I had an interesting conversation on the bus today (yes the city bus,regrettably) with a North Sudanese man. We actually met while I was waiting for the bus, and asked him in Somali about the bus arrival time- thinking he was Somali. He said he wasn’t Somali, but Sudanese. We eventually got on the bus, and he sat next to me. He started asking me how long I’ve been in America, and complimenting me on my “good English”. I asked him about the South Sudan situation, and what he thought about his country splitting up. He didn’t seem happy about it, but felt it could help with the tensions.
Again, the topic of the conversation turned to “the Somalis”. He asked me why Somalis tend to “stick together” and don’t associate with non-Somalis. I told him it was just because people stick with their own “people” purely for comfort reasons. He seemed satisfied with my answer. He eventually got off the bus before me, but his question stayed with me.
I thought about the state I currently reside in, Minnesota and the culture here. Before moving to Minnesota 12 years ago, I lived in the South. I remember there weren’t many Somalis living there clustered like they are in Minneapolis, and only seeing other Somalis besides my family at weddings. When I lived in the South, I had many different friends that were non-Somali. Even my mother had non-Somali friends. The people in the South, were very hospitable and friendly. Even though, the South is known for its racism, I never witnessed it there. It could be because I was younger and sheltered from the “reality”. I remember people in the south were always smiling, even if they didn’t know you. When I moved to Minnesota, I immediately noticed the differences between here and there. Growing up in Minnesota, I didn’t really know how to analyze this information, but I could note the changes in my life. To this day, 99% of my friends and associates are Somali. I can count my non-Somali friends with one hand. In Minnesota, everyone seems to “stick” with their own “people”. People rarely smile at you, and that was a shock to me when I first came to this state because I would smile at people, only to not get one in return. I eventually got with the “program” and became more Minnesotan. I’m not saying Minnesotans are bad people, but they seem stuck up, especially the white people here. The African-Americans also tend to stick with each other. When I first moved to this state, African-Americans and Somalis didn’t get along (especially the youth). There would always be fights in school between Somalis and African-American students. I don’t notice that tension anymore, mainly because I think we’ve been living together for a while now and “know” one another. Minnesota has the largest population of Somalis in the United States.
So, is the problem “the Somalis” not integrating, or is it because of the culture of the environment we’re in? For example, I have some relatives in Canada, and they’ve been living there since the early 80s, some of my cousins were even born there 20 years ago. They seem to be fully integrated into the Canadian culture, and this is not based on data I’ve collected but mainly from observation. The Somalis in Canada seem to be more “Canadianized” as opposed to the Somalis in Minnesota that are less “Americanized”. It could also be that the majority of Somalis in Minnesota have only been here for the past 10 years at most, and living among other Somalis has preserved that “Somali-ness”.
I personally think Minnesota is the hardest place to make friends that are not your race, the hardest place to integrate mainly because the culture here is 98% white, German, Swedish ancestry and deeply rooted communities that don’t generally welcome outsiders. Somalis in other places like Seattle, Washington, Virginia, San Diego tend to be more “integrated” mainly because they don’t live in close proximity as the Somalis in the metro area of Minneapolis do. However, I do want to ask what does “integrated” mean? I believe the Somalis in Minnesota are hard-working people, and pay taxes just like all other people living in America. The Somalis in Minnesota want to better their lives through education and have a brighter future for their families just like all Americans. The Somalis in Minnesota vote, follow the laws and care about what’s going on around them, so if those things are parameters for “integration”, then I believe that guy was wrong to assume we aren’t integrated. I definitely believe Minnesota in general is a place where people stick with their own.
Drinking Tea in Mogadhishu 