Abstract

Despite the population size of their home countries, the achievements of Lebanese and Syrian migrants are highly outstanding in the world, especially in business and commerce, academics, medical services, and politics in North and Latin America, Western Europe, West and South Africa, the Arabian Gulf, and Oceania. How can we explain the origin of their prominence without falling into the pitfall of racial prejudice or cultural essentialism? This presentation explored the historical link between “dragomans” (interpreters) and migrants in the context of human mobility in the Ottoman Empire, especially the preceding period of the first wave of migration (late 19^th century).