Somali people have encountered many challenges in the past into the present. These challenges have made them grow as a culture and become stronger as individuals and as a whole. It is important to analyze the culture, the gender roles, and the family roles when working with the Somali community.
To understand the Somali culture it is crucial to know what has happened to them in the past. According to Castel and Kurata throughout history the Somali people have been subjected to harsh oppression by dictators (2004). This dictatorship has caused many to flee the country to the United States find a better home for them and their families (Castel & Kurata, 2004). Many families that have fled Somalia eventually reunite with the other individuals who have fled before them.
For many Somalis that have came to the United States have a difficult time assimilating to the different cultural ways (Castel & Kurata, 2004). Many Somali individuals are judged based on the way they look and dress. Somali women wear the traditional hijab and when other individuals see this they immediately discriminate and judge their customs. In the United States there are some people that look at the Somali families and think that they should start dressing like “real Americans” and start to act like they fit in.
It is also very common for Somali children to fight with their classmates because of their culture. In school many Somali children are seen fighting with African American students because the African American student do not understand tae cultural differences that they have with the Somali students (Castel & Kurata, 2004). Many schools have to meet with parents to try and make everyone understand cultural differences between all students and teach th...
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...e a big deal about names or about the fact that women are now major breadwinners. I could not imagine sitting at home taking care of the kids and the chores. I would have to go out and get a job to have a major role in my family income.
This experience helped me get a feeling of professionalism. I have learned how important it is to do all the research before jumping into the interview. I have also developed personally through everything I learned. I learned that it is important to keep my cultural and religious customs so that I can pass them down to my children when I get to that point in my life.
This multicultural experience has given me a lot of knowledge that I will take with me in my professional career. My research with the Somali culture has given me a starting point to learn about heir gender and family roles and to their culture as a whole.
3. Delpit, Lisa D. Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. New York: New, 1995. Print.
At first glance, one would not expect to find any similarities between the countries of Somalia and the United States. Even though the differences outweigh similarities, after deeper examination, Somalia and the United States do share a few similarities. These similarities include British rule, Civil War, and acts of domestic terror. A few differences may be government, climate, and military.
Before the war, Somalia had a well-functioning democratic republic government. Under the 1979 Constitution, the president held executive power. The president was the head and leader of the country’s sole legal political party, The Somali Revolutionary Socialist Party. Elected to serve a 7-year term, the president was nominated by the party’s central committee. Ever since the civil war in 1991, when the government collapsed, Somalia has been in a state of civil war and anarchy (“Somalian Government”).
Somalia is a country that has been fought over since the 1800’s when it was used as an important coal refueling station for ships. England, France, and Italy claimed part of the country for themselves. In 1960 the British and Italian colonies merged creating what is known today as Somalia. In 1977 the French colony became what is known today as Djibouti.2 Mohamed Siad Barre seized power to become the president and soon sided with communist Russia during the Cold War era. Siad was more of a brutal Marxist dictator than a president emphasizing nationalism as opposed to clan loyalty which goes against Somalia’s culture. He is over run by his own people returning the country to a clan-based culture. The aftermath of this results in a civil war between clans in 1988. After Siads withdrawal, he becomes a clan leader of one of many clans in the country.3 Soon after the revolution, the coali...
They invited the writer to dinner along with other people so the locals could get to know the Somalis and so they could help clear up misconceptions. They held another event at their house were they invited the women from the community and held a dinner. At this event the Somalis talked about why they fled their homes and come to Shelbyville. One of the girls even asked if the war would come to America since they were here. The somalis helped clear up that there would be no war here. This made the locals feel more calm about the situations and were able to start trusting there Somalia neighbors. According to the Washington Post, “We must remain compassionate toward refugees but we also need to make sure that we use common sense…”(Eilperin). As I did sense that the locals did want to try and accept the Refugees, however, they had never met these types of people before so they of course wanted to be careful. Which makes sense, you can expect someone to trust someone right away. The locals were trying to be careful and use common sense and keep their guard up. This was a cultural shock to the Somalis as they were not treated in a more positive manner. By the Somalis inviting the locals into their homes it set up a stage for the locals to start feeling a sense of compassion towards the
Some of the lessons I learned from doing these interviews are, that I must study hard and work a lot on myself to succeed. I also learned that I have to educate myself as much as I can and get higher degrees in school to be able to have the best job opport...
