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Modern Day Syrian Arab Republic

Decent Essays

Modern day Syria officially called the Syrian Arab Republic is located in southwest Asia. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Asia. This country is about the size of the state of Washington at 76,500 square miles. In 1995 the populations was estimated at 14.2 million. There are many different ethnic and religion groups in Syria. Muslim is the primary religion, but there are many Christians and Jews. When it comes to ethnicity Arab is the majority with many Kurds, Armenians, Turkmen, and Assyrians. The primary language is Arabic, but many ethnic groups have their own languages as well. Syrians have their own dialect from the formal language, which divides them from other Arab-speaking people (Jones). Much of the immigration information on early Syrians to America such as the time periods and amount of people is difficult to acquire. Syria was called Greater Syria before 1920, which was part of the Ottoman Empire. Some immigrants may have been considered Turks or Lebanese at Ellis Island even though they came from Syria. It is more likely that Syrian and Arab immigration occurred after 1880. Also, many of the immigrants that came to American during and after the Civil War returned to their originating country after earning money (Jones). There are many reasons why people migrated from Syria to America. Many were seeking religious freedom, but the primary incentive was the American Dream. Most of these immigrants worked

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