Latest / DEEP INSIGHT / Minnesota's Somali community 'standing tall' in face of Trump's comments, says professor

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Minnesota's Somali community 'standing tall' in face of Trump's comments, says professor · DEEP INSIGHT

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  Speaker 1: It was earlier this week US President Donald Trump had
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  Speaker 1: lashed out against immigrants from Somalia. Specifically, his three minute
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  Speaker 1: ti RDE came during a cabinet meeting, and on the
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  Speaker 1: same day, his administration paused all immigration applications from non
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  Speaker 1: European countries, citing concerns over national security and public safety.
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  Speaker 1: Here's a bit more of the language the US President used.
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  Speaker 2: I don't want him in our country.
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  Speaker 1: Their country is no good for a reason.
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  Speaker 2: Their country stakes We're going to go the wrong way
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  Speaker 2: if we keep taking in garbage into our country.
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  Speaker 1: Some appalling language there from a sitting president. So how
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  Speaker 1: are members of the Somali community in Minnesota reacting to
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  Speaker 1: the president's words? For more on that, I want to
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  Speaker 1: bring in Abdi Samatar. He is a Somali American in Minneapolis,
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  Speaker 1: and he is also a professor at the University of Minnesota.
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  Speaker 1: And we know that that's the state, of course where
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  Speaker 1: ice operations are beginning as well. Thank you so much
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  Speaker 1: for joining us.
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  Speaker 2: Pleasure to be with you.
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  Speaker 1: What is it like for you to be listening to
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  Speaker 1: this and to be in this climate where you are,
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  Speaker 1: in the state you are right now?
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  Speaker 2: Well, as a parent, it's a language you don't want
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  Speaker 2: anybody's children to listen to. It dates dishonorable. It's unpresidential
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  Speaker 2: and quite unfortunate that the presidency of the United States
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  Speaker 2: has come to this. As far as I'm concerned, personally,
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  Speaker 2: we don't have any personal issues. I'm working at the
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  Speaker 2: University of Minnesota, and everything is normal here. But certainly
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  Speaker 2: in the cities, the community is feeling a great deal
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  Speaker 2: of pressure and there's a great deal of panic, which
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  Speaker 2: is unfortunate. Having said that, I think it's also important
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  Speaker 2: to note that every community in every country anywhere in
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  Speaker 2: the world has some criminals. I mean, I don't know
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  Speaker 2: of any country which is crime free. And so rather
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  Speaker 2: than targeting individuals who are criminals as individuals to sort
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  Speaker 2: of en campus in an entire community, they will lead
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  Speaker 2: sort of this country in the wrong direction. We know
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  Speaker 2: what that has done in Europe before the Second World War.
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  Speaker 2: We know what that has done in Japan before the
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  Speaker 2: Second World War. So it's quite unfortunate. But I think
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  Speaker 2: the American people, and particularly the citizens of Minnesota, are
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  Speaker 2: tower at all to stand with the Sonali community or
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  Speaker 2: anybody else in this community who needs help.
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  Speaker 1: You know, you mentioned that of course, you've been in
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  Speaker 1: the United States for a number of years. Certainly this
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  Speaker 1: is perhaps new language that you're hearing from a US president,
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  Speaker 1: maybe not something that has come across quite so sharply.
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  Speaker 1: But for those students that you teach as well in Minnesota,
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  Speaker 1: how are they reacting to this?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I'll actually be going to a class as I'm
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  Speaker 2: done with this interview, and it will be interesting to
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  Speaker 2: see how the students are reacting. I have yesterday and
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  Speaker 2: the day before, just walking around campus, you could see
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  Speaker 2: there's a classlimate change here, cultural climate change, not by
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  Speaker 2: in the university, but the fear that some students are feeling.
