{"id":82290,"date":"2023-11-11T03:14:01","date_gmt":"2023-11-11T03:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.estaql.com\/from-sport-to-music-chiles-palestinian-diaspora-rallies-to-support-gaza-israel-palestine-conflict-news\/"},"modified":"2023-11-11T03:14:01","modified_gmt":"2023-11-11T03:14:01","slug":"from-sport-to-music-chiles-palestinian-diaspora-rallies-to-support-gaza-israel-palestine-conflict-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/from-sport-to-music-chiles-palestinian-diaspora-rallies-to-support-gaza-israel-palestine-conflict-news\/","title":{"rendered":"From sport to music, Chile\u2019s Palestinian diaspora rallies to support Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<h2>From sport to music, Chile\u2019s Palestinian diaspora rallies to support Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict News<\/h2>\n<p>From sport to music, Chile\u2019s Palestinian diaspora rallies to support Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict News<\/p>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>They dart across the football pitch in a blur of red, white, black and green, the colours of their jerseys echoing the Palestinian flags waving in the stands.<\/p>\n<p>But the players of Club Deportivo Palestino are almost as far from Palestine as it is possible to be.<\/p>\n<p>Located more than 13,000 kilometres (8,200 miles) away, the football club finds its home in La Cisterna, a suburb of Santiago, Chile \u2014 a sign of the unique role the South American\u00a0country plays in the Palestinian diaspora.<\/p>\n<p>Chile is home to the largest Palestinian population outside of the Middle East, with approximately 500,000 citizens of Palestinian descent. And as the latest war in Gaza unfolds, the rising death toll has hit close to home for many Chileans, for whom Palestinian culture is threaded into everyday life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re all subjects of this story,\u201d Chilean rapper and musician Ana Tijoux told Al Jazeera, as she reflected on the ongoing war. \u201cWe all have to stand up.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2472387\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2472387\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2472387\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The members of Club Deportivo Palestino pose with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas during a visit to Santiago, Chile, in May 2018 [File: Esteban Felix\/AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The conflict began on October 7, when the armed group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,400 people and capturing hundreds more.<\/p>\n<p>Ever since, Israel has led a bombing campaign against Gaza, the narrow Palestinian territory home to an estimated 2.3 million people. Supplies have been cut off. Hospitals have shut down. And more than 10,000 Palestinians have died in the blasts, with nowhere to go for safety.<\/p>\n<p>Tijoux, a Latin Grammy winner, has participated in one of the country\u2019s largest pro-Palestinian rallies to date, a concert to raise funds for the remaining hospitals in Gaza and the West Bank.<\/p>\n<p>The history of violence and displacement that Palestinians have faced resonates with\u00a0Tijoux, who has Indigenous roots in Chile.<\/p>\n<p>One of the best-selling Spanish-language rappers of all time, Tijoux has even\u00a0collaborated with the Palestinian British artist\u00a0Shadia Mansour,\u00a0with whom she released an Arabic-Spanish protest anthem, 2014\u2019s Somos Sur.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center;display:block\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ana Tijoux - Somos Sur ft. Shadia Mansour (Official Music Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EKGUJXzxNqc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhy does what is happening in Palestine affect us? It has to do with colonisation, genocide, racism and ethnic cleansing. The same patterns of imperialism repeat,\u201d\u00a0Tijoux\u00a0said.<\/p>\n<p>Those patterns have, in part, shaped the large Palestinian diaspora in Chile. Three waves of migration have occurred since the end of the 19th century, according to Ricardo Marzuco, a professor at the Center for Arab Studies at the University of Chile.<\/p>\n<p>The first came with the decline of the Ottoman Empire in the late 1800s, as Palestinian merchants sought opportunities in Latin America. After the empire\u2019s collapse, in the interwar period, a second outpouring occurred.<\/p>\n<p>Then another major exodus began in 1948, when the state of Israel was formed and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced, in an event they refer to as the Nakba or \u201ccatastrophe\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>As a result of the economic losses, instability and political persecution they faced, many Palestinians travelled to the Americas to seek opportunities in emerging economies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was the idea of the American dream,\u201d said Marzuco.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2472417\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2472417\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2472417\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supporters gather at the Padre Hurtado Park in Santiago, Chile on October 25, to attend a benefit concert and show solidarity with civilians in Gaza [Guillermo Salgado\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Each successive generation that arrived in Chile created opportunities for more to follow, he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is related to the Arabic concept of extended family, the profound feeling of hospitality and solidarity,\u201d Marzuco said. \u201cThe first that arrived and prospered invited relatives to work in their businesses, consolidating into an important community.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A second-generation Palestinian Chilean, Marzuco said many Palestinians were also attracted to Chile for its mild coastal climate, similar to the Mediterranean environment of their homeland.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey adapted well in Chile,\u201d Marcuzo said. \u201cThere was an affinity with the weather, the environment, and certain elements that belonged to the Chilean landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Those early waves of Palestinian arrivals encountered xenophobia and racism in Chile, though. They were often lumped together with other Arab immigrants as \u201cTurcos\u201d or \u201cTurks\u201d, a term that grew to have a pejorative meaning.