São Paulo – Brazilians living in Lebanon want greater contact with the culture, language and literature of a their country of origin. The information was supplied by the historian Roberto Khatlab, who attended the 2nd Conference of Brazilian Communities Living Abroad, held in Rio de Janeiro last week. Khatlab has been living in Lebanon for 23 years and works as a researcher at the Lebanese Emigration Research Center, at the Notre Dame University, in Beirut. Aside from him, the meeting was also attended by the Brazilian consul general in Lebanon, Michael Geep.
According to the historian, who has published books on the existing ties of immigration between Brazil and Lebanon, the need for greater contact with Brazilian culture was manifested not only by him, who represented Brazilians living in Lebanon and in the Middle East at the conference, but also by the other Brazilian communities living in foreign countries, such as the United States. Proof of that is the fact that the request was included in the final statement of the meeting.
“Many sons of Brazilians who are born in Lebanon do not speak Portuguese,” explained Khatlab in an interview to ANBA, after the conference. The writer says that there should be schools and cultural centres for the Brazilian community in Lebanon. According to him, there is also a need for contact with Brazilian literature and access to books.
The Université Saint-Esprit de Kaslik, in Lebanon, has begun offering, in the semester that started in October, an optional course in Portuguese Language and Literature for its students. Those attending the university – which has several campuses, even in the Bekaa Valley, which is home to Brazilians – need to learn a fourth language, in addition to the obligatory ones. Khatlab is going to teach Literature as part of the course being offered by the university.
Khatlab participated in the four roundtables at the meeting in Rio de Janeiro. The topics debated included Education and Culture, Welfare and Labour, Consular Affairs and Political Affairs. According to the researcher, many problems that occur in other countries in which Brazilians live, such as visa-related issues, do not happen in Lebanon. The majority of Brazilians living in the country have Lebanese citizenship because they are descendents. There are 10,000 Brazilians living in Lebanon, according to Khatlab’s estimates.
The researcher explains that one of the problems facing Brazilians in Lebanon are family-related. There are many Brazilian women who marry Lebanese men and start living in the country. Khatlab explains that in the case of divorce, they are subject to the jurisdiction of Lebanese courts, and are unable to return to Brazil with their children. At the conference in Rio, he suggested that information pertaining to the issue be included in a brochure for Brazilians abroad, so that Brazilian women are aware of it before travelling to the country.
The meeting in Rio, which had its second edition, aimed to establish permanent contact with local communities living abroad. According to data supplied by the social communication secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, approximately 3 million Brazilians live out of the country. They remit US$ 7 billion to Brazil each year.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
