The Fans of Palestine C.D.


Even without translation it is worth watching

C.D. = Club Deportivo (Sports Club)

These are the fans of the Palestine Football (Soccer) Club in Santiago. They call themselves Baisanos, instead of Paisanos, because their Arab ancestors could not pronounce the letter P.

They wave Palestinian Flags and sport their colors.

The club was founded in 1920 by Palestinian immigrants and their sons. This sort of shows that some sense of Palestinian identity predated 1964 – giving a rebuke to the claim that no Palestinian identity pre-existed the formation of the PLO.

The team and the fans have gotten radicalized. They will often spout Pro-Palestinian slogans, and hold up signs which deny Israel’s existence.

My point here is not to glorify their radicalism, but to point out that the Palestinian community is well embedded in Chile.