Asian Colombians Explained

Group:Asian Colombians
Flag:
Flag Alt:The flags of China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Vietnam, Israel, Syria, Indonesia, Pakistan, Cambodia, Thailand, East Timor, Laos, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Philippines, India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Palestine, Türkiye, Lebanon, Mongolia, and Colombia
Image Alt:The exterior of the Korean-Colombian Cultural Foundation's building in Bogota.
Regions:Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena, Medellín, Santa Marta, Neiva, Manizales, Cúcuta, Pereira
Languages:Colombian Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Languages in India, Arabic, Vietnamese, Armenian, Turkish, Thai, Filipino, Malay.
Religions:Buddhism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Islam, Protestantism, Shintoism, Sikhism
Related Groups:Asians, Arabs, Colombians, Arab Colombians

The term Asian Colombians (es|colombianos asiáticos; pronounced as /es-419/) refers to Asian immigrants in Colombia and their descendants. The majority of Asian Colombians are of Chinese and Japanese descent,[1] [2] [3] with a smaller portion being of Korean descent. There are also notable South Asian, Southeast Asian, Arab, and Middle Eastern descending populations.[4]

History

Panama Canal Railway

In 1854, many Chinese migrants arrived in Colombian territory for the construction of the Panama Canal Railway across the Isthmus of Panama, as the domestic labor force was insufficient.[5] Around 705 Chinese immigrants came from the Guandong province, demonstrating their skills working on the construction of the first Transcontinental Railroad on the west coast of the United States.[6] [7] The Chinese migrants being brought into the projects was a desperate measure by the managers of the railway companies, who did not have enough workers among the native population for the construction and failed to import enough Irish, German, and other European migrants to make up for the deficit.[8]

Sugar industry

At the beginning of the 20th century, Indian Muslim migrants settled in the towns of the Cauca River valley, some just temporarily and others permanently, to engage in the commercial activity demanded by the new working population of the nascent sugar industry. These immigrants brought a variety of products to rural areas, both granting credit and accepting barter.[9]

Panamanian independence

Toraji Irie, a renowned Japanese writer, states in his work on Japanese migration to other regions of the World that the first Japanese migrants who arrived in Colombia in 1903, the year Panama gained independence and Colombia lost control of the Isthmus of Panama, came as a result of the Colombian Government seeking help from Japan in hiring workers to guard land bordering Panama against U.S. incursions.[10]

In 1928, this was the smallest migratory group, being somewhat small compared to other South American countries like Brazil, Peru or Venezuela. Despite this, some Japanese families began settling in Valle del Cauca,[11] where many became farmers.

Late 20th century

Between 1970 and 1980, there was a small yet constant flow of Asian migration (mainly from China) into Colombian cities, primarily Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena, Medellín, Santa Marta, Neiva, Manizales, Cúcuta and Pereira, which continues to this day. Other very small groups of Asian migrants came from India, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines.

Between 1970 and 1980 there were more than 6,000 Chinese Immigrants in Colombia, as they continued to arrive and grow in population. Anti-Immigration policies in many other countries is a possible factor in continued Chinese immigration into Colombia. Emigration out of China into Colombia generally did not occur in the first three decades following the establishment of the People's Republic of China, as emigration was restricted. Due to Xenophobia and Sinophobia within the United States, a significant amount of Chinese people chose to immigrate into other countries, including Colombia.[12]

Diasporic communities

Arab

See main article: article and Arab Colombians. Most Arab Colombians are of Lebanese, Jordanian, Syrian and Palestinian origins, most emigrating from the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th century.[13] [14] Many of them settled in cities like Barranquilla and Maicao.[15]

As the Arab population in Colombia grows, so does it's Muslim community. From 2007 to 2023, Bogotá went from having 1 mosque to 6.

Lebanese

See main article: article and Lebanese Colombians.

Colombia has the third-largest Lebanese population abroad, with an estimated between 1,200,000[16] and 2,500,000[17] people, below only Argentina and Brazil. Between 1880 and 1930, it is estimated 10,000 to 30,000 Lebanese migrants relocated to Colombia.

Syrian

See main article: article and Syrian Colombians. Most Syrian Colombians came to Colombia in the late 19th and early 20th century, with notable populations in Córdoba, Cartagena, and other cities.

Chinese

A large portion of modern (2000s-present) Chinese emigration into Colombian is composed of employees and business executives who have moved to Colombia following the multinational corporations they work for, some of which providing housing and accommodations for them directly. This has encouraged the development of diasporic Chinese enclaves in cities that welcome multinational corporations, such as Medellín, Barranquilla, and Cali. While many Chinese resident workers are on temporary visas, the enclaves are established and composed of many permanent Chinese-Colombian residents and citizens.[18] As of 2018, the Chinese embassy totaled around 20,000 Chinese citizens living in Colombian cities.[19]

