The ongoing political conflict in Syria, opposing rebel factions to government forces, has generated an influx of Syrian immigrants to Argentina since its beginning in 2011. Due to the existence of an important Syrian community in the country, many of those who had relatives here chose Argentina as their exile destination, as the lack of security and the paralysation of the economic activity in Syria obliged many families to leave their homeland.

Syria’s downward spiral into a dreadful conflict has caused a great number of fatalities. By the start of 2013, according to UN estimates, more than 60,000 people -mostly civilians- were killed. More than 400,000 Syrian refugees had registered in neighbouring countries (Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon) and it is estimated that there are tens of thousands more unregistered.

Since the beginning of the conflict, the Argentine consulate in Damascus has seen the number of demands for visas increase by 40%.

A Damascus landscape. (Photo by spdl_n1, on Flickr)

“I decided to leave Syria and go to Argentina in June 2012, as it was difficult for me to keep on studying. The roadblocks made it very difficult to circulate and I couldn’t attend my classes in university” says Leila (not her real name) a 26 year-old biology student who arrived in Buenos Aires on 13th January 2013.

Leila is from the Syrian village of Kalaat Yandal, located 50km from Damascus. She had to go through Lebanon to be able to leave the region, as the Damascus airport is closed. Leila had never travelled before. She came alone to her great uncle’s in Buenos Aires, who lives with his Argentine wife and their three children in a 150-year old house in Belgrano, which belongs to their family. He is a descendant of Syrian immigrants from Kalaat Yandal, who arrived in Argentina in the 1930s.

The Syrian-Lebanese Community in Argentina

It is estimated that a high percentage of Argentina’s current population descends from immigrants, who arrived in the country in various waves of migration escaping wars, economic hardship, and religious persecution. After the Spanish and the Italian, the third wave of immigrants to arrive were the Syrian-Lebanese. Today, it is estimated that there are about 3,500,000 Syrian-Lebanese immigrants and their descendants living across Argentina.

In the early 1860s, a significant number of Syrians and Lebanese started to immigrate to certain countries in America, such as the United States, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. The majority of the those who immigrated to Argentina at that time were Christians who were -as minorities- escaping persecutions under the Ottoman Empire.

At the same time, the demographic boom in the Middle East -and the lack of work it generated- incited many more to emigrate for economic purposes.

A massive first wave of Syrian and Lebanese immigration to Argentina took place between the 1860s and the 1950s. According to the official registries, 108,000 immigrants from the Middle East arrived in that period. They were classified as ‘turcos’, as their countries of origin were provinces of the Ottoman Empire.

After the 1950s, the number of immigrants from Syria and Lebanon diminished drastically. Since then, Syrian immigrants have been coming in small numbers to join relatives and look for work opportunities.

“In the last decades, the number of Syrian immigrants has been very small, but the increase from 2011 is significant,” says Hugo Moujan, from the Immigration Department, explaining how the civil war has contributed to the increase of Syrian immigration to Argentina in the past year.

Statistics show an increase of almost 500% in the grant of permanent residency permits to Syrian citizens and of 460% of temporary residency permits between 2011 and 2012.

Integration Into a New Society

The first waves of Syrian immigrants have integrated themselves in the social structures of the country and local organisations. They showed permeability to adapt to the Argentine culture and way of life, and have merged with the local population.

This has led to a certain loss of the feeling of belonging to their nation of origin. Their leaders are not identified as representatives of the Syrian-Lebanese community, but more as Argentines.

Like Leila’s relatives in Buenos Aires, the majority of Syrian descendants do not speak Arabic; the first immigrants did not teach the language to their children. She explains the difficulty she has to communicate with her relatives since her arrival, as she does not speak Spanish. Moreover, Leila had never met them before, as they never visited Syria.

“Their lifestyle here is so different from the Arabic culture,“ she notes. “They have the Arab spirit, but in very minimal doses”.

The Syrian immigrants who arrived in the last few decades have different characteristics, as the newcomers preserved a certain sense of loyalty to their country of origin, and wanted to stay close to their own culture.

