In a little bit of good news about Syria for a change, an AP article by Jeff Karoub on Syrian-Americans is currently circulating Middle Eastern news outlets. Entitled “Ellis Island exhibit revives New York's lost Little Syria,” the article details an exhibit at Ellis Island –the former entry point for immigrants to the US and now museum – which details the old Syrian quarter of New York City.
“From the 1880s to the 1940s, Little Syria sprawled from the New York waterfront, where Ellis Island ferries dock today, up to the site where the twin towers were later built. It was a slum and a promised land, way station and destination,” wrote Karoub.
Located in lower Manhattan, New York City, Karoub points out that most of the neighborhood was torn down in the 20th century. One Syrian church survived until 2001, when it was destroyed in the September 11th attacks.
The article was picked up by Lebanon’s The Daily Star and other English-language Middle Eastern outlets.
And the US’s Syria population is about to grow. As of this month, the US has met its goal of accepting 10,000 Syrian refugees.
Syrian-Americans’ families back in Syria are experiencing unthinkable suffering in some areas. But perhaps at least for a moment people can think back to more peaceful times in New York’s “Little Syria.”