Japanese

See main article: article and Japanese Colombians. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, as of 2023, there were 1,264 Japanese nationals residing in Colombia and an estimated 3,100 "Japanese descendants".[20]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Rodríguez . Carolina . 2018 . Inmigración japonesa a bogotá: historia de vida . Japanese Immigration into Bogota: Life Stories . live . Repository Universidad Javeriana . Spanish . https://web.archive.org/web/20240904214116/https://repository.javeriana.edu.co/bitstream/handle/10554/44097/TG-%20Rodriguez%20Monclou%2C%20Carolina.pdf?sequence=1isAllowed=y . 2024-09-04 . 2024-07-11.
  2. Web site: Semana . 25 October 2018 . Así llegaron los primeros migrantes japoneses a Colombia . How the first Japanese migrants arrived in Colombia. . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211218014930/https://www.semana.com/contenidos-editoriales/japon-el-mundo-al-derecho/articulo/asi-llegaron-los-primeros-migrantes-japoneses-a-colombia/588271/ . 18 December 2021 . 22 June 2022 . Semana . Spanish.
  3. Web site: Redacción . Las culturas asiáticas escondidas en Colombia . The hide-and-seek Asian cultures in Colombia . 2022-06-22 . PanoramaCultural.com.co . Spanish.
  4. Web site: Restrepo . Estefanía Carvajal . 15 April 2018 . Una pequeña India está surgiendo en el sur de Medellín . A little bit of India is emerging in southern Medellín . 21 June 2022 . www.elcolombiano.com . Spanish . 4 September 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240904214056/https://www.elcolombiano.com/antioquia/una-pequena-india-esta-surgiendo-en-el-sur-de-medellin-BC8545571 . live .
  5. http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php? Organizaciones chinas en Colombia
  6. Web site: Los chinos en colombia: historia, diáspora e identidad . The Chinese in Colombia: History, Diaspora and Identity . es.
  7. Web site: Semana . 2006-10-28 . Chinos y japoneses . Chinese and Japanese (peoples) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211218014932/https://www.semana.com/especiales/articulo/chinos-japoneses/81654-3/ . 2021-12-18 . 2022-06-22 . Semana.com Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo . Spanish.
  8. Web site: Patiño . German . 28 October 2006 . Chinos y japoneses . Chinese and Japanese (peoples) . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240807053814/https://www.semana.com/especiales/articulo/chinos-japoneses/81654-3/ . 7 August 2024 . 28 October 2006 . Semana . Spanish.
  9. Navarrete Pelaz, María Cristina (2017). Inmigrantes del este de la India en el valle del río Cauca. [Immigrants from Eastern India in the Cauca River Valley.] (in Spanish) Universidad del Valle. ISBN 978-958-765-324-3
  10. Web site: ¿Por qué llegaron los japoneses a Colombia? . Why did Japanese people arrive in Colombia? . 24 June 2014 . El Pueblo . Spanish . 25 June 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140625100311/http://elpueblo.com.co/por-que-llegaron-los-japoneses-a-colombia/ . live .
  11. News: La sorprendente historia de cómo una novela romántica fue el origen de la migración de japoneses a Colombia . The surprising story of how a romantic novel was the origin of Japanese migration to Colombia . 2022-06-22 . Spanish . BBC News Mundo . 2022-06-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220622001940/https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-44054844 . live .
  12. Web site: Friederike Fleischer . La diáspora china: una aproximación a la migración china en Colombia . The Chinese diaspora: an approximation of migration into Colombia. . 11 January 2011 . Spanish . 12 July 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200712151840/http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0123-885X2012000100007 . live .
  13. Fawcett de Posada . Louise . Posada Carbó . Eduardo . 1992 . En la tierra de las oportunidades: los sirio-libaneses en Colombia . In the land of opportunity: the Syrian-Lebanese in Colombia . PDF . Boletín Cultural y Bibliográfico . es . publicaciones.banrepcultural.org . 29 . 29 . 8–11 . 18 October 2024 . 2 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160302135545/https://publicaciones.banrepcultural.org/index.php/boletin_cultural/article/download/2252/2325 . live .
  14. Web site: Alexander . Inigo . ‘A Colombian Wild West’: Inside Maicao’s Arab community . 2024-11-29 . Al Jazeera . en.
  15. Web site: Alexander . Inigo . 5 April 2023 . From the Ottomans to the oil boom: Inside Colombia's Arab and Muslim community . 26 October 2024 . . en . 5 October 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20241005034254/https://www.middleeasteye.net/discover/colombia-inside-arab-muslim-community . live .
  16. Web site: Geographical Distribution of the Lebanese Diaspora . The Identity Chef . 18 October 2024 . 24 October 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181024042758/http://theidentitychef.com/2009/09/06/lebanese-diaspora-worldwide-geographical-distribution . live .
  17. Web site: September 2007 . Proyecciones nacionales y departamentales de población. 2006–2020 . National and departmental population projections. 2006–2020 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071123051243/http://www.dane.gov.co/files/investigaciones/poblacion/proyepobla06_20/7Proyecciones_poblacion.pdf . 23 November 2007 . 18 October 2024 . DANE National Statistical Service, Colombia . es.
  18. Web site: 20 November 2014 . Presencia de chinos en Colombia se ha duplicado en ocho años . The presence of Chinese in Colombia has doubled in eight years . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20170919235250/http://agenciadenoticias.unal.edu.co/detalle/article/presencia-de-chinos-en-colombia-se-ha-duplicado-en-ocho-anos.html . 19 September 2017 . 3 August 2024 . UN News Agency Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
  19. Web site: Radio . Redacción BLU . 2018-09-09 . Chinos en Colombia: así es la vida de inmigrantes asiáticos en el país . Chinese (people) in Colombia: How life of Asian Immigrants is in the country . 2022-06-21 . Blu Radio . Spanish . 2021-12-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211218014930/https://www.bluradio.com/mundo/chinos-en-colombia-asi-es-la-vida-de-inmigrantes-asiaticos-en-el-pais . live .
  20. Web site: 6 September 2024 . Japan-Colombia Relations . 20 October 2024 . Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan . 27 August 2015 . https://archive.today/20150827073600/http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/latin/colombia/data.html . live .

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