Somalis in Minnesota

The Ultimate Sahan Group

the Somalis    21 a college degree and a good command of the English language , was fighting with my own demons of doubt, how would a single mother . . . of six or more with neither the educational background nor employable skills, survive?” His account was validated by many others.20 A Ray of Hope In early summer 1992, a poultry company called Heartland Food Company in Marshall, Minnesota, added a third shift to its turkey processing plant and sought staff to fill it. On May 20, 1992, the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Argus Leader included an advertisement that the plant was hiring. Four Somalis from Sioux Falls showed up at Heartland the very next day. They were hired on the spot and told that overtime was available: if they had friends, they should come apply, too. The word these four sent back to Sioux Falls was pleasantly surprising: all four, even with their poor English andlackofexperience,hadbeenhiredimmediately.Furthermore , the plant needed more people, and it was processing poultry, not pork. This headline trickled to the center of the Somali war-mill in San Diego. Questions about the war’s reliability remained, yet the news persisted. After two months, it was time to send out a team of scouts to test the validity of this glimmer of hope rising from Marshall, Minnesota.21 The Ultimate Sahan Group Hot on the faint trail of war about jobs, four bachelors from SanDiegohoppedintoacar.Justastheirnomadforefathers Where it all began: Heartland Food Company’s “help wanted” ad in the Argus Leader, May 20, 1992. Halal and Haraam Halal means permissible and haraam means the opposite, forbidden. These two words are used to differentiate between various ways of life and produce such as meat, drink, and pharmaceutical products. Haraam are pork and all items or products that derive from pork; animals that are not slaughtered properly in accordance with religious teachings; birds of prey; carnivorous animals; alcohol; and any foods containing these products. Durdur Bakery and Grocery: a halal mini-market and one of the thriving Somali-owned businesses in South Minneapolis. Halal items on sale in Durdur. the Somalis    23 had traveled in search of greener pastures for thousands of years, this sahan group from San Diego was charged with authenticating the news. Abdicadir Abucar Ga’al, a polyglot who speaks four languages, was asked to be the community ’s eyes and ears. He became the group’s leader because the others knew neither the landscape nor the language nor much about driving. After thirty-two hours, most of those with Abdicadir behind the wheel, they reached Sioux Falls but were met with the news that their journey was not yet over. Fortified with a lunch of delicious Somali food, soon they found their way to Marshall’s poultry processing plant. Although close to thirty other Somalis were already employed there, all four were hired on the spot.22 As sahan in Somali culture dictates, the first group of scouts would have aggregated the risks against the ultimate economic advantages and then endorsed community relocation once a greener pasture was confirmed. But this case brought a twist to that central, cultural piece: back home they would have traveled on foot or on horseback to share their good news, but now, in this new country, they delivered it by telephone. Jobs were available in Marshall, Minnesota. And when yet another group from San Diego, this time numbering three, followed and its members were hired, too, the confirmation bell rang even louder. Soon, the exciting and hopeful war was being spoken in every ear. Calls reverberated throughout the community, bringing long-awaited hope. They were urged on by the wails of loved ones in refugee camps and the gnawing cries back in Somalia. Some asked for money to feed themselves and their families, others to be plucked from the hell their homes had turned into, still others groused about the harsh life they were forced to endure. Now, anybody who was seeking work or ways to support one’s family was heading to Marshall or thinking about how to get there. In the early 1990s, when Somalis were arriving in the 24    people of minnesota United States from refugee camps around the world, the country was facing an economic slide, a recession that causedapopularGulfWarpresident,GeorgeH.W.Bush,to lose his reelection bid to Bill Clinton, a relatively unknown governor of a small southern state. In a weak economy...