…..how we make Somalis feel welcome.
From the Copenhagen Post:
MINNEAPOLIS — A delegation of six young Somali Danes, two Swedes and one Norwegian visited the American city of Minneapolis last week to break bread with their Somali immigrant counterparts and learn how this city has integrated them into civic and economic life. Minneapolis boasts the largest Somali population outside of Africa and became a haven for them when the country broke into civil war in the early 1990s.
The exchange was initiated by the American ambassador to Denmark, Laurie S Fulton,*** in conjunction with the Danish Ministry of Social Affairs and Integration. Fulton said that young Somalis have trouble feeling accepted into Danish society and a recent trip she took to Minnesota inspired her to initiate the programme.
“Danish integration minister Karen Hækkerup hosted a workshop several months ago for Somali Danes; I offered to host a reception that Karen attended and that’s how we talked about trying to get them together,” Fulton said. “One of the many common issues that Denmark and the US share is helping the Somali immigrants that come to our nations become successful citizens. And who in the US is doing the best job at helping the Somalis feel welcome, learn how to become Americans and be happy? It’s Minneapolis.”
Minneapolis’ thriving Cedar-Riverside neighbourhood, on the banks of the Mississippi River, is home to many of the estimated 30,000 Somali Minnesotans and was the ideal setting from which to draw inspiration.
New readers:
Search RRW for “Cedar Riverside” for more information on the neighborhood. Remember that most of the Somali youths who left the US for jihad training a few years back were raised here. You could start your education with this post, Why so many Somalis in Minneapolis? which is one of our top posts here almost every day. And, then there is the ever popular post still after four years–-How did we get so many Somalis?
Just for fun I searched RRW for Somalis Denmark and the list of problems is long—includes immigration fraud/human smuggling, terror arrests, refugee youths joining Al Shabaab, khat chewing and more….
***And don’t miss Laurie Fulton’s bio! Fulton was a major bundler for Obama and the first wife of former Senator Tom Daschle! Kind of reminds me of Molly, ambassador to Malta during the Bush years, who figured out how to get more Somalis from Malta to the US.