Assyrian Mexicans are

Mexicans Mexicans ( es, mexicanos) are the citizens of the United Mexican States. The most spoken language by Mexicans is Spanish, but some may also speak languages from 68 different Indigenous linguistic groups and other languages brought to Mexi ...

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

descent or Assyrian citizens who have Mexican citizenship. Most of the Assyrian immigrants who arrived in the country were Chaldean Catholic, as they fled from

religious persecution Religious persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or a group of individuals as a response to their religious beliefs or affiliations or their lack thereof. The tendency of societies or groups within societies to alienate o ...

and ethnic persecution in their historical

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the As ...

n homeland in modern-day

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, Syria and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

History

The immigration of Assyrian-Chaldeans from northern Iraq to North America started at the beginning of the 20th century. Chaldo-Assyrians, and

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

all came to the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

looking for job opportunities and for a better life. Driven out by the harsh treatment of the conquering Turks, most followed family members, joining them in established businesses. Jajjo Hajji is widely considered the first pioneer in Mexico. Hajji ended up in

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

, Mexico after leaving

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, ...

, Turkey in 1901. Several other Chaldo-Assyrians migrated from Tel-Keppe to Mexico and established communities in Salina Cruz, Saint Louis, Tecuala, Estabeca, Montreux, Mérida Yucatán, and Mexico City. In 1910, Marougi Qatoo and his brother Putrus Qatoo took a 30-day boat trip to the capital. This was one of the first North American cities in the 20th century that Chaldean Catholic Assyrians migrated to, later moving from Mexico City to the U.S. state of

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. In 1927, immigration from Iraq to Mexico was significantly halted due to visa restrictions and travel trends were relocated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. The last two Assyrian immigrants to leave Iraq for Mexico were Darraj Yousif Rabban and Jirjes Shango. By 1929 there were 55 documented Chaldo-Assyrians living in Mexico. Today, the Qatoo family's second and third generations are well established with business and education in Mexico City. There are many Assyrian professionals and politicians in Mexico. José Murat Casab (born October 18, 1947) is a Mexican politician and a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party. He ran as the Governor of

Oaxaca ) , population_note = , population_rank = 10th , timezone1 = CST , utc_offset1 = −6 , timezone1_DST = CDT , utc_offset1_DST = −5 , postal_code_type = Postal ...

from 1998 until 2004.

Culture

Due to a diluted population and a community scattered over a large geographic region, there is not a strong number of Chaldean churches in Mexico. Youth groups, social organizations, and inter-ethnic marriage in the Assyrian-Mexican community have resulted in a marked language shift away from Neo-Aramaic toward Spanish. The majority especially those of younger generations speak

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

as their first language.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Assyrian Mexicans Immigration to Mexico Assyrian Chaldean Syriac

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

History

Culture

See also

References