The closing ceremony of the 50th Extraordinary Conference of the Federation of Arab Entities in Latin American Countries (FEARAB) took place on September 6, 2023, at the capital of Syria, Damascus.
FEARAB America was created almost 50 years ago and is a non-governmental, civil, autonomous entity, without religious or political distinctions. It represents Arab expatriates, especially Syrians, Lebanese and Palestinians and their descendants throughout Latin America. It is worth noting that throughout the Latin American continent there are more than 20 million Latinos originating from these countries.
This entity includes organizations from Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Peru, Panama, Venezuela, Uruguay and Chile, which currently holds the rotating presidency of FEARAB America.
In the words of the acting president of FEARAB-America, George Al-Alam, “for half a decade, FEARAB has been a voice to defend the just and noble causes” of the Arab peoples. On the occasion, George Al-Alam condemned “all aggressions and unjust blockades that cause harm to the peoples.”
The event was attended by 70 delegates from the eight Latin American countries mentioned above. Those present urged respect for international laws and human rights, and called for the abandonment of policies of violence, blockades and the theft of natural resources.
The final declaration of the Syrian meeting condemned the economic blockade imposed on Syria, Cuba, Venezuela and other nations. According to the communiqué read at the closing session of the event, those present demanded the immediate lifting of this blockade which causes suffering to the peoples and urged the United Nations (UN) to achieve this goal.
The declaration also expressed repudiation of all aggressions committed against the sovereignty of Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya and Palestine, and called for respect for the right to self-determination of peoples. It also reaffirmed support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital and the right of return of all Palestinians in the Diaspora.
FEARAB America makes every effort to fulfill its commitments to foster ties between Arab entities, communities and groups in Latin America and the Arab world. In order to achieve these objectives, it carries out political and cultural actions aimed at raising awareness and rescuing the Arab legacy of the Latin American continent. This is focused on the integration of these communities of Arab origin, with their history and cultural heritage, into Latin American societies, based on respect, legality and non-discrimination of any kind. It also aims to carry out actions to promote all types of economic and commercial exchanges between the two regions.
From Homeland to Exile
The first recorded migrations of Arabs in Latin America date back to the years 1860-1914, when approximately 1.6 million Arabs arrived in cities and towns in the region. The scarce records and the stigmatization of the time made it impossible to identify the true origins of the migrants. Most of them had Ottoman (Ottoman Empire) passports, as their countries and regions of origin did not exist, as they are known today. In fact, all Arab emigrants in Latin America were called “Turks” for many years because of this reason. Later, after the end of World War I, between 1920 and 1935, another wave of
Arab migrants reached one million.
The Palestinian Diaspora occupies a special place in Latin America, since at the heart of every country in that vast continent lies a history of effort, adaptation, integration and often success. The Palestinian colony, as well as the Syrian and Lebanese colonies, would stamp their mark on the new region and continue to do so to this day.
With the expulsion of the Palestinians from their lands, a new migratory process was generated, and gradually family and even neighborhood networks were established that attracted new immigrants. The opportunities that were opening up on the American continent enticed other Arabs to join this Palestinian community. Thus, in the years 1948-1950, between 20,000 and 30,000 Arabs arrived in Latin America; 51% of them came from Palestine, 30% from Syria and 19% from Lebanon.
How was their distribution in the countries of the region? In future writings we will analyze this question in particular, since it is interesting how Arab communities settled throughout Latin America. They established peculiar forms of coexistence, converted to Christianity, promoted trade in the most backward regions, founded cities and preserved the identity traits of their places of origin.
Within these Arab migrant groups, Palestinians chose to settle further south in countries such as Chile and Argentina.
Chile the Land of Welcome
Chile is today the country with the largest Arab community in the world. We will focus on this country because it is one of those with concrete data and because its governments implemented at certain times policies that favored the adaptability of Palestinians and Arabs in that land.
It is estimated that some 600,000 descendants of Arabs live in the entire Chilean territory. Within this community, there are many Palestinian descendants.
Palestinians came mostly from cities near Jerusalem, such as Beit Yala, Bethlehem, and Beit Sahur (Molina, 2014), but also from the Holy City itself or Ramallah. As replicated in other countries, family and community networks promoted new migrations of Palestinians to Chile, also driven by the gradual deterioration of the situation in historic Palestine. In fact, the patriarchal family structure would allow the preservation of customs and traditions in the following generations.
An interesting fact is that most of these Palestinians came from Bethlehem and Beit Yala, predominantly Christian populations. It is estimated that today the Chilean-Palestinians triple the number of Christians still remaining in Palestine. This condition allowed them to adapt easily in a country that was eminently Catholic.
The number of Palestinian Muslims immigrant households was less significant. These tended to group with the much more numerous Syrian Muslims, with the common interest of protecting their cultural heritage and Islamic identity, closely linked to the concern of maintaining the Arabic language among their descendants.
The Arab Palestinian community would found recreational centers and cultural societies, bilingual schools for the study and preservation of Spanish and Arabic. Both Christian and Muslim Palestinians were and are united by a common cause of support for the national struggle for the liberation of their lands.
A super attractive fact of what the Palestinian exile community has been able to achieve in Chile was the foundation in 1920 of the Palestine Club, a community center that since then has organized social, cultural and sporting events. In this sense, stands out the famous Palestine Sport Club soccer club that plays in the first division of that country with the Palestinian national colors and whose Municipal stadium, La Cisterna in Santiago, honors the Palestinian flag.
The generosity of Latin American countries towards Palestinian exiles has been demonstrated at different stages of the Israeli-Palestinian crises. Argentina, which is also home to a large Jewish community, promoted the inclusion of the Palestinians in its society. Brazil at first kept abreast of the situation, although it did not prevent the entry of Arab emigrants, nor did it create conditions conducive to their settlement in its lands. A few years ago, Brazil was one of the countries that accepted the call of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to give shelter to Palestinians living in Iraq and Syria who were again displaced. This came after the beginning of conflicts in the Arab world with the Western invasions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria and later the activation of the Islamic State.
Conclusions
The Palestinian community in Latin America knew how to adapt to the new realities of these lands. Here they tried to preserve their customs, traditions and even their language. The family was and has been one of the great pillars that have allowed them not to lose the link with their Palestinian Arab roots. Consanguinity allows them to continue collaborating with arriving emigrants, to whom they provide certain tools to smooth their adaptability.
Today, most of them still consider themselves Palestinians, in addition to having the nationality of the country that welcomed them. Both the organization and social activism of the community, as well as the interest of the younger generations in rediscovering their own roots and, above all, political activism towards Palestine, suggest the permanence of the ties that unite the members of this community, as well as their interest in the historical evolution of the country of their ancestors.
