Peru: interesting facts. Peru - interesting facts about the country

Some, however, introduced themselves to Peru from Argentina or Uruguay after a long journey, probably in stages. Once crossed the Andes, some of them chose to stay in Arequipa, a city in the south between the Sierra and the Pacific coast, without trying to reach the capital of Lima.

Another route for the Turks to enter Peru is the Amazon River, which immigrants sent back to Iquitos from Brazil, and they are clearly attracted by the "rubber boom" that is now at its peak. Peru knows, at the same time, the same rubber fever that encourages separatist tendencies in the Peruvian east.

The presence of Turks and in particular Lebanese immigrants in the Peruvian Amazon has been confirmed for a long time without being able to say for sure. Some of them permanently settled in Iquitos or in the department of Loreto to use rubber, then, after the fall of this production, timber, installation of sawmills, which is now the largest in the region. Diversifying their activities gradually, they also began to raise livestock.

Lebanese immigrants from Brazil or their children moved to other parts of the country, some settled in Lima where they took over the trade they had in Brazil, including small shoes and the paper industry, two of their "specialties" in their first host country Although mainly from Brazil and Argentina, it is possible that Lebanese immigrants may have entered Peru via Colombia via Ecuador, Bolivia or Chile after living for a time or even a generation in these countries.

However, although Lebanese immigration has not yet developed in Peru, this is not only due to the geographical position of this country, which is far from the usual Lebanese migration. It is probable that, in their eyes, Peru did not appear to be a particularly attractive place. In the competition of South American countries in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to attract foreign immigrants, Peru had a number of shortcomings. First, with the exception of the Amazon, there was little land to spread: in the Sierra, the land belonged to the great estates or was the undivided property of the native communities, and on the coast, the great plantations monopolized the good lands to turn industries into exports and the work they could offer. was of a slavish nature, marked by pre-capitalist production relations.

On the other hand, it is possible that the political instability of Peru in the nineteenth century, in the absence of a strong state, and the associated security problems due to civil or military wars. succeeded so well elsewhere, was largely in the hands of the Chinese and Italians, later the Japanese, whose expectation and know-how certainly left little hope of the Turks competing with them.

Ultimately, the same reasons that held back European immigration limited Peru's immigration to Turkey. The Lebanese who still chose to establish themselves in Peru had the same social characteristics as their compatriots in other countries of Latin America: mostly Maronite Christians, they were, at least until World War II, a world of fairly modest fortune, possessing small businesses or craft workshops.

Therefore, this is not a special category of Lebanese who chooses Peru. The installation in this country was essentially a matter of opportunism: the Lebanese chose to disperse in order to be more economically successful rather than engage in ruinous competition in the same place. That is why, even within the national borders, there is no high concentration of Lebanese in Peru.

Lebanese in Peruvian society

The Lebanese language showed itself inconspicuously in Peruvian society, their migration being individual rather than communal. In the words of Selim Abu, which is even more appropriate in Peru than in Argentina, it was "immigration in scattered ranks." A few, a little spatially concentrated, they were not very noticeable. Living in other South American countries, the first generation of immigrants often already knew the Latin American way of life and spoke Spanish. Their integration does not appear to have had any major difficulties, and unlike other countries such as Argentina, Brazil or even Colombia, they have never experienced any hostility from the local population.

Their image in the Peruvian population was quite positive. A Syrian immigrant from Beirut, a very hardworking man who started a large family with his wife from the region. The recently deceased man is an example of the decisive parental influence of "Family Fulfillment."

Upon their arrival in Peru, the Lebanese, with their know-how previously acquired in other countries of immigration, 21 started small businesses or set up a small business. These activities have evolved and today the descendants of Lebanese immigrants lead relatively prosperous businesses or businesses. In Lima or Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru, their business is mainly fabrics and ready-to-wear. In ready-to-wear, the goods sold, although not luxurious in most cases, are usually of a higher quality.

A clothing store targeting a more popular or less silver clientele. Lebanese commercial activities also originated in some cases in neighboring areas, such as home decoration, from furniture fabrics. On the other hand, they are poorly represented in the intellectual and artistic professions, at least in the first and second generations.

