Adonis Diaries

Why this wave of immigration to Africa at the turn of the 20th century?

There are evidences that most of the immigrants, (from the Levantine region such as Lebanon and Syria), at the turn of the century paid dear money to go to “America” (read the USA).  Many scoundrel ship Captains tried to increase their turnover rates of customers; thus, they dropped many travelers in Africa and told them “Here is America”.

Many Lebanese, Syrians, and Palestinians ended in Cuba, Mexico, Brazil and elsewhere: “Here is America” would say the ship captains.  Then, those established immigrants sent for their relatives. 

The city of Sao Paulo (Brazil) counts twice more Lebanese descendants than all of Lebanon.  Immigrants from the Levant used to be called “Turks” because they were citizens of the Ottoman Empire; then, they were called Syrians after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in 1918.  Being called a Syrian meant to be a citizen of one of the independent Levantine States.

Immigrants to Africa were fleeing famine during the first world war: locusts and the Turkish army (worse than locusts because they horded all the food and forced citizens to enlist in this empoverished and demoralized army).  Many citizens bartered their lands and houses for a loaf of bread or wheat clandestinally brought from Syria by mule caravans.

Immigrants to Africa managed to accumulate wealth in honest hard work, mostly in trading or commerce; many of them were the lonely “white” people in remote areas like my young parents. Many were entirely robbed of their saved and hidden money and they restarted in another town like my young parents; fact is, my parents were robbed of everything one month prior of my birth.  Immigrants imported from France or England and traded with the lovely natives.  Mother used to tailor make cloths from “patrons” or drawings in fashion magazines and then offer new born complete set of needed clothing. Immigrants  installed the first motors to generating electricity.

Africa is still the best place to immigrate to and make money.  The only handicap is that the USA, China, and France are constantly distabilizing this rich and beautiful continent. Until these colonial powers come to terms on how to divide regions of influence and plunger its natural resources Africa will be the land of stupid genocides and tribal warfares.  Africa is the continent of the future where it is great to settle in and work hard among great people in heart and in life style.

From 1970 and on, Lebanese from the south immigrated to Africa and Detroit to flee the frequent collective “reprisals” of Israel against so-called Palestinian “rocket launching” and infiltrations into northern Israel.  This wave of immigration increased during the following 13 years of civil war that began in 1975.  

The Lebanese graduates immigrated to continue their education in the US and Europe. My stay in the US lasted 20 years because of the civil war; I had to be in frequent touch with the Red Cross to get news from my family: there were no internet or cellular phones.

Note: Israel has been accepting Africans in the 1980’s as slave workers (from Eretria, Sudan, Ethiopia…) in order to refrain from using the Palestinians. This July, 2013, Israel is in contact with several African States to barter the African immigrants in Israel in exchange for arms.