"SOMALIA CONFERENCE - Facts, Figures and Major Problems of Somalia." Facts, Figures and Major Problems of Somalia. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2014.
The improvement of lifestyle in the Somali community continually begs for increased attention. The majority of members in my community consistently experience limitations in their access to efficient health services. Additional challenges include hostility between the sub-groups of the Somali people, which leads to the loss of numerous lives during conflict. The prevalence of drought and famine in Somaliland, coupled with high illiteracy levels among adults raises concern for the economic wellbeing of my community. Few Somali children have access to formal schooling, hence a bleak future for the entire community.
It’s no surprise that many people in Somalia were not okay with this system of colonial rule. In 1899, a group called The Dervish...
The linguistic differences, ethnic variances, and cultural distinctions between tribes (even those in close proximity) can be stark. This doesn’t excuse tribal and ethnic tension, but it does help explain it. But not in Somalia. Even with its small, disadvantaged minority groups Somalia is one of the most homogenous places in Africa. To outsiders the differences between the five major clans are seemingly inconsequential; they share a common Samaal heritage and all speak various dialects of the same Cushitic language. It is not ethnic or tribal tension that is the crux in Somalia—it is the clan. This means blood, honor, and justice—encompassed in the Somali word heer. In addition to precise rules of blood compensation (in the event of a man’s murder his clan is owed one hundred camels, while a woman’s life is only worth fifty camels), the clan system also accounts for a lot of old-fashioned nepotism—business, military, and government positions are all doled out via the clan. Many Somalis are thankful for the clan system. In the absence of a functioning government, heer is at least some kind of
Somalia’s culture is very different compared to American culture, partly because most Somalians practice Islam. This religion shapes a lot of their customs and values. Married Somalian
Poole, Walter S., The Effort to Save Somalia August 1992 – March 1994 p.20 (2005 August) General format. Retrieved from http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/doctrine/history/somalia.pdf
First, I will share some background. My hometown of Eden Prairie, Minnesota is an affluent, well-educated suburb southwest of Minneapolis. Historically, its population has been primarily upper middle class white professionals. More recently, however, it has become home to approximately five percent of the Somali immigrants residing in the United States. Included amongst Eden Prairie’s
The task of completing the mock interview was very insightful and yet nerve-wracking. This experience allowed me to learn a lot about how others and prospective employers may perceive me. In addition, I also learned a lot about myself. I took some time in advance to plan for the interview. I considered aspects such as when to arrive, what to wear and preparing a resume. This prior planning helped me to have a successful interview.
"Culture", as a word, fits with a group of words that do not have just one definition or meaning, but multiple. With a diverse population prevailing in the United States today, our country is a melting pot of diverse cultures, every distinctive in its own respect. Culture is distinguishing one social group from another, including beliefs, language, traditions, art, food, religion and economic systems. Through lifelong and ever altering processes of learning, and sharing, culture shapes our patterns of behavior and thinking. A culture’s significance is so philosophical that it touches almost every aspect of who and what we are. As Henslin once said “Culture becomes the lens through which we perceive and evaluate what is going on around us.” It becomes who we are and how we see things differently from the people of a different nationality. In Warren St. John’s Outcasts United, culture is an important aspect that plays a significant role throughout the book and challenges the refugees in their daily lives. Having a pluralistic society can influence the behavioral and thinking styles of the people living around them. Some of these people may learn from the diverse range of cultures to find faults in their own living styles and try to better improve them. The Liberian’s, the Middle Easterner’s and the African’s are some of the examples of how one’s culture can impact lives of the people living around them.