from others. Aide-toi et le ciel t’aidera seems to be the motto (Heaven helps those who help themselves). Another proverb says that Chacun chez soi, chacun pour soi (Each in his home - each for his own.)