Photo of Rached Deglauy (courtesy of Rached Deglauy)

Rached Deglauy is part of a second wave of immigrants who came to Argentina to join relatives and find work opportunities. He arrived in Buenos Aires in 1976, at the age of 17, and started working in his uncle’s shop, until he opened his own textile business.

As he explains, unlike the past waves of immigrants who “forgot their origins”, the immigrants from the 1970s were much more attached to their Syrian culture and taught their children Arabic -as Rached did.

“The visa was easy to get at that time: your relatives could get you a residency permit before you even arrived,” notes Rached, explaining how his uncle helped him to obtain a work visa.

“Nowadays, it is more complicated: you need to have a work contract, they want to check if you are paying taxes (…) you can’t get a permit before arriving anymore. Things have to be done from here; so people come to their relatives [with a tourist visa] and try to get a residency permit once they arrive”.

A Temporary Exile

Whilst Rached and his generation settled in quickly and did not have problems to integrate into their new lives in Argentina, most of the Syrians who arrived in the last two years are not planning to settle in the country.

Leila, although she likes the city and the life here, thinks of going back to Syria when her tourist visa expires. “I arrived only one month ago, I don’t know yet how I feel about being here. I will probably go back to Syria (…) I hope things will calm down soon [there]”.

Rached had to get his mother from Syria, via Lebanon, in October 2012, as she did not want to leave her home.

“I had to go and get her myself, she has health problems and needs medical assistance. It wasn’t a good place for her to stay (…) there wasn’t a hospital near the village, and it is very hard to enter in the nearest city of Homs,” he says. Rached’s mother is now in a safer environment, and can count on her two sons to take care of her (Rached brother also immigrated to Argentina).

Likewise, Leila is here is with family. “My great uncle is extremely nice to me (…) my great cousins help me with everything and take me out when I want to”. They helped her feel at home, and to let her rest her mind and “forget” about the frightening and violent environment she came from.

Also, thanks to the modern ways of communication, the recent immigrants have been able to keep in contact with their families in Syria. Leila had never seen her relatives in Buenos Aires, but she knew them. “I chatted with my great-cousins all the time and they were telling me about their lives in Buenos Aires (…) I wasn’t afraid to come here by myself, as I felt I knew them already, and they were telling me great things about Argentina”.

However, she worries about her family in Syria constantly – even though she speaks to them on a daily basis. She feels very far from them, and since her arrival, she tends to stay at home and does not do much. Sometimes she meets an Arab-speaking Lebanese priest at the Saint-George Orthodox Church in Palermo, who is, according to Leila, helping many recent Syrian immigrants find their feet and feel at home in Buenos Aires, as they come from a very chaotic situation in Syria.

As well as the Saint-George priest, the Syrian community in Argentina is trying to help the recent immigrants. The Syrian-Lebanese institutions established in the country have received and hosted fleeing Syrian families since 2011, helping them to live and work in the country.

Leila’s great uncle is part of the Charity Association Syria Kalaat Yandal, founded in the 1930s by the first group of Syrian immigrants coming from Kalaat Yandal village. This association was founded with the aim of creating a space where the Syrian immigrants could gather, speak their language, eat typical Syrian food, and keep in contact with those who immigrated here.

Photo from Kalaat Yandal event (courtesy of Alejandro Haddad)

The first families hosted newcomers from Kalaat Yandal who arrived in Buenos Aires, and helped them find jobs and settle. Today, the association still welcomes immigrants from Kalaat Yandal, but the more recent migrants left Syria for very different reasons.

Leila has never been to a Kalaat Yandal event, as she is not planning to stay here and does not think it is necessary to becomed involved with the local Syrian community.

The Syrians in Argentina participate in such events as it is a way for them to “stay united with Syria,” Rached observes. A Syria that tends to be idealised, and that seems far from the reality of the country today.

How do Argentines feel about the country taking in immigrants fleeing danger? Click here to find out.

Syria’s uprising against government forces has led to a two-year civil war, which according to the United Nations has so far resulted in the lives of over 60,000 people; a number that is expected to continue rising as a near term solution looks unlikely.

Syria’s citizens continue to flee the war-torn country in the hope of finding a sanctuary and a place to escape death, and Argentina is one of the countries that has opened its doors to those seeking refuge.

