BEIRUT — Naima Yazbek, a 55-year-old belly dancer and singer from São Paulo, Brazil, moved to Lebanon in 2009 to understand the culture and family roots she knew only through generations of relatives.
Yazbek's ancestors left Ottoman-ruled Greater Syria for Brazil in the late 19th century, fleeing economic hardship driven by the decline of Mount Lebanon's silk economy. Brazil's foreign ministry estimates 10 million people of Lebanese descent now live in the country, forming one of the world's largest Lebanese diasporas.
Her great-grandfather attempted the reverse journey in 1928, bringing his wife Odete to Lebanon. The experiment lasted months before he returned to Brazil, convinced the country had changed beyond recognition. More than 80 years later, Yazbek chose differently, settling in Lebanon and learning the language.
She performs at Madame Om, a Beirut club, dancing to classical Arabic songs including "Alf Leila wa Leila." On stage, her audience focuses on her dancing without regard for her passport or birthplace. Outside the club, she encounters the distinctions that have shadowed her identity for years.
Historical migration from Ottoman Mount Lebanon was driven by war, rural pressures, collapsing silk prices, debt and population growth. Beirut's emergence as a port and steamship travel enabled chain migration to the Americas, a prospect many called "Amirka."
Migrants from the region were often recorded as "Syrians," "Syro-Lebanese" or "Turks" in their new homes, reflecting the Ottoman passports they carried. That historical ambiguity has complicated belonging for diaspora members ever since.
The Lebanese government now views its diaspora as a vital resource for investment and immigration. A 2016 television campaign aimed to encourage Lebanese descendants in the United States to move to Lebanon, part of broader efforts to attract diaspora investment during years of economic strain.
