“Every town in the country has a priest, a carabinero and a Palestinian” – the 500,000 Palestinians in Chile

All of us are immigrants. All of us are descended from humans that lived in Africa about 50,000 years ago. The human impulse to move is strong, and the reasons for it are wide-ranging — we migrate out of economic necessity or personal ambition.

In this essay, I will continue with the theme of immigration and discuss the Palestinian Chilean community. Chile is home to at least 500,000 people of Palestinian descent, making it the largest such diaspora outside the Arab world. Indeed, it is often said of Chile that “every town in the country has a priest, a carabinero (police officer) and a Palestinian”.

You will learn about the first Palestinians to settle in South America, and the challenges that they faced. I will tell you about the Palestinian business leaders and cultural figures that augment the tapestry of Chilean society today, as well as the football club that represents the struggle for Palestinian autonomy. I will also discuss Chile’s response to the ongoing slaughter in Gaza.

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The migration of Palestinians to South America was especially acute in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when predominantly Christian families fled to escape mandatory military service in their homeland, then a province of the Ottoman Empire. Palestinians from Beit Jala, Beit Sahour and Bethlehem, each located in what is now the West Bank, landed at Argentine ports, and crossed the Andes by mule into Chile. The newcomers joined the rapidly expanding mining communities in the Atacama Desert, who plundered the ground for nitrates used for fertiliser and modern weapons, or they became “faltes” (salespeople) and merchants. They were comforted by the pleasant climate, which was not unlike their Mediterranean home.

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Initially, the new arrivals were met with hostility by Chilean intellectuals and policymakers. They were nicknamed “Turcos”, a derogatory label for Arab migrants. A 1911 article complained that they were “more dirty than the dogs of Constantinople”.

Undeterred, the Palestinians demonstrated resourcefulness. It was reported that “their life was simple and limited to spending only what was necessary … they didn’t spend on anything that they could make themselves”. They lived in the back of the shops that they ran, or in cramped houses, with six or seven people per room. By 1930, Arabs – the vast majority of whom were Palestinian – accounted for over 15% of Chile’s foreign born population, a figure that reached over 20% by 1952.

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The Palestinians quickly inserted themselves into the fabric of Chilean society. They ventured into the business sector, founding companies in pharmaceuticals, agriculture, beer distillation and soapmaking.

Juan Yarur Lolas, born in Bethlehem, opened a textile plant in Santiago in the mid-1930s, at the behest of the Chilean government. By 1948, the plant employed over 3,000 workers, and produced 60% of Chile’s cotton fabrics, making it the largest textile plant in Latin America. Yarur also established the Banco de Crédito e Inversiones (BCI), one of the largest banks in Chile. His descendants are amongst the wealthiest people in Chile today.

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In 1920, a group of Palestinians in the southern city of Osorno founded Club Deportivo Palestino, a football club with a kit that contains the green, black, red and white of the Palestinian flag. The club, one of the most successful in the country, has been unwavering in its support for the Palestinian cause.

In 2014, Palestino briefly replaced the number 1 on the back of each player’s jersey with a map of Palestine’s 1947 borders, before the creation of the State of Israel, drawing cheers and condemnation from across the world. After Israel’s May 2021 attacks on the West Bank, players walked onto the field before a game wearing the keffiyeh, the Palestinian headdress made famous by Yasser Arafat. Indeed, in 2003, Arafat, the former chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, sent a letter to Palestino, expressing his support for the club as it narrowly avoided bankruptcy.

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Today, it is estimated that about 500,000 people of Palestinian descent live in Chile, making it the largest Palestinian diaspora outside the Arab world. The neighbourhood of Patronato, in the Recoleta district of Santiago, is the spiritual hub of the Palestinian-Chileans. It is home to Arab sweet shops and cafés, as well as the oldest Orthodox Christian church in the country, built by Palestinian immigrants in 1917.

Furthermore, Palestine is a critical component of Chilean political life. Palestinians have been represented in the Chilean parliament since the 1940s, and 10% of all Chilean senators today have Palestinian roots. In 1998, Chile became the first country in Latin America to open a representative office to the Palestinian National Authority. In 2008, a group of more than 100 Palestinian refugees from the Al-Waleed refugee camp on the Syria-Iraq border were resettled in Chile, and three years later, it officially recognized the State of Palestine.

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Chileans have been horrified by the ongoing crisis in Gaza. In October 2023, following Hamas’ vicious attacks on Israeli civilians, the Chilean President, Gabriel Boric, condemned the groups “brutal” assault, while reiterating Chilean demands for a two-state solution in which “all people will have a dignified and safe life”. Last year, Chile declared its support for the genocide case brought before the International Court of Justice by South Africa.

Moreover, Chileans have vocally protested the recent destruction of Gaza, organizing concerts to raise funds for the region. In May of last year, Elyanna, the granddaughter of Palestinian immigrants to Chile, became the first person to sing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in Arabic, doing so while adorning her trademark keffiyeh.

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In this essay, I have documented the human impulse to move, with a specific focus on Chile’s Palestinian diaspora. I have told you about business leaders, a pro-Palestine football club, and one country’s desire for peace in another. In Ireland, there is a lot of handwringing around immigration, but the solution is glaringly apparent. Ireland needs immigrants to service its booming job market, and as we have seen, immigrants enrich their adopted homes. The onus is on us to extend our support to them.