The Argentina Independent hit the streets to hear what the locals had to say on the matter.

Julieta, analyst, Palermo

Yes I think that Argentina should open its doors to people fleeing danger, and I think that what Argentina is doing for the Syrians is perfect. If Argentina can help people who are fleeing dangerous situations then of course they should. But to be honest I don’t know if they can do more, I don’t fully know the extent of what support/conditions the country is offering right now .

Miriam, retired, Palermo

I believe that the country needs to help those in danger, but sometimes as a citizen you can feel scared when you hear about people seeking asylum in your country, but not everyone feels the same of course. I think that some people feel wary in case immigrants coming to this country have extreme political beliefs, and what that means for Argentina.

Francisco, shop owner, Palermo

I think we should absolutely help and support those fleeing from danger, and not just in Syria but we should help everyone that is in danger. Especially because some countries don’t offer help or entrance, for instance Brazil stopped Japanese immigration in World War I and II, and many countries at that time were making a similar stand with immigration. And some of that still hasn’t changed. But helping people in these situations is necessary and what Argentina is doing is very good in my opinion.

Carlos, airport worker, Bella Vista

I think that all countries should open their doors and provide homes for those in danger. We all have to unite in this situations. I think that Argentina helps the best it can, but we have a lot of internal problems that we have to deal with too. But Argentina offers good services to people coming into the country, such as free education and healthcare so I think the country does a lot for immigrants coming to this country, I think it’s sufficient.

Noel, translator, Palermo

We need to do all we can, and I fully support immigration in this country. I think we could do more in respect though. But we do a good job, all of my family were immigrants from Italy and Argentina provided the support that was needed when they moved here. However, I do think that there should be controls over who is allowed citizenship in this country, but when it comes to helping those in danger then of course, Argentina should do all it can.

Today marks the first day of Cuba’s eased immigration reform which allows citizens to leave the country more easily than in decades. The new policy, announced last 16^th October, only requires most Cubans to present a valid passport and visa to travel without special government approval.

While the new law replaces previous requirements like the exit permission notice known as a ‘white card’, invitation letters, or legal consulate approval, Cuba still reserves the right to deny exit “to preserve human capital created by the Revolution” and “for ‘public interest’ reasons” or for “defence” and “national security”. Allowable stays abroad have been extended from the previous 11 months to a full two years and permanent foreign residents no longer have to pay the US$40 per month fee. Those who left the country illegally after 1994 also now enjoy a means to return to the island.

Lastly, the law does place restrictions on professions considered especially crucial to the national workforce to prevent ‘brain drain’ such as high-level directors, scientists, doctors, teachers, and athletes. Instead, permission could be granted on a case-by-case basis.

For its part, the United States, second home to 85% of current Cuban emigrants, says it “positively accepts” the reform, but reiterates that “Cubans will continue to need approval” to enter the country. Victoria Nuland, spokesperson for the United States State Department, added that the US is working “to guarantee the necessary mechanisms to respond to any increase in the amount of visa requests or undocumented immigration, and urges Cuban families to utilise the family reunification tools and other legal immigration mechanisms in effect.” She asked that no one undertake “dangerous journeys by sea, putting their lives in danger.”

While the reform has been welcomed by some, many dissidents claim it is still discriminatory. “It seems that [the filter] will now be in the process of giving the passport and not in the so-called white card for permission, like up until now,” tweeted dissident blogger Yoani Sánchez, who plans to submit paperwork to leave the island today. Elizardo Sánchez, head of the Cuban Commission of Human Rights and National Reconciliation, commented, “The new law continues to be essentially discriminatory and violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights persists,” referencing the declaration’s protection of freedom of movement.

The National Directorate of National Register and the National Immigration approved gender identity change for foreigners, refugees and stateless people living in Argentina.

The new right which allows foreigners living in Argentina to change their gender identity on Argentine identification, consecrated by Law No. 26,743, was published on Wednesday in the Official Bulletin. Since last May and up until now, this right was only made possible to Argentine-born residents.

In order to obtain rectification of sexual identity, with the possible change of name and photograph on the ID, the foreign applicant must demonstrate that the change is not possible in their country.

