MINNESOTA: New Somali influx possible

Pioneer Press ^ | 5-11-03 | TODD NELSON

[SheLion]

Ballpoint pens, disposable diapers, doors that open when you turn a knob.

Everyday things, easily overlooked — unless you're a member of the Somali Bantu, an ethnic minority whose members had little exposure to modern society even before spending the last decade in African refugee camps, where they huddle in mud huts and cook over open fires.

A crash course in American life now awaits the 12,000 Somali Bantu refugees when they begin arriving sometime this year in the United States.

None of the 50 cities where the Somali Bantu are to resettle is in Minnesota, already believed to have the country's largest population of refugees from the 1991 civil war that plunged much of Somalia into chaos. The closest destinations are Chicago, Milwaukee and Sioux Falls, S.D.

The decision to accept the Somali Bantu has generated much speculation among Somalis, refugee advocates and resettlement officials who wonder whether the new arrivals eventually will move to Minnesota. The subject is a sensitive one because the Somali Bantu faced widespread discrimination and suffering in their native land.

"Mainstream Somalis and Somali Bantu have both expressed this concern," said Joel Luedtke, director of refugee services for the Minnesota Council of Churches. "They're going to feel like the familiarity of being around other Somalis is very enticing, even if those are not folks they would have socialized with in their homeland."

Somali leaders and refugee advocates in the Twin Cities say they expect some Somali Bantu to arrive here. Most of Minnesota's estimated 20,000 or more Somalis made their way here from California and other states in waves of secondary migration beginning in the mid-1990s.

The United States agreed to receive the Somali Bantu refugees on humanitarian grounds in 1999, two years after a United Nations plan to resettle them in Mozambique fell apart.

CHALLENGES AHEAD

The Somali Bantu face a number of challenges, including a cultural chasm that some liken to that encountered 25 years ago by the Hmong, a tribal people from Laos who had had little contact with the modern world before resettling in Minnesota.

Descendants of African slaves taken to southern Somalia in the 18th century, the Somali Bantu were largely excluded from educational, political and economic opportunities. They survived as subsistence farmers until the civil war erupted, bringing wholesale massacre and rape to the isolated, unprotected minority.

The native Somali refugees who live here also suffered greatly during the civil war. The question is whether native Somalis and any Somali Bantu who move here can set aside their past differences, in much the way members of various native Somali clans largely have done since resettling.

Mohammed H. Rashid, executive director of the Somali Mai Community of Minnesota, estimates that many of the Somali Bantu who reach the United States would move to Minnesota. The Somali Mai, an indigenous minority group, lived peaceably alongside the Somali Bantu in southern Somalia, with many in both groups farming the relatively fertile zone between the Shabelle and Juba rivers.

The two groups also share the Mai language, which is distinct from the Maha language northern Somalis speak.

"They will move definitely," said Rashid, who has received a letter from a national group, the Somali Bantu Community Organization of Clarkston, Ga., authorizing his nonprofit organization to assist Somali Bantu in Minnesota.

"They're not scared, because this is the United States," Rashid said. "There is the rule of law. Everyone has to obey the law."

In contrast, Abdullahi Abdullahi, executive director of the Somali Bantu Community Organization, said he expected conflicts between Somali Bantu and native Somalis to continue.

"The victimizer might think he is still in the same situation, that he could abuse or oppress this person," Abdullahi said. "This person would feel that he is no longer in the custody of these people, and he might revolt. That kind of anger can manifest itself."

The Somali Bantu refugees were to begin arriving this spring, according to the State Department. But few, if any, have made it so far, in part because of tighter security measures after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

'ALL IN THE SAME BOAT'

Leaders of some of Minnesota's largest Somali organizations said they would welcome Somali Bantu refugees and were preparing to assist them.

"In America, most of them will prefer to be with other Somalis," said Osman Sahardeed, assistant executive director of the Somali Community of Minnesota. "We are all in the same boat. There are a lot of unpleasant things that did happen in Somalia. That's why we are refugees. Since we are here, we should try as much as we can to heal here."

Professor Ahmed Samatar, dean of international studies and programming at Macalester College in St. Paul, said he believes that the Somali Bantu would have much in common with other Somalis and that setting the past aside will be crucial.

"Privilege of pain is not the way to get on with building a new future," Samatar said. "I don't know of any Somali anywhere who doesn't carry massive difficulties and liabilities and huge problems. … The key is not to dwell on that; the key is to build new relationships with each other, with their new host country and with the new society."

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Todd Nelson can be reached at tanelson@pioneerpress.com or (651) 228-5575.

