Again, we see the prominence of Palestinians in Chile has become the object of study, and policy.
Santiago
Santiago is the capital of Chile, in the center of the country. The city has a sub-tropical climate.
UN asks Latin Amer. to do More
Source: Santiago Times: UN calls on Latin America for Palestinian refugee aid
Director thanks Chile for ‘long history’ of welcoming descendants.
The United Nations urged Latin American countries to take a more active role in aiding Palestinian refugees in a special conference in Santiago on Thursday.
As noted: Because of the large amount of Arabs in Latin America, the UN is asking the Latins to give more aid to the Palestinians.
Chile, with its large, and elite, Palestinian community would be a center for this.
Lebanese Youth of Chile
Original Video Source: (Click Here)
The first thing one notices is that the Lebanese of Chile avoid involvement in the politics of the Israel-Palestine Mideast Crisis. A lot of these protests were during the Hezbollah-Israel War in 2006, but there seems to be no condemnation of Israel.
At (0:39) the poster says: A Message of Peace. John Paul II. These Maronites Catholics were not fans of Hezbollah. They may or may not love Israel, but the Lebanese Christians despised Hezbollah for starting the 2006 War.
As noted, the Lebanese in Chile are over 99% Christian, and heavily Catholic. Lebanese are the most Westernized of the Arab peoples, and here they show it. They are usually a moderating influence in the Arab community. No condemnation of Israel.
This video is a shining example of their assimilation and Westernization. They are a credit to Chile.
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.
