Like most Americans, I was intrigued by the story of the missing Somali boys – the 20 or so Somali American males who left the United States to join the terrorist organization al Shabaab in Somalia. Hence, I decided to travel to Minneapolis to conduct research on the Somali community for my recently completed Master’s degree thesis. The premise of my thesis describes how the securitization of immigration by the media, with regard to news reports of the missing Somali boys does precious little in analyzing and describing a dynamic and vibrant community. Securitization of immigration is not a new phenomenon, but it plays heavily into domestic perceptions of identity politics as well as into counterterrorism measures. The main concern of the missing boys was not that they left America to fight for an extremist organization in Somalia, but their potential to come back to the United States to wage war. Fortunately this has not occurred, but what has occurred is damage to the image of the Somali community in Minneapolis.
The damage has come primarily through media reports linking Somalis to “homegrown extremism” and al Shabaab, such as Andrea Elliot’s “A Call to Jihad,” and Neela Banerjee’s “A Call to Arms.” What these media reports suggest is that of failed assimilation of Somalis in Minnesota. By assimilation, I do not mean the stripping of cultural traits or the homogenization of different immigrant groups. Rather assimilation is the participation and contribution to society by an immigrant group, who in turn, sees themselves as part of society, not as outsiders. Although I did not read Allison Taylor’s “Getting the Story Straight” from Mashriq Quarterly’s Spring 2010 issue until after my visit, I shared her main viewpoint that in order to get an unbiased and comprehensive view of the community, I must talk with different individuals in different occupations. I spoke with students and locals, as well as respected community workers and organizers, including Mr. Hussein Samatar of the African Development Center, Mr. Mohamed Mohamud of the Somali American Parent Association, and Mr. Adbirahman Hassan of the Somali Action Alliance.* I thought I would come under resistance to obtain interviews since the American media has put the Somali community in the spotlight; but it was a very nice surprise to be welcomed into the community and given the opportunity to talk candidly with those I interviewed. It speaks highly of the hospitality and friendliness that is inherent in Somali culture.
What I found was the quintessential, successful immigrant story, but not without its problems – problems that are not wholly explicit to the Somali community. The Somali community experiences an overall lack of emphasis on education, mostly within the older generations, which has created an intergenerational gap between Somali parents and their children. Many parents are trying to adjust to American life and are working to support their family, thus not having the extra time to spend watching their children or trying to understand their children’s lives and feelings. Nor do they have the time to take classes to get an education, which exacerbates the gap between parents and children because children assume power over their parents as children believe they are more intelligent since they attend school. This is more apparent in single-parent households, specifically female-headed households, as responsibilities are greater when only one parent is present. But two-parent households can display the same distance between parents and children because while one parent may be working the other is busy arguing Somali politics over coffee. From my interviews, this parent is usually the father figure. Hence as parents are not present in the lives of their children, Somali youth turn to their friends, television, music, and the internet as companions. This, in turn, can lead to Somali youth dropping out of school, particularly males who do not share the same high rate of college attendance that females exhibit. This also stems from peer pressure from friends, specifically those involved with gangs, as well as trouble with drugs, alcohol, and even teen romances. The hip-hop scene and its influences are growing within the youth, and bad examples from hip-hop culture are taken and made part of life in Minneapolis.
The bicultural lives Somali youths lead in America, namely being Somali at home while being American at school and with friends, is taken into account in the intergenerational gap. Somali youth are considered “more American” by the older generations, and they are the cultural brokers for their parents because they speak English and understand American systems, such as schools, transportation, and laws. For this reason, children do not think their parents understand the difficulties, trials, and tribulations associated with growing up in America. This plays into a trust and communication issues between parent and child because parents want their children to become accustomed with Somali culture and language, which is a noble effort to keep Somali tradition alive. Finding a balance between “Somali-ness” and “American-ness” that is acceptable to both the child and the parent puts undue pressure on Somali youth to act certain ways in different circumstances. But because there is a lack of communication in the family, and some topics for discussion are taboo, such as drugs, alcohol, and relationships, Somali youth turn to toward their friends to develop their own identities and opinions on these topics. This is not to say that all Somali youth are delinquents, quite the opposite! But because the youth cannot talk to their parents about these subjects, they are not properly informed by those they love the most, and actually shut their parents out from their lives. This has not gone unnoticed in the community, and the Egal Shidad video, “Raising our Children, Strengthening Parent-Youth Relationships” tries to address these issues by using a focus group of Somali teenagers, allowing them to talk about the changes they would like to see in their parents’ attitudes and relationships toward them.
Although I was told of the problems the community faces, there was by far more uplifting sentiment on how Somalis are successfully assimilating into Minneapolis. There are numerous advocacy and developmental organizations that were created and are headed by Somali-Americans, such as the Confederation of Somali Community, Somali American Parent Association, and the Somali Education Center, to name a few. All three of these organizations strive to resolve those problems that affect the community, and they give full service to those community members who are willing to help themselves. This type of commitment – commitment to developing solutions that will transform Somalis in Minneapolis into educated and knowledgeable citizens – is what needs to be publicized to the American public to show that there is much more than alleged links to extremism. Furthermore, the Somali malls and businesses that are abundant in Minneapolis display not only their entrepreneurial spirit, but the contribution to society and the Minneapolis economy. They provide services and goods that were not present in the city twenty years ago while developing an already diverse local economy.
Most importantly, Somalis are participating in the political process. The Somali Action Alliance, among other organizations, not only educates on the American political system but also encourages Somalis to vote, which brings positive recognition to the community from the mainstream. The voting bloc the community commands does not go unnoticed by Minnesotan politicians. Minneapolis mayor RT Rybak, Congressman Keith Ellison, and Congresswomen Karen Clark and Amy Klobuchar have sought the community’s voting support and link their campaigns to the needs of the community. Courting of a racial/ethnic group is common, but as the Somali voter base grows, so will the courtship of Minnesota politicians. All of this is very good and very encouraging to the community. Moreover, those Somali-American politicians, including Hussein Samatar and Sadik Warfa, are role models for the community at large. Samatar’s recent political success shows that Somali participation in American politics does make a difference.
On the whole, Somalis are assimilating in Minneapolis and the development of their community is rapid. Those I spoke with conveyed their happiness to live in America, a place where they can practice their religion freely, and were outspoken in identifying themselves as Americans. I was told of the dream many hold dear of returning to Somalia to pick up where they left; however this dream is fading due to the constant deterioration of the social, political, and economic environment in Somalia. Although Somalia will always be in their hearts, most want to concentrate on improving their lives in Minneapolis, and they are well aware this takes time. As one businessman told me, “All in all, we are a good people and we trying to learn the American systems. It’s like the first child when he is born, you teach him how to walk before he goes to school. And how long does it take to raise a child, like 18 years?” The small amount of time Somalis have lived in Minneapolis has been used to carve out their own place in the city. Increasingly, Somalis realize their lives are in Minneapolis and their future is in America.
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