Saturday October 4, 2014
Jamal Abdulahi’s analysis of the current situation regarding the Somali community has some excellent conclusions, but the suggested solutions seem directed at diverting resources to issues that should be handled within the Somali community, not at additional public expense (“Somalis in Minnesota: A second chance to get it right,” Oct. 1).Abdulahi’s first conclusion is right on: The young men who left this country to serve as warriors with enemies of the United States violated American law. Although no solution is offered by Abdulahi, revocation of their passports should have already been executed and is an appropriate action by the U.S. government.
The root cause of weakened families should be resolved by parents accepting the responsibility of American citizenship and learning English, the official language of this country. Community leaders and community organizers could generate within the community the resources and motivation to address this challenge and improve intergenerational communication.
Similarly, the community needs to address social issues resulting in high divorce rates — another task appropriately assumed by community members who are knowledgeable of cultural issues. Expecting campaigning politicians to solve issues in the Somali community is grasping at straws. Do the campaigners really know, understand and truly care about a relatively small constituency?
Finding economic opportunity in this country starts with acquiring the necessary skills for whatever career one chooses. Since the younger generation learns English, there is no reason the needed skills cannot be acquired in the existing public education system. The unasked question remains: Why should the government invest in these cultural issues looking for a “bang for the buck” when resources are already available?
If that information is not known in the Somali community, what better undertaking for community organizers and leaders is there? Help is more readily provided to those who accept the challenge to solve their own problems.