Palestinos em Manaus: cultura e identidade através da primeira geração

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the insertion process of the first Palestinians generation in Manaus, based on the socioeconomic and political context of the 60s of the 20th centuries. The field research was carried out between 2014 and 2021, and it discusses the articulations between the fields of work, kinship, and culture in the identity construction process of these immigrants in the city. However, the research extrapolated the questions of ethnicity and brought to light other themes raised by the interlocutors, such as the Nakba and the Palestinian diaspora, central elements in the ethnic affirmation process and the recognition of Palestine as a nation-state. Such questions focused on the process of redefining ethnicity, based on the interconnection with other dimensions of Palestinian migration in Manaus, such as the valorization of the "ethos" of work by the pioneers and the centrality of family networks as the community founding elements. Therefore, there was a constant negotiation of cultural values, as a way of inserting into Manaus context and a way of keeping the community together around other non-negotiable values, as it is in the case of the Islamic religion. Impacted by covid-19 pandemic, including the loss of some pioneers, the question remains of how the following generations will be connected or not with the diasporic ideal, propagated and defended as a political flag by the first generation.