In Chile, Palestinian refugees find welcome far from home

[bemildred]

LA CALERA, Chile (AFP) — Chile on Sunday greeted 39 Palestinians from a refugee camp in Syria for permanent resettlement, and local residents turned out to give them a rousing welcome.

"Leave your suffering in the past and let Chile be the fountain of your newfound happiness," deputy Interior Secretary Felipe Harboe told the tired newcomers, who spent 40 hours traveling to this farming community north of Santiago.

The Palestinians, 23 of them children, were greeted by an official welcoming committee and many cheering locals who waved Palestinian flags and signs recalling their own Middle Eastern descent from immigrants who arrived when La Calera was founded in the late 19th century.

"Through you we relive the adventure of being an immigrant," La Calera Mayor Roberto Chahuan, the grandchild of Palestinians, told the exhausted refugees who were to be settled in apartment buildings in the town.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gSxuTLwR7CQd6OKDWh6zY0B9RFOg

[Howardx]

1. i hope they have a good life in chile n/t

[LeftishBrit]

4. So do I.

[oberliner]

2. Can you imagine if Jordan or Lebanon said this?

"Leave your suffering in the past and let Jordan be the fountain of your newfound happiness."


What would be the reaction to that statement?

[LeftishBrit]

3. If that ever happened, I'd faint with the shock.

[Vegasaurus]

5. Right.

The Palestinians in Lebanon cannot hold the most menial jobs, and are restricted to hideous refugee camps.

They are treated way worse than second class citizens, almost like non-people. Why aren't the anti-Israelis up in arms about this? Israeli Arabs live like absolute kings in comparison. (and they prefer their life in Israel to any life in any potential future Palestinian state too).