How the Palestinian diaspora contributed to Chile's social fabric

Despite 8,215 miles between Jerusalem and Santiago, the Chilean capital located on a narrow stretch of land along the Western coast, the destruction of Gaza after October 7 has been painful to watch for many in the Palestinian diaspora in the Latin American country.

It led to a strong rebuke from Chile’s President Gabriel Boric in mid-January who decried the devastation and high death toll amid Israel's onslaught that has killed more than 25,000 Palestinians - largely women and children - during a speech in Guatemala.

"Gaza is in a much worse condition than Berlin was in 1945," said Boric, referencing the Fall of Berlin post-World War II.

Chile’s leader also underscored the destruction of homes, the mass displacement, and the food insecurity while calling for the end to the "massacre" - having previously recalled the ambassador to Tel Aviv for consultations amid the ongoing Israeli air strikes pummelling Gaza.

"The solution to the problem between Israel and Palestine lies in the political dialogue," said Boric. "A two-state solution based on mutual borders will end this problem."

Many from the diaspora living in Chile, like Diego Khamis, have been aware of their Palestinian heritage from a young age.

Khamis, the executive director of the Palestinian Community of Chile, an umbrella organisation representing numerous Palestinian groups and businesses, is part of the largest Palestinian diaspora outside the Middle East.

Today, there are an estimated 700,000 Latin Americans of Palestinian origin. They live across 14 countries in the region and have a significant footprint in Honduras, El Salvador, and Chile.

Chile is home to more than an estimated 500,000 people with Palestinian heritage. In 2011, Chile recognised Palestine as a "free, independent and sovereign state."

The first wave of Palestinian migration to the country began in the late 1800s before peaking from the 1900s for three decades.

However, the journey of Khamis' family is different in Chile, a country that runs alongside 6,000km of the Pacific coast.

He says his sense of Palestinian identity was greatly shaped by his grandfather, Bishara.

"He left Palestine in 1948, for reasons that you can imagine," he says, referencing the Nakba or catastrophe.

The impact of the Nakba

Today, 34-year-old Khamis is quick to underscore how deeply the Nakba has shaped the lived experience of his community.

In 1948, Zionist militias forcibly displaced some 750,000 Palestinians to establish the State of Israel, killing 15,000 Palestinians in the process.

It marked what the community calls 'al-ghurba,' a term used to refer to exile or diaspora. This concept has been markedly explored across the Palestinian imagination and is preserved in popular culture like popular songs.

Khamis explains that there are two main journeys for Palestinians to Chile after the Nakba. Many took less direct routes, often zigzagging through different countries before reaching Latin America. Others ventured from the besieged enclave of Gaza, and some from the occupied West Bank in areas like Jaffa, Nazareth and Galilee.

Over history Palestinians have felt the full force of ethnic cleansing, occupation, and apartheid.

"For this reason, I believe the issue of Palestine is my biggest love and my biggest pain," he says.

Despite living thousands of miles away from historic Palestine, mired by military occupation, he has sought to maintain his roots.

He has visited historic Palestine seven times and describes his strong ties to Arab culture, including his "reasonable" grasp of the language.

"I identify as Palestinian despite being born in Chile. But at the same time, I feel deeply Chilean; in short, I believe that our identity is a cultural syncretism,” Khamis says, referencing the duality of his identity.

“We are Chileans of Palestinian origin; the two elements are very present in our groups. My life, my identity would not be the same without the Palestinian element," he tells TRT World.

Chile's Palestinian diaspora has maintained deep bonds with their forefathers' homeland and ways of life.

Khamis says there are numerous social clubs in the capital, Santiago, nestled in a valley alongside the Andes mountains and across almost all of Chile’s cities that pay homage to the community’s heritage.

At the same time, he says other Arab institutions have also helped to bring the community together.

"In my club, every day there are sports, social, and cultural activities in relation to Palestine," he says.

Khamis explains it includes a wide menu with typical culinary delights, Arabic music, and Dabke, a traditional Levantine folk dance that is typically performed at weddings and ceremonies.