[SheLion]

Wow!  Not MAINE AGAIN?????

We have 1,100 in Lewiston.  Well, good luck Minnesota!!!!!!  Be ready to pay for more welfare.  Be ready for your own poor to go without just so the Somali's can have the benefits of the welfare program.  Be ready for the Somali's not to speak English, and to hold a job because they refuse to work between the hours of 10am and 2pm.

Be prepared for your schools to hire on teachers who will teach the American kids how to speak Somali!!!!!!!

Be prepared for your farmers to grow CHICKENS for them.

Ask any Mainer about the Somali's in Lewiston, Maine.

I'm all for helping people, but when so many states are broke in the budget, we need to take care of our OWN first!

Good luck Minnesota!

[SheLion]

Hmmmmmmmm......are we getting a break for a change Mainers?

[sarcasm]

Maine simply must increase its welfare grants in order to attract these newcomers.

[VOA]

Mohammed H. Rashid, executive director of the Somali Mai Community of Minnesota

Sounds like Muslims On The Move to me.

The smug liberals of Minneapolis deserve Shari'a law.
But the good folks who voted for Norm Coleman should start a "Minnesota for Minneostans"
campaign STAT!

[blam]

"Maine simply must increase its welfare grants in order to attract these newcomers."

We probably ought to consider one of them for the head coaching job at the University of Alabama. Fair is fair, huh?

[Drew68]

A crash course in American life now awaits the 12,000 Somali Bantu refugees when they begin arriving sometime this year in the United States.

Who the hell is behind this? Why are we bringing these unskilled, illiterate, stone-age people here? They have nothing to offer us and will only drain our social services.

I'm sorry there are a lot of people suffering in Africa. That is a real bummer, really. But Africa has a lot of problems. Those problems are generally man-made and the men who made those problems have generally been Africans.

I'm certain that your average man-on-the-street Minnesotan is less than thrilled.

[dagnabbit]

I'm sure the Bush administration will protect Americans and put a stop to this.

/sarcasm

[alnitak]

Who the hell is behind this?

The United States agreed to receive the Somali Bantu refugees on humanitarian grounds in 1999

I'll let you connect the dots.....

[sarcasm]

Why not President of the University of Alabama?

[headsonpikes]

"Be prepared for your farmers to grow CHICKENS for them..."

NO! Not chickens! Anything but chickens!

I'm obviously missing something here.

[blam]

"Why not President of the University of Alabama?"

Well, Jesse is down here wanting a black head coach, this could satisfy that demand, huh? Alabama has had four head coaches in the last 42 months.
May as well be someone that doesn't know a thing about coaching.

[sarcasm]

I think that you're in favor of discrimination against those who don't have knowledge or ability.

[Euro-American Scum]

Why are we bringing these unskilled, illiterate, stone-age people here?

Hey! Today's unskilled, illiterate, stone-age people are tomorrow's high-tech, underpaid, H-1B wage slaves.

[blam]

"I think that you're in favor of discrimination against those who don't have knowledge or ability."

Yeah, you're right. It's not their fault huh?

[sarcasm]

You must be some kind of elitist.

[Capt. Tom]

Who are the Somali Bantu?

The descendants of six African tribes in East Africa, the Somali Bantu are not native Somalis. Their ancestors were taken from their native lands by Arab slave traders in the 18th and 19th centuries and sold through the Zanzibar slave market.

Why are they coming to the United States?

They have nowhere else to go. Kenya, the country they fled to, has refused to allow them to stay permanently. Tanzania accepted some Somali Bantu who fled via ship from Somalia, but that country is already swamped by refugees fleeing the Rwandan civil war. The United States, which accepts a set number of refugees annually, agreed to take those left.

What religion do they practice?

Islam and some African animism. Many converted to Islam while enslaved because the Quran teaches that one Muslim cannot hold another Muslim as a slave.

What is African animism?

Animism is the belief that spirits, which are made known through ancestors, can help or harm people.

[Age of Reason]

I'm all for helping people

I'm not.

[henderson field]

Note to Minnesota: hope you like dem Somali folks!

[henderson field]

A lot of people suffering in Africa? Yes, it's truly a tragedy. Makes one wonder why "African-Americans" don't do something effective to help. Africa has 690 million people. 40 million have aids. There are 83 million new babies born every year in Africa. Most of the "leaders" have bank accounts in Switzerland. To do the right thing, we must bring all 690 million here. People, that is; not dollars-per-"leader." And the Chinese too. Let's not forget the Brazilians.

[henderson field]

The dumber the people are, the more easily they are "led."