Brasília – The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations, aka Itamaraty, has already devised a plan to remove 395 Brazilian citizens living in Syria in case the country is targeted by an armed intervention led by the United States. The exit will take place by land, and the people will be transported to the neighbouring countries of Lebanon and Jordan. For the time being, however, there have been no requests or calls for help.
According to diplomats, the main road connecting Damascus (Syria) to Beirut (Lebanon) is in good shape. In Syria, the Brazilian community lives in Tartus (225 people) – a coastal city removed from the conflicts –, in Damascus and surroundings (141), where confrontation is taking place, and elsewhere in the country (29th). At the time when armed conflicts first erupted in Syria, in March 2011, the Brazilian community in the country had 2,500 people. Most have double nationality (Syrian and Brazilian) and work in retail or investment.
In the next few days, the diplomat José Estanislau do Amaral Souza Neto will take charge of the Brazilian office in Syria, replacing the current chargé d’affaires (temporary ambassador) Bruno Carrilo. Brazilian foreign office diplomats and personnel in Syria are provisionally based in Beirut, but they do travel to Damascus often.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
