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Syrian Mexicans

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Ethnic group
Syrian Mexicans
sirio-mexicano
سوري مكسيكي
Regions with significant populations
Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Toluca, Tapachula, Cuernavaca, Chiapas
Languages
Mexican Spanish, Syrian Arabic
Religion
Islam and Judaism
Related ethnic groups
Syrian and Syrian diaspora

Syrian Mexicans are Mexicans of Syrian origin. According to the 2000 census, there were 246 Syrians living in Mexico. In 1890, there were more than 1,000 Syrians residing in the country, but the vast majority emigrated to the United States because of the Syrian civil war.

History

Immigrant registration form of a Muslim woman (mahometana, Mohammedan) from Tripoli Sanjak

In the early 20th century, several thousand Syrians emigrated from the Ottoman Empire to Mexico. The majority of the Syrian emigrants were of Jewish origin primarily from Aleppo and Damascus. Thousands of Syrian Jews lived in the area from the 1920s to the 1950s, creating a similar counterpart of their Middle Eastern homeland within its streets and plazas. Mexico City's Syrian Jewery is unique in that it was divided in the 1930s into two separate communities, those who were initially from Aleppo (the "Maguen David" community) and those who originated from Damascus. Several prominent Mexican intellectuals, politicians and businesspeople are of Syrian origin. Most Syrian immigrants settled in Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Toluca, Tapachula, Cuernavaca and Chiapas.

In 2015, the Mexican government allowed a few Syrian refugees to come to Mexico and complete their university education, with the assistance of a local Mexican NGO. Mexico also donated US$3 million in support of Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and in Turkey.

Syrian Jewish community

Mexico City is home to one of the world's largest Syrian Jewish communities, dating back to the early 20th century.

History

The Syrian Jewish community in Mexico City began to take shape in the early 20th century when several families from Aleppo in modern-day Syria immigrated to Mexico. They were seeking new economic opportunities and a better life and fleeing religious persecution and political instability in the Ottoman Empire. The initial wave of immigration took place between the 1910s and 1920s, but it continued in smaller numbers throughout the 20th century.

The Syrian Jewish community in Roma, Mexico City was tight-knit, continuing to carry on Syrian and Jewish customs in their own homes, schools, and shops. Arabic continued to be frequently spoken in the community until the late 1930s.

In the 1930s, the Syrian Jewish community split between families from Aleppo and families from Damascus. In 1931, Aleppo-Syrian Jews established the Rodfe Sédek synagogue, based on the Great Synagogue of Aleppo. In 1953, the Monte Sinaí Synagogue was completed in Roma by the Damascus-Syrian Jewish community.

In the 1950s, Syrian Jews began to move from the Roma neighborhood to Polanco, with basically all members of the community having relocated by the 1970s.

Cultural identity

The community speaks a distinct Judeo-Arabic dialect known as "Haketiya" or "Judeo-Syrian," which blends Arabic, Hebrew, and some Spanish elements. Regarding religious practices, the community follows Sephardic traditions, which originated in the Iberian Peninsula and were spread by Spanish and Portuguese Jews after their expulsion in 1492.

Demographics

Syrian immigration to Mexico between 1921 and 2000
Year Syrian residents
1921 4.715 Increase
1930 5.159 Increase
1940 1.041 Decrease
1980 893 Decrease
1990 478 Decrease
2000 319 Decrease
2010 222 Decrease
2015 3.633 Increase

Syrian Mexicans

See also

References

  1. Rosa E. García Ita (2006-01-24). "Los árabes de México. Asimilación y herencia cultural" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  2. ^ "Roma, Mexico City area of Oscar frontrunner, was a Jewish neighborhood". The Jerusalem Post. 30 January 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  3. "México abre sus puertas a refugiados sirios | América Latina | DW | 14.09.2015". dw.com. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  4. Ana Langner (5 February 2016). "México dona 3 mdd para asistir a refugiados sirios". El Economista. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
  5. Estadísticas históricas de México 2009
Syrian opposition Syrians and diaspora
Countries
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Middle East
Asia
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Oceania
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Ancestry and ethnicity in Mexico
Mexicans
Non-Amerindian
Mexico
From Sub-Saharan Africa
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and North Africa
Amerindian
More than 100,000 people
20,000–100,000 people
1,000–20,000 people
Fewer than 1,000 people
  • Jews and Romani originate in the Middle East and South Asia respectively, with most arriving to Mexico via Europe
  • Primarily arrived via Canada
  • Originated in what is now the United States
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