Tag: Somalis

Ever wonder what brought so many people from Somalia to Minnesota?

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

My title is the first line in this Star Tribune article about a new book to be published shortly about the Somali migration to America (and through America).   It should read:  ‘Ever wonder who brought so many people from Somalia to Minnesota, and why!’

Maybe it’s in the book, but no where in this description is any mention of the fact that we, the US government, brought them here in the first place.  We are always left with the impression that these downtrodden and pioneering Africans just “made their way” to America because they heard how great we are and that they want to live just like we do!

As for Minnesota, the author of the new book, Ahmed Ismail Yusuf, claims that the Somalis made their way to Minnesota because Minnesota has such “welcoming” people!  Oh, and meatpacking jobs!

You should stop here and revisit this post which realistically tells us why they went to Minneapolis—they were resettled there by the thousands by federal “church” contractors who chose Minnesota because the social services were so generous and Minnesotans didn’t squawk about the huge influx of Africans (likely fearing they would be labeled racists if they did!).  The US State Department and the contractors are also always on the look-out for meatpacking jobs for refugees, so there is likely some element of truth in that.

Here is the Star Tribune on the new (sure to be politically correct) book:

A new book published by the Minnesota Historical Society offers a detailed explanation, documenting the political, economic and social factors that led tens of thousands of Somali immigrants and refugees to make the state their new home.

Ahmed Ismail Yusuf, a local writer, is the author of “The People of Minnesota: Somalis in Minnesota.” It’s the latest in a book series that chronicles the lives of people who have helped define the state, including Swedes, Jews, Ojibwe, Germans, Hmong and African-Americans.

Yusuf writes that three words best tell the story of Somali people: sahan, or pioneer; martisoor, meaning hospitality, and war, a Somali word that literally means news. Somalis are a chatty bunch, and news travels fast and mostly by word of mouth. Those same three words also explain the migration to Minnesota.

Somali refugees first began flocking to the state in 1993, and today Minnesota has the nation’s largest Somali population.

Though the first arrivals came to the United States in 1990, they initially went elsewhere. San Diego was the original magnet city, but jobs were scarce there.

On May 20, 1992, an ad in the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Argus Leader announced that a turkey plant in Marshall, Minn., was hiring. Four Somalis from Sioux Falls applied and were immediately hired. News of their success reached San Diego, and soon a sahan party left to investigate. Four bachelors from California hopped in a car and traveled to Marshall’s Heartland Poultry plant, where they, too, found work.

Jobs were the initial draw, but those who chose to stay did so because they saw something in Minnesotans that resembled their own ways — hospitality.

Books may be purchased at the Minnesota History Center store or at local bookstores. A book launch with the author will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. on Jan. 24 at the African Development Center*, 1931 S. 5th St., Minneapolis.

* Read more about the African Development Center, here.

For new readers we have resettled more than 100,000 Somali refugees to cities large and small in the US over the last 25 years.  See one of the most widely read posts here at RRW.  In three years since 9/11 ( Bush years 2004, 2005, 2006) the number of Somalis arriving topped 10,000 per year.  Those refugees then began bringing in the family (chain migration!) until 2008 when shock of shocks! the State Department discovered that as many as 30,000 Somalis had lied about their kinship and weren’t related at all.  The State Department then closed the “family reunification” program for Somalis.  It has recently been re-opened for new and legit family members, but they have no intention of finding and deporting the liars.

And, on that “hospitality” issue, you might want to see reports on the latest Somali terrorism trials, here (Portland, OR) and here (San Diego) .  Or how about those Somali youths we raised in Minnesota who went back to Africa for Jihad training?   First we fly them here and resettle them, feed them, give them welfare, educate them and then we have to pay for their trials and imprisonment too!

Don’t forget—read about Al-Hijra, the Islamic Doctrine of Immigration!

To add diversity, Minneapolis and Columbus, OH recruiting Somalis for police and fire department jobs

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We know those Somalis in Columbus know a bit about fires because back in 2009 we had a report that one group of Somalis tried to burn down the mosque of another group of more moderate Somalis, read all about it here.

Here is yesterday’s story from the Columbus Dispatch:

About 35 young men showed up at a meeting in Minneapolis last week to find out how to join the city’s fire department.

They were all from the local Somali community, which is the nation’s largest.

Community leaders organized the meeting because Minnesota’s largest city is making an effort this year to recruit from the Somali and eastern African communities, said Casidy Anderson, the fire department’s community risk-reduction officer. “It’s important for the fire department that it reflects the face of the community,” Anderson said.

Columbus is making a similar effort and is hiring a consultant to work with both the fire and police divisions to increase diversity.

“There is a targeted approach to reach out not just to the Somali community but to all immigrant communities,” said Napoleon Bell, the executive director of the Columbus Community Relations Commission. Columbus is home to the country’s second-largest Somali population. Some are hesitant to apply to become a police officer or firefighter because they don’t trust authorities, based on bad experiences where they came from, Bell said.

The city is to begin a 35-member fire-recruit class in June.

Authorities might think it’s logical to aim for the younger Somalis who have grown up here, but remember it was virtually all young Somalis (who had grown up here!) that were recruited to join the Jihad in Africa a few years ago, remember!

Minneapolis is aiming for younger members of the Somali community who have grown up in America and are more comfortable with the idea of joining the fire department, Anderson said. “It’s almost like they’re straddling two cultures,” Anderson said.

Then I am guessing that maybe those fire departments have looked to European cities (Paris and Malmo, Sweden come to mind) where police and fire fighters do not enter the Muslim “no-go zones” even to fight fires.

The Minneapolis fire department wants to make sure it reflects the changing face of the city, Anderson said. “The Somali community is here. They are here to stay.”

It might be a good idea for Minneapolis and Columbus officials to keep the famous Ricci Supreme Court case in mind as they proceed.

For new readers:  Columbus Somalis made news just last month, here, when they had to be dispersed by the police while seeking subsidized housing applications.

St. Paul school system gives ethnic tours through its food services facility

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

We have gone completely insane!

I have no problem with giving parents tours of the food services tax payers fund, but to segregate those tours based on ethnicity is sheer madness—there is apparently no attempt to assimilate immigrants in cities being taken over by assorted refugee/immigrant groups!  Just like the ‘culturally appropriate’ day care centers we pay for, stunts like this one only seek to further divide people.

And, let me ask you?  If while you were in school, or when you had kids in school, didn’t you just bring (or send) a brown bag lunch from home if  you, or your kid, didn’t like what was on the school lunch menu.  Is that forbidden now?  LOL!  I detect Michelle Obama and the food fascists lurking somewhere behind all this.

Here is the story that has me steaming this morning, from the Minneapolis Star Tribune (we assure you that we don’t serve pork in our school system!):

School was out, but for the Somali families touring the St. Paul school’s central kitchen on a recent Friday, it was a time to learn — and to ask important questions.

Mothers went past gleaming kettles and walk-in ovens, and then stopped at a photo display of what looked like pork products, consumption of which is forbidden in the Muslim world.

Questions flew, among them: How could pepperoni be anything but pork? But after being assured that it was chicken or turkey, and that, in fact, St. Paul’s menus were entirely pork-free, the women, satisfied, joined a line serving a school lunch for dinner.

Everyday life can get complicated in a district where students speak more than 100 languages and dialects. Lunch preparation can be a source of mystery, too, for new immigrants, and to ease concerns the district has begun hosting kitchen visits for its Somali, Karen, Hmong and Latino parent groups.

St. Paul’s nutrition services budget is $24.9 million annually, with $21 million covered through federal reimbursement. Last week, Jean Ronnei, the district’s nutrition services director, acknowledged that to cover costs and remain self-sufficient, with no local tax contribution, you need customers — like any restaurant. But that’s not the reason for the outreach efforts, she said.

“We want to make sure our families are happy,” Ronnei said.

We promise!  No pork served here!

After receiving cookie samples, the guests moved on to the display of pork lookalike products, and at the very front, asking questions of nutrition specialist Tessa Acker, was Basro Mohamud, the mother of a Cherokee Heights second-grader.

One day, Mohamud said, her son, Hamza Abdiwhab, 10, told her that he’d been given a ham sandwich at school. He assured her he was careful to remove the ham, but she didn’t want him to eat the bread, either. Since then, she has told him: “Just eat the fruit.”

Acker explained that what appeared to be ham stacked in a sandwich actually was smoked turkey. But Mohamud pressed on. What about the hot dog casing? she said. Eventually, she was put at ease, and for Hamza, that could be good news.

Asked if her son might now be eating corn dogs, she replied: “Next week.”

I wonder, when will goat meat follow in St. Paul’s corn dogs?

Is something going on in Grand Island, Nebraska?

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Grand Island is another of those American meatpacking towns (like Garden City, KS which I just wrote about this week) being transformed through the Refugee Resettlement program as it imports workers for those giant corporations, some of which, like Swift and Company, are no longer American companies.  Swift is owned by a larger Brazilian company, here.

I see this morning that many readers are reading this post from 2010.  It’s about the Grand Island police chief at the time saying that it was “chaotic anarchy” there among the myriad ethnic groups imported for their labor.  Surprise! they weren’t melting in the magic American melting pot.

Readers I see every day in my statistics which posts readers are gravitating to, that old Grand Island post is bringing people in today making me wonder if there are new problems in Grand Island.  From time to time, you might find it interesting to review the list of TOP POSTS in the right hand sidebar to see what fellow readers are interested in.

If anyone sees anything breaking on Grand Island, please send it my way.   Also, type ‘Grand Island’ into our search function for lots more posts on that town.  There was quite a controversy there in 2008 when the Somalis tried to get the Mayor fired from her job because she made politically-incorrect comments to the New York Times.

Kenya to UNHCR, take your paperwork and get out along with the Somalis

~ Ann Corcoran ~ Leave a comment

Update December 29th:  More on those evil Kenyans trying to protect themselves from the Somali hoards, here.

Well, what do you know, some governments in this world are willing to say—you cause crimes, you are terrorists in our country then you all leave!  (Assuming of course that this is all true considering the source!)

***Update***  I guess it is true because here is Amnesty International screaming its head off because Kenya wants to save itself from being completely overrun.

From Somalia Online:

All Somali refugees in Kenya have been ordered to leave urban areas and return to camps following a spate of grenade attacks.

Aid will no longer be delivered to those who remain in urban areas, said the head of Kenya’s refugee agency.

The attacks have mostly been carried out in areas with a large ethnic Somali population, such as the north-east and the Eastleigh district of Nairobi.

They are believed to have been carried out by the al-Shabab militant group.

Al-Shabab, which is part of al-Qaeda, has not commented on the claims.

But it has warned that it would take revenge on Kenya, after it sent its troops into Somalia last year to help the UN-backed government seize territory back from al-Shabab.

All Somali refugees have been ordered to report to the north-eastern Dadaab camps – the world’s biggest – which already house some 500,000 people.

More than 30,000 Somali refugees live in Nairobi, the AFP news agency quotes the UN as saying.

I bet the UNHCR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees) is having fits over this—take your registration centers with you!

“The government of Kenya has decided to stop reception, registration and close down all registration centres in the urban areas with immediate effect,” read a statement from Badu Katelo, Kenya’s acting commissioner for refugee affairs.

“UNHCR and other partners serving refugees are asked to stop providing direct services to asylum seekers and refugees in the urban areas and transfer the same services to the refugee camps.”

Unlike the US, some countries are trying to save themselves through deportation.