<\/p>\n<p>But nowadays, Chileans of Palestinian descent are represented in some of the highest government offices. They include\u00a0current\u00a0mayor and\u00a0former\u00a0presidential candidate Daniel Jadue and Senator Francisco Javier Chahu\u00e1n \u2014 politicians from opposite sides of the political spectrum. One is communist, the other right-wing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSolidarity with Palestine is expressed across political sectors,\u201d said Marzuco.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2472379\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2472379\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2472379\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Vera Baboun, Ambassador of Palestine in Chile, delivers a statement as members of the Palestinian community living in Chile attend a gathering in Santiago, Chile, October 9, 2023 [Ivan Alvarado\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Football also served as a means to build acceptance, according to Diego Khamis, the executive director of the Palestinian Community in Chile, an umbrella organisation that represents different Palestinian groups and businesses across the country.<\/p>\n<p>Khamis is a loyal supporter of the Club Deportivo Palestino, a team founded by Palestinian immigrants in the 1920s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey thought one of the best ways to make Palestine visible is by creating a professional football club, so that \u2018Palestine\u2019 will appear in the newspaper at least once a week,\u201d Khamis explained.<\/p>\n<p>The team is part of the Palestinian Community in Chile.\u00a0Since 1947, it has competed in the professional leagues and is regularly a leading contender in Chile\u2019s Primera Divisi\u00f3n, the country\u2019s top league.<\/p>\n<p>That gives it a platform to braid together Palestinian activism with football fandom, making slogans like \u201cFree Palestine\u201d a part of everyday life for\u00a0its legions of\u00a0supporters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt a time when the world was saying that Palestinians didn\u2019t exist, in Chile, we knew it did. How can you say that something doesn\u2019t exist when it\u2019s so present here?\u201d Khamis said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2475231\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2475231\" style=\"width:770px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2475231\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Members of the Club Deportivo Palestino shake hands with visiting leaders in 2018, including Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas [File: Esteban Felix\/AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The visibility of Chile\u2019s Palestinian community has in turn shaped the country\u2019s foreign policy, particularly in recent weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Chilean President Gabriel Boric has repeatedly expressed support for Palestinian human rights since his inauguration in 2022, even withdrawing the country\u2019s ambassador to Israel in condemnation of the current military offensive in Gaza.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019ve been among the first to take diplomatic action to protest what is happening,\u201d Khamis said of Boric and his government.<\/p>\n<p>Agustina Manzur, a 24-year-old makeup artist, has been surprised at just how great the outpouring of support has been since the start of the war.<\/p>\n<p>A fourth-generation Chilean of Palestinian descent, she recently attended a protest outside the Israeli embassy in Santiago, Chile.<\/p>\n<p>Dressed in her keffiyeh \u2014\u00a0a traditional Palestinian scarf \u2014 and carrying a Palestine flag, she\u00a0arrived early. She was stunned to see the number of protesters already there.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of people had gathered outside the embassy.\u00a0The\u00a0crowd\u00a0grew so large that protesters spilled off the sidewalk and onto the busy road, cutting off traffic.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was comforting to see so many of us fighting for the same cause,\u201d Manzur said. Lately, her social media has been awash with the devastation from Israeli attacks. \u201cI couldn\u2019t sleep. It totally consumed me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But she has found hope among members of Chile\u2019s large Palestinian community and its supporters, all raising their voices against the war. She plans to protest again soon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have to speak up because people in Gaza cannot. They don\u2019t even have internet, light, or water,\u201d Manzur said. \u201cWe cannot physically get Palestinians out, so the least we can do is protest for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0635\u062f\u0631\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2023\/11\/10\/from-sport-to-music-chiles-palestinian-diaspora-rallies-to-support-gaza?traffic_source=rss\">\u0627\u0644\u0645\u0635\u062f\u0631<\/a><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/lenkaed.com\" title=\"\u0623\u062e\u0628\u0627\u0631\" rel=\"dofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\u0623\u062e\u0628\u0627\u0631<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"From sport to music, Chile\u2019s Palestinian diaspora rallies to support Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict News\" href=\"\/\">From sport to music, Chile\u2019s Palestinian diaspora rallies to support Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From sport to music, Chile\u2019s Palestinian diaspora rallies to support Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict News From sport to music, Chile\u2019s Palestinian diaspora rallies to support Gaza | Israel-Palestine conflict News They dart across the football pitch in a blur of red, white, black and green, the colours of their jerseys echoing the Palestinian flags waving [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7678],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-estaql"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82290","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82290"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82290\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/estaql.com\/seo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}