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  Speaker 2: Some of my colleagues told me that they're sort of
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  Speaker 2: an East African student student shop for their classes in
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  Speaker 2: the last couple of days. So it's having an effect,
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  Speaker 2: and an unfortunate effect. Most of these young men and
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  Speaker 2: women who are in the universities are honorable, sort of
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  Speaker 2: a smart, hard working and many of them are going
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  Speaker 2: to the professions and business community as they graduate. So
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  Speaker 2: it's as I said, it's unpresidential, but the community will
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  Speaker 2: stand tall. But also the community has a challenge that
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  Speaker 2: they should be able as they have done in some
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  Speaker 2: instances in the past to come forth with information that
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  Speaker 2: will help the larger Minnesota community ensure that this kind
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  Speaker 2: of corruption will not take place amid Stan.
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  Speaker 1: If I can, I wouldn't mind just sort of taking
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  Speaker 1: you back to that cabinet meeting. And I'm not sure
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  Speaker 1: if you were listening into that or if the comments
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  Speaker 1: from the US President were sent along to you later.
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  Speaker 1: But when when it is that you first heard what
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  Speaker 1: the president had to say? What?
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  Speaker 2: I think I heard it yesterday morning. I think it
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  Speaker 2: was yesterday.
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  Speaker 1: Morning, and it was a feel yeah, well, I.
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  Speaker 2: Mean, you know, when we were children growing up in
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  Speaker 2: East Africa, you know, we had a song that our
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  Speaker 2: mothers sang to us when we were babies. And if
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  Speaker 2: I can't just marry that to you, it says, I
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  Speaker 2: am as tall, I am as dark as charcoal, and
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  Speaker 2: I am as beautiful as God's creation. That's the kind
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  Speaker 2: of courage and compassion and sort of self confidence some
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  Speaker 2: other people carry themselves with. So you can hear sort
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  Speaker 2: of a language of this kind from sort of a
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  Speaker 2: usual criminals and facts in the streets, but you don't
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  Speaker 2: expect that from the Oval Office of the United States
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  Speaker 2: of America, a place that has been known to welcome
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  Speaker 2: sort of refugees from every corner of this planet. And
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  Speaker 2: I may just say, you know, the President's family came
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  Speaker 2: here as refugee, as immigrants from Germany and from Scotland.
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  Speaker 2: His wife comes from sort of a Europe and so
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  Speaker 2: it's just unfitting to hear that from somebody who sort
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  Speaker 2: of occupies that officer and who has been elected by
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  Speaker 2: the American people.
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  Speaker 1: And finally, I wanted to ask you, of course, about
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  Speaker 1: the situation unfolding now, and that is of course that
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  Speaker 1: there is this ice operation that is coming specifically to Minnesota,
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  Speaker 1: where there's a significant population of Somalis as well. How
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  Speaker 1: is that impacting how the community is feeling and how
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  Speaker 1: they're acting.
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  Speaker 2: Even there's a one particular model, I can give you
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  Speaker 2: an example which it's sort of predominantly populated by Somalis
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  Speaker 2: in South Minneapolis, and the ladies who are the shopkeepers
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  Speaker 2: and coffee shop managers and things like that have been
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  Speaker 2: saying that, you know, their business is trying up because customers,
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  Speaker 2: many customers who are citizens of this country, who are
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  Speaker 2: permanent residents, just don't want to be harassed and they
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  Speaker 2: are going to other places. And so these ladies are
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  Speaker 2: losing their market, they are losing their businesses. But I
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  Speaker 2: think in the end, the state of Minnesota, the Minnesota
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  Speaker 2: population across the board, no matter where they came from,
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  Speaker 2: however long they have been there, where they have been
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  Speaker 2: standing told with some other community and any other community
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  Speaker 2: that needs their help and assistance to make sure that
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  Speaker 2: their rights are not violated by anybody, including the President
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  Speaker 2: of the United States.
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  Speaker 1: Abdi, I want to thank you very much for having
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  Speaker 1: this conversation with me today. I appreciate your.
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  Speaker 2: Time with pleasure.
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  Speaker 1: Abdi Sumitar is a Somali American living in Minnesota.