Protection and Refuge in Brazil and Chile: the Case of Palestinian Refugees - an Analysis from the Model of Economic and Cultural Adaptation

Abstract

From the beginning of the independent history of Brazil and Chile, both countries have hosted immigrants. This predisposition had been ratified in the last decade when the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) asked Latin American countries to settle a group of Palestinian families that were under their protection and both, Brazil and Chile responded favorably. In this process, Brazil, which accepted 109 refugees in 2007, and Chile, which accepted 116 refugees in 2008, presented differences and similarities in the measures applied in the protection of these refugees, evidenced in the programs used and in the role of inter-ministerial committees. This paper examines the measures applied for the protection of Palestinian refugees in Brazil and Chile from 2007 to 2011 through the refugees’ adaptation model of Michael Lanphier and tests if this model can be applied in developing countries, such as Latin American countries.