Palestinian community in Chile
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (450,000 - 500,000 (about a 5% of the population)) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Santiago, La Calera | |
| Languages | |
| Spanish, Arabic | |
| Religion | |
| Orthodox Christianity, Catholicism and Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Arab Chileans |
The Palestinian community in Chile (Arabic: فلسطينيو تشيلي) is believed to be the largest Palestinian community outside of the Arab world. Estimates of the number of Palestinian descendants in Chile range from 450,000 to 500,000. The effects of their migration are widely visible.
The earliest Palestinian migrants came in the 1850s during the Crimean War; they worked as businessmen and also in agriculture. Other migrants arrived during World War I and later the 1948 Palestine war. By origin they primarily came from the cities of Beit Jala, Bethlehem, and Beit Sahour. Most of these early migrants were Christians. They typically landed at Argentine ports, and crossed the Andes by mule into Chile. Chilean Palestinians are often erroneously but also intentionally called turcos (Spanish for Turks) after the Ottoman nationality that early immigrants had on their passports. Contrary to the immigration of Germans and other European nationalities, the immigration of Palestinians was not considered beneficial by Chilean intellectuals, and was even, alongside Chinese and Japanese immigration, questioned. The arrival of the Palestinian immigrants to Chile in the early 20th century happened at the same time the Chilean state stopped sponsoring immigration to Chile and the country suffered a severe social and economic crisis coupled with a wave of nationalism with xenophobic and racist undertones. Immigrants were also at times treated in denigrating terms by the Chilean press; for example, El Mercurio wrote in 1911:
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