Once the change has been made, the Migration Board will report it to the Foreign Ministry, to the applicants’ country of origin and to Interpol, explained the official resolution.

The foreigner can however not use the new identity to get in and out of Argentina, and will have to use “any other proper travel document according to their nationality,” stated the National Immigration agency.

In Argentina today live 2,4 million gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual people, equivalent to 6% of the population, according to collective data.

Strolling through the streets of Buenos Aires, it’s not difficult to see the influence that immigration has had in the formation of the city and the Argentine nation. Mismatched architectural styles reflect a diverse array of cultural influences, and the name of any passer-by is just as likely to sound German or Italian as it is to sound Spanish.

In Argentina, 4th September is Immigrants’ Day, a day to commemorate the diverse waves of immigration that have helped formed the demographics of the country’s population and influenced its rich culture.

Map of European immigration to Argentina in the late 19th century (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Perceptions and Realities: The History of Argentine Immigration

Migration has played a central role in the history of Argentina since the arrival of the Spaniards, who sought to populate the vast expanse of their colonial territory.

After the country gained independence in 1810, its new leaders continued to see migration as a useful tool for the nation’s development. The dominant view towards migration in the country’s early years could be encapsulated by the words of Argentine politician Juan B. Alberdi’s, “to govern is to populate”.

Statistically, immigrants grew as a proportion of Argentina’s total population from the second half of the nineteenth century through World War I. At the peak of immigration in 1914, immigrants represented nearly a third of the total population and nearly half of the population of the city of Buenos Aires.

Since World War I, however, the proportion of immigrants as a proportion of the total population has gradually lowered. In the 2010 census, 4.5% of Argentina’s total population was born in another country.

In Argentina there is an oft-quoted saying, “the Argentines descended from the boats”, which suggests that all Argentines are descendants of European migrants.

The vast waves of European immigration at the start of the century were unquestionably influential in the formation of modern Argentina. European migrants made up the vast majority of migrants to the country during the greatest waves of immigration at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

A closer look at the historical statistics of migration to Argentina, however, also reveals that this phrase leaves out other large populations that have immigrated to the country throughout its history.

Hidden behind the massive waves of European migrants arriving at the turn of the twentieth century was a comparable small but steady stream of migrants originating from neighbouring countries. Regional migrants have hovered consistently around 2% of the total population throughout most of Argentina’s history.

Shifts in the Composition of the Foreign-Born Population

And so, while the population of migrants from neighbouring countries has not altered significantly over time as a proportion of the total population, it has come to represent a much greater proportion of the foreign-born population.

At the peak of migration in 1914, migrants from neighbouring countries made up only 8.6% of the foreign-born population. In the years since, that proportion has steadily risen, such that migrants from neighbouring countries made up 68.9% of the foreign-born population in the 2010 census.

This 68.9% represented an 8.7% increase since the last census in 2001. In the same period, migrants of Peruvian origin grew from 5.8% to 8.7% of the foreign-born population, and migrants from other nations in the Americas from 1.9% to 3.8%.

Peruvian Independence Day Celebration in Buenos Aires (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Simultaneously, the percentage of the foreign-born population of European origin decreased from 28.2% to 16.6%. The proportion of Asian origin also decreased, although less dramatically, from 1.9% to 1.7%.

Finally, while the percentage of the foreign-born population originating from Africa and Oceania remained smaller than 1%, both groups experienced growth; the population of African origin increased by 50%, and that from Oceania nearly doubled.

Argentine Migration Policy

Today, Argentina’s migration policy is codified in Migration Law 25.871, signed into law in 2004 by then-president Nestór Kirchner.

The law has been widely recognised in the international community for its open nature, and particularly for its Article 4, which states: “The right to migrate is essential and inalienable to each individual”.

Pablo Ceriani Cernadas, director of the Human Rights Centre at the Universidad Nacional de Lanús, observes that under this new migration policy, an “irregular” migration status is seen “as a consequence of structural factors and inequalities on the global level” and that therefore the law considers an appropriate response to be “not a restrictive policy but rather to recognise migration as a right, facilitate regularisation, facilitate access to employment and equal rights”.

