Somalis worry about their homeland

6/8/2006 Faribault Daily News Article, by Joe Augustin.

FARIBAULT -- For some Somalis, life in Faribault is a far cry from the war and fighting going on in their homeland.
In recent weeks, the eastern African nation has been host to increased fighting as Islamic militia has asserted itself as the central authority in the capital city of Mogadishu, overtaking a coalition of warlords.

Hashi Geedi, a member of the board of directors for the Somali Community Resettlement Service in Faribault, said the fighting in Somalia is not likely to stop unless the country gets a centralized government.

"They fight from today, to tomorrow and to another day," Geedi said. "People are running for their lives."

There are about 30,000 Somali refugees in Minnesota -- thought to be the largest concentration in the United States -- with about 25,000 of them in the Twin Cities, according to the Associated Press.

The communication to people in Somalia is nonexistent, Geedi said. The information that he acquires about the conditions in his homeland is typically done through news sources such as newspapers, the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) and the Internet.

When Somalis want to seek refuge from the fighting, they typically flee to neighboring countries such as Kenya. It is there that the United Nations is able to step in and assist them, he said.

As for a preference on the type of government he would like to see established, Geedi said stopping the fighting is the most important issue.

"The first thing I'd like to hear is that there is no war and no fighting at all," Geedi said. "Too many have died for the sake of control."

Geedi has spent five years in Faribault. Before his journey to the United States, he spent a long time in a refugee camp in Kenya, away from the fighting that has continued to go on in Somalia for well over a decade.

Geedi said the process to come over to the United States can take from two to four years or more, but that it is a journey that saves lives.

"When people run away and the U.S. government has helped them, it is saving their lives," Geedi said.

Hashi Buralle, who has lived Faribault since November, said communication is so bad he doesn't know whether people he knows from Somalia are still there, have died, or have left the area.

"It is very restricted," Buralle said. "You don't know about where people are."

Besides the noticeable changes in climate from Somalia to Minnesota, Buralle said that adapting to a new life in the United States takes time. Sometimes, he is unsure of how some of the traditions of Somalis are interpreted by others in Faribault. However, he said, steps are being taken to help bridge communication gaps and hopefully others will ultimately see Somalis as good people.

Geedi feels as though the community has been accepting, and he enjoys the calm environment of Faribault.

"It feels like our home," Geedi said.


-- Joe Augustin can be reached at 333-3135 or jaugustin@faribault.com.