User:Kiel457/Kurdish Chileans

The Kurdish Chileans (Kurdos en Chile) is an ethnic group in Chile. There are more than 20,000 Kurdish people in Chile—making it the largest Kurdish population in Latin America—surpassing the less-populated Kurdish Brazilians. Most Kurdish people in Chile lives in the capital Santiago de Chile.

History
The first Kurdish people arrived from Southeastern Turkey as university students in the late-1960s. Following the Turkish-Kurdish conflict, the population of the Kurdish-speaking people increased. By 1988, there were more than 9,000 Kurdish people residing in Chile. During the mid- and late-1990s, more Kurdish people arrived from Eastern Turkey. Besides the Southeastern Anatolia's Kurdish population, there are also Central Anatolian Kurdish people from Ankara Province. The Central Anatolian Kurds came to Chile during the 2000s. Some Central Anatolian Kurds arrived via Central Anatolian Kurdish communities in Germany and the rest of Europe. Following the 2004 al-Qamishli riots and the fall of Ayn al-Arab in war-torn Syria, the Syrian Kurdish people arrived to Chile. The Iraqi Kurds left for Chile during the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88) and the Gulf War. Of the 25,000 Kurdish people in the country, 4,000 are the Syrian Kurds and 900 are the Iraqi Kurds. The rest are from Turkey.

Language
Most Kurdish people in Chile speak Kurmanji Kurdish at home. The Chilean-born Kurds speak little or no Kurdish language, instead they speak Spanish, because young Chilean-born Kurds educated in Chilean Spanish, and their parents did not teach Kurdish to their sons/daughters. The Chilean government translated brochures to Kurdish from Spanish for those people. In Santiago de Chile, NÊRÎN / MIRAR (Kurdish and Spanish for look) are stenciled on the streets of the city, with major Kurdish population.

Relations with their homeland
Most Kurds in Chile work in the embassies of Turkey, Iran and Iraq in Santiago de Chile.

Notable Kurdish Chileans

 * Ayşe Özbasamak - Chilean professor-doctor of Kurdish origin, her parents from Urfa.
 * Mehmet Celaleddinoğlu - Chilean mechanical engineer of Kurdish origin, his parents from Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey.