America and Somali Americans
America has for over the years been the home of everybody regardless of the origin. In this paper I'm going to base my research on African Americans particularly from Somalia, a country in the east of African continent, commonly referred to as Somali Americans. The first group arrived in 1920s followed by students who came for higher education in 1960s and 1970s. majority arrived in the USA in the 1990s after the civil war broke out in the country. It is estimated that there is approximately 150,000 Somali Americans living in the united states today(cdc.org,2017). Majority of them live in Minnesota, about 17320 persons. They accounted for about 394 million dollars purchasing power and own over 600 business by 2006. Minneapolis city particularly harbours many Somali owned businesses and commercial entities (the Original, 2008). Other places include Columbus, Ohio, New York metropolitan area San Diego-Carlsbad, Washington DC (US Census Bureau,2012).
Religion and Cuisine of Somali Americans
This group is predominantly Islam and speaks mainly three languages namely, Somali, Arabic, Italian and American English. They are very conservation when it comes to religion and cultural matters. Somalis cuisine differs from one place to another which is a fusion of various Somali culinary traditions which have been influenced by countries like, Italy, Turkey, India, Arab and Ethiopia. This is as a result of Somalia's tradition of trade and commerce. The delicacies are canjeelo (chopped meat mixed with cumin, garlic, onions and pepper) which is similar to Ethiopian injera (pancake like bread), sabayaad or kimis (flatbread usually prepared square or round shaped). Others include, xalwq, sambuusa, muqmaad (beef jerky) among others (Abdullahi, 2001). The mainly dress. I chose to discuss this group because not many people know about them. Often people confuse or assume they are Arabs. The series of problems and the continues conflict that is happening in their original homeland and how they find home in the US is worth highlighting.
Somali-American Organizations and Political Representation
The Somalia-Americans have groups and organisations that advocates for their rights and privileges in the US. Various regions have various groups and organisations. For instance, in Minnesota there is the confederation of Somali community in Minnesota (CSCM) which was founded in 1994 serving Minnesota's Somali community. The organisation's primary objective is to help the Somali youth and families surpass the social and economic challenges that hinders growth as they maintain their culture and heritage. Through cooperation with her partners and sponsors, the organisation helps connect individuals get resources and assistance on education, health care, housing, immigration among others (CSCM, 2014). Another group is the Somali community services in San Jose and Somali American council of Oregon (SACOO) working closely with the municipal authorities offer guidance of the new Somali families in the US to improve the civic relations (FBI, 2013). Others include, the American Somali parenting Association (SAPA) which promotes the empowerment of the Somali youth, parents and African communities in Minnesota through education, community engagement and advocacy (sapa.org), Somali Action Alliance that offer many social services to the Somalis in states among others. Politically they are not let out. They have a political party called Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labour party (DFL) which represents the Somali community. There is a Somali American in the Republican party who chairs the immigration relation committee in Minnesota (Shah et al 2012). They are also represented by the embassy of Somalia in Washington DC, embassies of Ethiopia and Djibouti provide the additional diplomatic representation they may need.
Cultural Assimilation and Ethical Pluralism
The Somali Americans' are well represented by cultural assimilation where they tend to copy the American lifestyle, language and other cultural aspects. Talking of language, this is a common aspect almost to all groups who move into America. The phonetic assimilation makes it easier for both the "foreigners" and the locals to effectively communicate with each other. Dressing style is one of the common assimilation that occurs to the Somali individuals when they move to the US.
Ethical pluralism, best fit the Somali Americans. These people are known from their homeland to be highly moral people. They observe the morals and laws quite strictly. For instance, when it comes to religion and culture, finding them move to other religions or cultures easily is rare. The members who break the customs and tradition get severe reprimands. Some of their values often are conflicting with the rest.
Integration and Future Improvements
The group fits in quite well. They relate well with the locals. This can be seen in the representation they have in the regions they live in. places like Minnesota they have a representative in the government and even have a political party. They carry out businesses freely in the regions like in Minnesota there is a grocery of its own kind in Wilmer with items you won't find in any Wal-Mart (Neil, 2016). This can be made better if the local government increase their working hours per week and the number of representatives in the council and government could help the Somali Americans a lot.
Conclusion
Somali-Americans can freely call the US their home. The children born in the states are considered Americans by birth. The group enjoys similar rights the same as the rest of the locals.
References
CDC (2017). Tuberculosis (TB). Retrieved from: www.cdc.gov.
Ten largest African born countries of birth in the united states by selected metropolitan statistical Areas (2008-2012). Retrieved from www.Census.gov/acs/www
Mohamed Diriye Abdulahi (2001). Cultural and customs of Somalia. Greenwood press.
FBI honour Somali American with director's community leadership. Retrieved from: archives.fbi.org
Retrieved from: sapa.org
Shah, Allie (2012). Somali-American begin making marks in local politics. Retrieved from: http//m.staribune.com