Their migration project, completely focused on economic success, these professions did not attract them from the very beginning. Gradually, however, through their descendants, the Lebanese had access to new sectors of professional activity. Like any population of migration, the population of Lebanese origin in Peru is multi-generational and professionally diversified.

The Lebanese and their descendants are not satisfied with their economic success. They seek to turn it into a social success and will achieve it in part, through residential, marital, educational and even, but to a lesser extent, political strategies. In major urban centers, they now live in residential areas. Sometimes from the first generation, certainly from the second, mixed marriages are allowed, even encouraged, and their children are enrolled in the best private Catholic institutions. not from the wealthy class: they are frequent private clubs located in the vicinity of large cities.

Their interest in national sports activities is at the heart of the sporting success of one of them, Abugattas, a high jump champion who recently represented Peru in international athletics competitions. One of strengths The Lebanese would undoubtedly be their phenotype that caused them to be classified as "white", according to the skin color representation system in the Peruvian population, which is not exactly identical to that of South American countries in which the population of European ancestry is much larger.

This classification is not without social implications, in particular in the choice of a spouse to whom they can claim. In contrast to Argentina, where Turks were classified as "Asian" and often stigmatized as such, in Peru they were more likely to be perceived as close to southern European immigrants.

With which, in addition to the color of their skin, they had a total number of social characteristics: they were even sometimes even associated with Italians, often also created in trade. Indeed, Peruvian immigration, like other countries in Latin America, has benefited from the opening of borders to facilitate immigration to Europe. Moreover, the Lebanese arrived in the Americas via Europe, traveling on European ships accompanied by European immigrants. Finally, since the French Mandate of Lebanon, some immigrants had identity papers, and all Lebanese emigrants belonged to the French consulates in South America, in order to obtain the citizenship of the host country. All these factors contributed to strengthening the association of Lebanese thought Peruvians with Europeans, and not with Asians.

In Peru, at any rate, the category "Asians" was almost exclusively reserved as early as the nineteenth century for Chinese immigrants who later became associated with the Japanese. The Catholic religious affiliation of the vast majority of Lebanese immigrants in Peru also played a role in their integration, although this is not necessarily a priori. Lebanese Catholics are, in fact, almost all Maronites and have their own liturgy in Lebanon, very different from the Roman liturgy, and their own clergy.

In other Catholic immigration countries, France, in particular, the Catholicism of some migrants, Italians, Poles and Spaniards, especially when they constituted practically autonomous parishes, served as clergy of the same nationality as them, can be seen as a factor preventing integration and accused of "superstitious ", "retrograde" Catholicism, etc. in the case of the Lebanese of Peru, because of their small numbers, there were no Maronite parishes or Maronite colleges, as in Argentina or Brazil.

Faced with this state of affairs, the Lebanese agreed to unite in the Peruvian catholic church. However, the integration and social success of Lebanese immigrants faces certain restrictions that are more similar to "social boundaries" than "ethnic boundaries". The old Hispanic Creole aristocracy does not readily accept the new rich, especially those of foreign origin: it is not a matter of income or professional merit, but of birth. In Peru, very few people from Lebanon have great wealth, they are part of the middle class, sometimes the upper middle class.

Social inclusion is also measured by the degree of political participation. The descendants of Lebanese immigrants feel like deeply Peruvian citizens, and once they arrive in Peru, the Lebanese don't seem to be in the mood for citizenship. Most of them acquired Peruvian nationality. However, contrary to what can be observed in neighboring countries, notably Colombia and Ecuador, not to mention Argentina and Brazil, their commitment to political action remains weak.

Mansour, a woodworking industry associated with local Freemasonry, will be elected mayor of Iquitos, the main city of the Peruvian Amazon, based on a regional political movement that claims to be "independent", like the movement that supported Alberto Fujimori's candidacy for President of the Republic. The success of Mufarech and Mansour, like that of Fujimori, testifies to the emergence in Peru of new political elites from non-European foreign immigration.