'Chilestinian' resistance: how Chile became home to half a million Palestinians

Chileans are taking to the streets to call for Palestine's liberation

Chileans protest for Palestinian liberation
Thousands of people with Palestinian heritage live in the Latin American nation
(Image credit: Cristobal Basaure Araya/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Despite being separated by more than 8,000 miles and a vast ocean, Chile has become one of the most vocal Palestinian supporters. 

The Andean nation is "home to the largest Palestinian population outside of the Middle East", Al Jazeera reported. An estimated 500,000 Chilean citizens can trace their lineage back to the state. 

The Gazan conflict has "hit close to home" for Chileans, who have "threaded" Palestinian culture into their everyday lives. This group of invested Chileans, and their allies, are now putting increased pressure on their government to act.

'Roots run deep'

Community 'clamoring' for a ceasefire

The "visibility" of Chile's Palestinians "in some of the highest government offices" has impacted foreign policy in recent weeks. "Powerful" pressure groups are urging the government to act on Palestinian "human rights", with the public conversation taking a "more long-term historical perspective", reported Foreign Policy's Catherine Osborn. 

This ultimately resulted in the nation's President Gabriel Boric speaking out to not only condemn Hamas, but also the "indiscriminate attacks against civilians carried out by the Israeli army in Gaza". The nation has also withdrawn its ambassador from Israel.

But for Chilean Palestinians, the fight will not stop until the people of Palestine are liberated. The community is "clamoring" for a ceasefire, said NBC, holding rallies and pushing for boycotts, as the conflict continues.

In an act of unity, Georges Abed, a Syrian-born priest in central Santiago, "the original landing zone for Palestinians in Chile", invited Chilean Muslims and the Palestinian ambassador to his mass. At the service, "keffiyehs, hijabs and Palestinian flags were sprinkled throughout the pews".

"Though we are completely separate geographically," ambassador Vera Baboun told the network, "you feel their presence, their connection to the land."

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This article first appeared in The Week’s Global Digest newsletter. Sign up for a preview of the international news agenda, sent to your inbox every Monday.

Rebekah Evans joined The Week as newsletter editor in 2023 and has written on subjects ranging from Ukraine and Afghanistan to fast fashion and "brotox". She started her career at Reach plc, where she cut her teeth on news, before pivoting into personal finance at the height of the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis. Social affairs is another of her passions, and she has interviewed people from across the world and from all walks of life. Rebekah completed an NCTJ with the Press Association and has written for publications including The Guardian, The Week magazine, the Press Association and local newspapers.