Syrian Uruguayans Explained

Group:	Syrian Uruguayan
Native Name:	Sirio-uruguayo السوريون في اوروجواي
Langs:	Rioplatense Spanish (Uruguayan Spanish), Arabic
Related:	Other Uruguayan people, Syrian people

Syrian Uruguayans (Arabic: السوريون في اوروجواي) are Uruguayan citizens of Syrian descent or Syrian-born naturalized Uruguayans.

Historical background

Uruguay has several thousands of people with Arab descent, whose ancestors came mostly from Lebanon; a minority came also from Syria.^[1]

There were Muslims, Christians, and also some Jews among them.^[2]

New wave of immigration in the 21st century

As of October 2014, Uruguay received a new immigration flow of Syrian people, this time as a consequence of the Syrian Civil War.^[3] 42 Syrian people from five families were received by President José Mujica on 9 October.^[4] Because of allegedly insufficient support by the government, some Syrians prostested in 2015 and requested visa to leave the country.^[5] One family reportedly tried to leave Uruguay via Serbia in August 2015 but was sent back because of missing visa.^[6]

Notable Syrian Uruguayans

• Amir Hamed (1962-2017), translator
• Jorge Antonio Chibene (1917–2007), businessman and political figure
• Amin Niffouri (born 1971), politician
• Raquel Daruech (born 1953), journalist

See also

• Syrian diaspora
• Immigration to Uruguay
• Lebanese Uruguayans
• Arab Uruguayans

Notes and References

1. Web site: La asimilación cultural de los siriolibaneses y sus descendientes en Uruguay . 2 February 2015 . .
2. Web site: 100 years of Jewish institutional presence in Uruguay . 21 May 2019 . ORT Uruguay.
3. Web site: Uruguayan resettlement scheme offers Syrian refugees a lifeline . 27 August 2014. .
4. Web site: Syrian families find refuge in Uruguay . 9 October 2014. .
5. News: In Uruguay wäscht Wut auf "undankbare Syrer" . 21 October 2015. .
6. Web site: Syrians resettled in Uruguay: We want to go back . 10 September 2015. CNN.