Somalis in America: The Challenges of Adaptation.

[Baashi]

Somalis in America:

The Challenges of Adaptation

July 15 – 17, 2004

Macalester College

St. Paul, Minnesota

 

Check here for more details

 

In the meantime, what are the challenges of adaptation we Somalis face here in the West?

[raula]

^^^thx Baashi for posting this-just got invited to this conference-Should be interesting I hope.

[Baashi]

Any time raula, if u go there plz keep us posted.

[Sophist]

So how was the confrence?

[Baashi]

Sophist, I didn't go...don't live in MN anymore!

Raula, how did it go?

 

Read this

[Sophist]

Thanks Bashi.

[zynab]

the biggest diffuculty facing somalias in the west is employment and education. the need for improvment in these two areas would lead to adopting the kind of lifestyle somalias want without damanging their religion and culture.

[raula]

Baashi, Sophist-Iam sorry to dissapoint ya but I did not attend the conference(Qaraabo problems-I had to depart to S.Dakota immediately). Lately, with the sickness I didn't have the time to ask my sources about the conference, but Iam hoping to get hold of a recorded video tape of the last day. From what I hear though, It was a huge success in terms of the ethnic turn-out(including some well known SOMALI ARTISTS-this is especially true for the last day of the conference).

Insha-allah, I will let you know of those findings is all goes well. Ma'salaama.

 

Again forgive me for putting your trust in me

[Maverick]

The biggest obstacle is to make the decision "assimilate" or reap the benefits of living in the West,but retaining the Somali identity,while living harmoniously with the Westerners but not "officially assimilating."

[dawoco]

It is sad that so many of us have become too accustomed to life in the west. Instead of taking advantage of the sources available to us here and using it to build our country into something we can be proud, most of us have put our energies into succeeding in the countries where we reside.

 

The task of cleaning up our acts and organizing ourselves is so gruelling and brings with it such responsibility that it frankly scares me. The easy way out is to build a career in a western country and hope that someone else will take care of it. But if this is the mentality of so many, including myself I am ashamed to say, then who will be the hero big enough to fill the position so many have passed over.

 

I don’t know about everybody else, but I really dread the fact that life in the west is continuing to worsen due to world events. And if we are second class citizens now, what is the likelihood of it improving in the future?

Allah (swt) knows what will happen to us, no one knows where destiny will take us, but I would want my children to have a sense of belonging and know that their country is theirs to claim, and not someone else’s heritage.

 

So Baashi, the challenges that we face in the west aren’t some that we can easily overcome. No matter how hard we work, how much we integrate, we will never have a secure place in the west. And why should we? We are working hard to build up somebody else’s country while our own home land is going to ruins.

[Baashi]

Simply put, the challenges are many and few that comes to my mind are:

1. Language barrier: this barrier exacerbates ignorance.

2. Integration without losing Islamic identity: big challenge.

3. Ambivalent attitude: Many Somali folks view the west as a temporary shelter. This indecisiveness as to where to permanently settle, here in the west or back home in Somalia, presents a unique challenge.