"Palestinian traditions are part of our daily life, for the same reason they are part of our customs; our identity is not something forced; it is part of our lives," he says.

Shaping Chile’s political landscape

This sense of identity also transcends the initial foundations laid by the Palestinian diaspora, many of whom were traders - to more recent political emergence from Palestinian-Chilean intellectuals after the Nakba.

Historically, the likes of the former member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Juan Tuma, have contributed to the diaspora’s journey to Chile. Tuma famously commemorated the Nakba in a historic speech at the Chilean House of Representatives in the early 1960s.

A year later, Chilean poet with Palestinian heritage Mahfúd Massis, whose work evokes nostalgia for Palestine and Fuad Habash, an Arabic teacher from Jerusalem, founded the Front for the Liberation of Palestine (FRELIPA).

The community has also enjoyed its own newspaper, 'Palestina Patria Martir' and a radio station called ‘La Voz de Palestina,’ or ‘The Voice of Palestine’ in English.

The region experienced an 'ethnopolitical awakening' after the military occupation when Israel seized the West Bank in 1967 and later with the recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people" by the United Nations in 1974.

Four years later, the Palestine Information Office in Chile opened amid the rule of Augusto Pinochet, despite pushback from some sectors of Chilean society.

Nevertheless, Khamis insists the community has maintained its ties to their forefathers’ homeland. It has involved pushing for the revindication of the community's rights and organised trips to Beit Laham (Bethlehem), accompanied by numerous officials such as the president and members of Chile's Palestinian community.

"In addition, we formed the 'Palestinian Community' where we are responsible for generating a constant link with Palestine. In family settings, this has led to a large number of people continuing to maintain the tradition of marrying among Palestinians,” he says

Like other pockets of Latin America with a healthy community of Arabs, the Palestinian diaspora has contributed to the country's social fabric - notably shaping Chile’s political landscape.

In 2021, Daniel Jadue, a Palestinian-Chilean politician, took part in the presidential campaign before bowing out to current President Boric. After studying engineering and sociology, he began his political ascent in the late 1980s and early 1990s as president of the General Union of Palestinian Students. He eventually became general coordinator of the Palestinian Youth Organization of Latin America and the Caribbean. He then pivoted into political life with several political bids in the 2000s.

The community has also established an 'Arab School' that Khamis says seeks to teach the community's traditions, language, and culture in the classroom.

“At our homes, we maintain the Palestinian gastronomic tradition and, of course, many of us have learned it from our grandparents who came to Chile," he says.

In keeping with the community’s contribution to Chile, the diaspora has left an indelible mark on arguably Latin America's biggest pastime - its deep passion for the 'beautiful game' of football.

"In 1920, 'Club Deportivo Palestino' was founded, which is one of the best-known neighbourhood clubs in the world and where its motto is "Palestino is Palestine," Khamis says.

The motto "More than a team, a Whole People," he believes "reflects what Palestine is for all of us."

He says players who have played for the domestic team, 'Club Deportivo Palestino,' have gone on to represent the Palestinian national team.

Most recently, Camilo Saldaña is playing in the ongoing AFC Asia Cup in Qatar that Khamis says makes the community feel a sense of "pride".

Other players have included the likes of Nicolás Zedán, Matías Jadue, Roberto Kettlun, Roberto Bishara, Leonardo Zamora, Francisco Alam, Edgardo Abdala, Alejandro Naif, and Marco Riffo.

"The Palestinian team can play a very important role since they carry the Palestinian flag, they are ambassadors, and in the stadia, you always see signs of support for the cause," says Khamis.

On Tuesday night, the Palestinian national team finished their last group game at the AFC Asia Cup with a convincing 3-0 triumph against Hong Kong and secured a last-16 spot in the competition.

The organisation has shared social posts about the competition on their social media platforms and secured an interview with Saldaña ahead of the tournament.

Despite the time and distance, Khamis has been tuning in for the games.

"Every time Palestino goes out to play on the field, with the colours of Palestine, with the historical map (of Palestine) on the shirt, we feel that we are representing a nation that suffers every day from the consequences of the Israeli occupation."