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Colombians of Asian descent From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term Asian Colombians (Spanish: colombianos asiáticos) refers to Asian immigrants in Colombia and their descendants. The majority of Asian Colombians are of Chinese and Japanese descendent,[1][2][3][4][5][6] with a smaller portion being of Korean descendent. There are also notable South Asian, Southeast Asian, Arab, and Asian Middle Eastern descending populations. [7][8]
Regions with significant populations | |
---|---|
Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena, Medellín, Santa Marta, Neiva, Manizales, Cúcuta, Pereira | |
Languages | |
Colombian Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Languages in India, Arabic, Vietnamese, Armenian, Turkish, Thai, Filipino, Malay. | |
Religion | |
Buddhism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Islam, Protestantism, Shintoism, Sikhism | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Asians, Arabs, Colombians, Arab Colombians |
In 1854, many Chinese migrants arrived in Colombian territory for the construction of the Panama Canal Railway across the Isthmus of Panama, as the domestic labor force was not sufficient enough.[9] Around 705 Chinese immigrants came from the Guandong province, demonstrating their skills working on the construction of the first Transcontinental Railroad on the west coast of the United States.[citation needed] The Chinese migrants being brought into the projects was a desperate measure by the managers of the railway companies, who did not have enough workers among the native population for the construction and failed to import enough Irish, German, and other European migrants to make up for the deficit.[9][10]
At the beginning of the 20th century, Indian Muslim migrants settled in the towns of the Cauca River valley, some just temporarily and others permanently, to engage in the commercial activity demanded by the new working population of the nascent sugar industry. These immigrants brought a variety of products to rural areas, both granting credit and accepting barter.[8]
Toraji Irie, a renowned Japanese writer, states in his work on Japanese migration to other regions of the World that the first Japanese migrants who arrived in Colombia in 1903, the year Panama gained independence and Colombia lost control of the Isthmus of Panama, came as a result of the Colombian Government seeking help from Japan in hiring workers to guard land bordering Panama against U.S. incursions.[11]
In 1928, this was the smallest migratory group, being somewhat small compared to other South American countries like Brazil, Peru or Venezuela. Despite this, some Japanese families began settling in Valle del Cauca,[12] where many became farmers. Between 1970 and 1980, there was a small yet constant flow of Asian migration (mainly from China) into Colombian cities- primarily Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cali, Cartagena, Medellín, Santa Marta, Neiva, Manizales, Cúcuta and Pereira- which continues to this day. Other very small groups of Asian migrants came from India,[7] Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines.
Between 1970 and 1980 there were more than 6,000 Chinese Immigrants in Colombia, meaning that they continued to arrive and grow in population. Anti-Immigration policies in many other countries is a possible primary cause of continued Chinese immigration into Colombia. Emigration out of China into Colombia generally did not occur in the first three decades following the establishment of the People's Republic of China, as emigration was restricted. Due to Xenophobia and Sinophobia within the United States, a significant amount of Chinese people chose to immigrate into other countries, including Colombia.[13]
A large portion of modern (2000's-present) Chinese emigration into Colombian is composed of employees and business executives who have moved to Colombia following multinational corporations they work for, some of which providing housing and accommodations for them directly. This has encouraged the development of diasporic Chinese enclaves in cities that welcome multinational corporations, such as Medellín, Barranquilla and Cali. While many Chinese resident workers are on temporary visas, the enclaves are established and composed of many permanent Chinese-Colombian residents and citizens.[14]
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