The Law 25.871 is particularly notable for the law that it replaced, the notorious Law 22.439. Colloquially known today as the ‘Videla Law’ because it was signed into law under in 1981 by then de facto president General Jorge Videla, the law was engineered under the paradigm of national security.

This law constituted a highly restrictive policy that effectively created large groups of undocumented migrants for the first time in Argentina’s history. Mostly affecting migrants from neighbouring countries, the law placed many immigrants in a state of intense vulnerability.

As the law was passed under the military junta, it did not pass through the normal legislative processes. Nevertheless, after the return to democracy in 1983, the Law 22.439 remained in effect.

Despite several large-scale amnesties to regulate the status of large populations of irregular migrants, the migration policies of the 1981 law remained largely in place. Indeed, during the 1989-99 Menem administration the Law 22.439 was applied perhaps even more harshly than it had been during the dictatorship.

Ceriani notes that in the 1990s, with “the appearance and the progressive growth of the social, economic, and political crisis, the increase in unemployment, the increase in poverty, the increase in insecurity, and the overall sensation of insecurity” came the “use of migration as a scapegoat” for a wide variety of social woes.

The passage of the Law 25.871 in 2004, therefore, marked a stark shift.

Louis Bogado Poisson, Academic Secretary at the newly inaugurated Institute of International Migration and Asylum policy, suggests, however, that the law was also in many ways a return to more open migration policies of the past: “Argentina comes from a long tradition of receiving immigrants; its own dynamic, this dynamic of immigrant reception, is what brought it to adopt this policy.”

Under the previous law, detention and deportation figured prominently as responses to undocumented migration. Under the new law, the focus shifted to regularisation, with the use of detention and expulsion extremely restricted.

Immigration office in Buenos Aires (Photo: Beatrice Murch)

Under the previous law, there were few legal avenues for immigration, access to social services was restricted, and neither the protection of migrants’ rights nor the prevention of discrimination was mentioned.

The new law opened more legal avenues for migration, and included two regularisation programmes. One of these programs, known as ‘Patria Grande’, was aimed specifically at regional migrants. In showing a preference for regional migration, the law marks a shift even from earlier open Argentine migration policies.

What’s more, as Bogado-Poisson observes, the law “recognises wide rights; it goes further than any other law”.

Constitutional rights and human rights are extended to all immigrants in the country. Regardless of their legal status, migrants have the right to education, health and social assistance.

Still, Ceriani observes that, there is “not a general acceptance of equality and integration and Argentina as the great receiver of migrants…this work is still a pending challenge…xenophobia is still very present in Argentine society”.

In presenting Decree 616/2010, the ‘reglamentación’ of the Law 25.871 that fleshes out how the law will be implemented, President Christina Fernández de Kirchner stated: “We are all children or grandchildren of an immigrant. We have to echo our own history and the identity of our country. We have to integrate immigrant populations instead of discriminate against them. We must oppose the cultural subordination that dictates laws against immigrants.”

The interior minister, Florencio Randazzo, has announced the implementation of a new immigration procedure for entry and exit in the country.

Randazzo said that “from now on, no more migration cards will be filed manually. The immigration will now be carried out in digital terminals, with a new biometric system.

“The amendments will result in a less cumbersome procedure, reducing time and increasing safety, since the digital recording avoids having to change passenger information.”

From now on, when a passenger enters or exits the country, a digitalised photo and fingerprint will be used to validate their identity.

Randazzo said that, with the implementation of the new system, the time of the procedure “has been halved. The average time spent in immigration has been reduced from one minute to 28 seconds. So for us it is a very important breakthrough.”

This system is already in operation in Buquebús and the domestic terminals in Ezeiza. It is due to be extended to all terminals and airfields in the country.

Women dressed in traditional Armenian attire pose along Avenida de Mayo (Photo: Laura Mowat)

Whilst you may have noticed a growing number of Armenian restaurants and schools popping up around Buenos Aires, they are merely a clue to the large number of Armenians living in the city.

Buenos Aires is home to more than 130,000 Armenians, who together make up the largest community of Armenian residents in South America.

