Lebanese Jamaicans refers to Jamaican citizens of Lebanese origin or descent. There are around 20,000 Jamaicans of Lebanese origin. .
Contents
History
The Lebanese immigrants to Jamaica first began arriving in the late 19th century. Unlike the Chinese and Indian indentured laborers, the Lebanese came of their own free will, albeit fleeing religious persecution. Most of those who fled were Christians who suffered religious persecution at the hands of the Ottoman Turks who then controlled the area which is today Lebanon and Syria as part of the Ottoman Empire, hence the confusion between the two terms and why Lebanese and Syrian tend to be used interchangeably. Many sought to make new lives for themselves and their families in the New World, where they had heard there were far more economic opportunities than existed in their homelands at the time.
The reason many chose Jamaica of all places despite there being no real history or connection between the two places, according to family histories collected from Lebanese descended Jamaicans such as Nellie Ammar, Great Britain was seen as the country of freedom, therefore any place that flew the British flag was seen as a desirable destination for the original immigrants. The reasons for the later arrivals is simply because they already had friends and relatives living there and thus they would obviously feel safer and more at home in a place that already had an established Lebanese community as opposed to one which did not, much like the later Chinese immigrants, it was an example known as "chain migration".
Cuisine
The Lebanese also introduced the popular flat bread known as "Syrian bread", a staple of their diet in Jamaican cuisine.
Surnames of families in Jamaica
Ammar, Azar, Bardowell, Dabdoub, Fadil, Feanny, Haddad, Hamaty, Hanna, Issa, Karam, Khaleel (formerly Malik), Khoury, Mahfood, Matar, Shoucair, Marzouca, Seaga, Sleem, Subban, Younis, Zacca and Ziadie.