Since the collapse of the Somali state, large wave of Somali immigrants including myself resettled in the U.S.  Somalis in the diaspora have not only learnt how to adapt to new countries and environment, but they have also managed to overcome many of the barriers associated with being an immigrant in a foreign land.  We have crossed boundaries and learnt languages we never imagined we would speak and use, adapted to new cultures and customs and tried our best to assimilate into these cultures while trying our best to hold on to our own dhaqan.

I am happy to say that the majority of Somalis embraced the challenges placed squarely on their laps and excelled in it. While a lot of us are busy building our lives and taking care of our families and running after the “American dream,” there are some of us who are having an incredible time adapting and accepting their “new” lives, and are spiraling down to some uncharted territories quite unfamiliar to what it constitute to be Somali. These people have for lack of better words, “hijacked” what it means to be Somali from the ordinary, everyday Somalis who are doing their best and obeying their civil obligations and leading their lives in a peaceful manner.  These downward spiraling Somalis are setting the narrative for all Somalis everywhere, especially for those in the West and it is time we came together as a community to take matters into our own hands before the frightening image of Somalis gets worse than it already is.

It is a human nature for people to associate and translate words into pictures.  For example, if you ask somebody what comes to mind when they hear the word Somali; it is not surprising therefore you will hear the same usual suspects that have been at the forefront of the “Somali narrative.”  Somalis and the Somali nation have become synonymous with piracy, terrorism, civil unrest, mayhem, disorder, famine, droughts, refugees and most recently human trafficking. There is a Somali saying “Cimrigaaga oo dheeraada geel dhallaaya wuu kutusaa”. It should surprise you then, we are now involved in the business of terrorism, human trafficking, and holding people captives until we receive ransom payments from them.  Whatever happened to the Somali dhaqan and most importantly the Muslim ethic of respecting the life of others and upholding it to the highest manner, abstaining from that which  clearly forbidden in the deen, and the strong work ethics that are interwoven into Somali culture and way of life.

The overwhelming majority of us are not in the business of human trafficking and terrorism, but in the eyes of public opinion we are all found guilty of these heinous crimes. The simple question that begs to be asked is “Why?”  Why should all Somalis be judged by the actions of a “growing few bad apples” in the community?  I believe this is the case because we live in a society that compartmentalizes individuals into groups; belonging to a certain ethnic group requires one to bear not only the good that comes out of a particular ethnicity, but also to carry all the bad and ugly things that come out off this group.  Unfortunately, Somalis have shown time and again that they are the pros of all things bad and negative.  All you need to do is read the news and it is quite pathetic that you will rarely read any good and uplifting stories about Somalis in the diasopra and mostly back at home.

For example, the headline for the news on (11/27/2010) was: “Somali born teen plotted car bombing in Portland, Oregon.”

PORTLAND, Ore. – “Federal agents in a sting operation arrested a Somali-born teenager just as he tried blowing up a van he believed was loaded with explosives at a crowded Christmas tree lighting ceremony in Portland, authorities said.  The bomb was an elaborate fake supplied by the agents and the public was never in danger, authorities said.  Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 19, was arrested at 5:40 p.m. Friday just after he dialed a cell phone that he thought would set off the blast but instead brought federal agents and police swooping down on him.  Yelling “Allahu Akbar!” — Arabic for “God is great!” — Mohamud tried to kick agents and police after he was taken into custody, according to prosecutors.”(Associated Press)

Here is a video to this story:  http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/23223502

The other headline grabbing news related to Somalis is the recent prostitution ring bust that involved three states:  Tennessee, Minnesota, and Columbus.  Eric Ekholm, wrote a piece for the New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/us/24gang.html?_r=1&ref=prostitution) on 11/23/2010 about how Somalis in Minnesota are shocked about the charges of sex trafficking that has been brought to their fellow Somalis.  To reiterate the views expressed by one of the people interviewed in this article, all Somalis are now shaking their heads and wondering: “What will be next?”

Instead of waiting for the next bad thing to happen and rightfully asking: “What will be next?” we should also be asking: “What can we do to show a moral, uplifting and positive side of Somalis and Somalia in general?

It all starts in the house.  Parents should invest in the future of their children by actively being involved in their education. They should also make sure their children watch less television and do extra school-work.  Older siblings should help their younger brothers and sisters with their school work, and help them with their reading and writing. In addition, parents can also receive free membership to the library where they can take their children to immerse themselves in all available library activities.

Next, it is time for our masjid leaders to take a stand. I belive the masjids have many important roles to play. They need to reach those youngsters who are misguided by believing they can somehow come closer to God by killing innocent people.  Our mosques should continue conveying the true teachings of Islam. Islam is a peaceful religion that values all human life and embodies a message of peace and tolerance.

We also need to do activities that reflect our hospitality.  Our calendar days should be filled with community outreach days whereby we partake in activities such as feeding homeless people and helping out in local food pantries.

Brothers and sisters, we came from a society that when an individual did some irresponsible act we used to say: “Reer hebel baa sameeyay.”  Those ways of doing things may seem long gone for now and inapplicable to our new societies, thus, we must reinvent new ways of solving our problems. Even though I don’t know Mohamed Osman Mohamud of Portland, Oregon, or those who are accused in the human trafficking incident, I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt; they are innocent until proven guilty.  At the end of the day, their actions are going to impact us all. The most important thing is that they are Somalis and we are too.

By: Omar Abdullahi Aden

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