Since 2009, government initiative ‘Buenos Aires Celebra’ has been celebrating the cultures and customs of various immigrant communities through the organisation of regular free events.

Sunday 9th October saw the celebrations for Armenia take place, where several generations of an extensive Armenian community descended upon Av. de Mayo to celebrate Armenia’s 20 years of independence from soviet rule, and the 100th year of the General Union of Armenia Charity (UGAB).

The historic avenue was bursting with Armenian culture; Folk dancers performed dressed in traditional colourful attire, and taste buds were spoilt, with food stalls offering tempting cuisine. Shish and doner kebabs were among the delicacies on offer, and a food stand for lesmeshun, a soft piece of dough topped with minced meat and spicy sauce, inspired particularly lengthy queues.

Amongst the jovial atmosphere, there were 200 volunteers present to ensure the thousands of attendees profited as much as possible from the day.

Melina Terzian, a volunteer at the event said: “It’s a great day to share the Armenian traditions, especially the food, which is an integral part of our culture. Also, it’s good for the community to come together, meet each other and perhaps even speak the language.”

As evening drew in, an open-air concert began featuring a full-length performance by the Buenos Aires Philharmonic orchestra. Government officials including the city mayor, Mauricio Macri, and the minister of culture, Hernán Lombardi, attended the event. The latter expressed his congratulations to the UGAB on the organisation of the celebrations and for succeeding in preserving Armenia’s customs from thousands of miles away.

The forthcoming ‘Buenos Aires Celebra’ event takes place on the afternoon of Sunday 29th October, and will celebrate the Croatian community with another outdoor event held on the Av. de Mayo.

Mexico Without Borders and another 10 human rights organisations have complained that the reform violates immigrants’ individual guarantees.

The organisations have specified that the new ruling permits the installation of anti-immigrant squads and systems in the country’s interior.

They explained that the idea behind these is to authorise more than just control in entering and leaving Mexican territory.

Furthermore, they ratified that the law permitted the detention of migrants in migratory terminals for more than three months, when the limit established by the Mexican Constitution is 36 hours.

In conversation with Pulsar and a number of defence organisations, Fabianne Venet, from the Institute of Studies and Divulgation on Migration (INEDIM), said the Mexican government was violating immigrants’ rights

She added that this is incoherent because they are calling for better treatment for Mexicans in the United States.

Vennet called on the authorities to develop a complete immigration policy. Mexico Without Borders called on Mexican legislators to approve a law that would prioritise the human rights of the immigrants.

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the news agency of AMARC-ALC.

The land takes added to the Parque Indoamericano and La Matanza which started in Villa Soldati, Lugano and moved to the surrounding areas. These new takes are added to those already accounted for in Villa Soldati. A total of eight plots have been taken in Capital Federal and of the Greater Buenos Aires.

A group of at least 50 people this morning held a property of the Government of Buenos Aires in Bajo Flores after a clash with the police who answered complaints from neighbors. This area is in Riestra and Camilo Torres.

Others have taken plots as well, as dozens of people have taken an abandoned farm in Barracas neighborhood.

The area of Barracas became occupied territory today as well, and is located at the intersections of Lafayette, Iriarte, Río Cuarto and Velez Sarsfield. This territory takes the space of a block and dozens of inhabitants from Villa 21 are allegedly occupying it.

The land, part of the jurisdiction of the station 26 is under the watch of the Federal Police after being taken. They are not allowing anyone to enter or exit, and have been negotiating with the occupiers since the morning.

A group from Ciudad Oculta took a plot of open landed owned by a container company, not far from the area of Bajo Flores already occupied. Yet another group is currently occupying a soccer field in Bernal, which was also taken today. Federal Judge, Daniel Rafecas, ordered the government to vacate the premises and peacefully. The judge sent a document to the Cabinet of Ministers to establish “a perimeter with some members of security forces to designate” by Aníbal Fernández “to prevent acts of violence and the entrance of new occupiers.”

The five additional taken plots, in addition to Villa Soldati’s area currently being occupied are more than 13,000 people according to the office of the Ministry of Social Development. Eviction attempts and confrontations with neighbors have killed at least three.