State Services for the Blind

Minnesota State Services for the Blind

KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER WHEN INTERVIEWING A SOMALI CUSTOMER

Direct eye contact with authority figures is avoided as a sign of respect, especially among the young generation and women.
Muslim men do not shake hands with women if they are preparing to pray.
Females may never shake hands.
Women are expected to behave in a manner that maintains the family’s social respectability.
The right hand is considered the clean and polite hand to use for eating and shaking hands.
Saving face is very important so indirectness and humor are often used in conversation.
A person with a disability in the Somali culture would not be expected to be employed, and the family would take care of all the needs of that person.
Hard work is very important in the Somali culture. In order to show respect for the culture they are immigrating into, Somalis will try to fit into the work environment.
If a blind person using a seeing eye dog wants to visit a Somali home, it would be prudent to ask if it is okay to bring the dog. In the Somali culture dogs are viewed as unclean.The Somali are not accustomed to being interviewed and do not answer questions in a linear, sequential way. In order to obtain the information sought, it may be necessary to ask many follow-up questions

SOMALI IMMIGRANTS IN MINNESOTA

Geographic Distribution and Population Estimates:

According to information available from the Minnesota State Demographic Center published in June of 2004, the estimated immigrant population of Somalis in Minnesota is 25,000.
The majority of this population is in the Twin Cities area with Minneapolis-St. Paul becoming a de facto “capital” of Somalis in North America.
Somali refugees have recently settled in smaller communities around the Twin Cities including: Rochester, St. Cloud, Owatonna, Waseca, Marshall, Faribault, Mankato and Hudson and Barron, Wisconsin.

Religion
1. The vast majority of Somalis are Sunni Muslims
2. Important Islamic beliefs include:
3. Important Islamic practices include:
  1. prayer five times a day;
  2. giving 2% of one's annual income in cash or in kind to charity;
  3. fasting from dawn until dusk every day during the month of Ramadan which is observed in the U.S. near the end of the calendar year; and
  4. making a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudia Arabia, the birthplace of Muhammad, at least once if it's affordable.
4. Somalis are forbidden to eat pork or lard or to drink alcohol, or to be around or work in establishments that serve those items such as bars, restaurants, etc.
5. As part of the religious traditions, Somali Muslims cannot come in contact with dogs, because dogs are considered unclean. If a blind person who uses a dog is visiting a Somali home, it is best to ask if it is okay to bring a seeing eye dog.
6. Most Somali practice their religion very devoutly, and the family prays together before everyone goes off to school or work and in the evening before bed.
7. The Mosque is the central gathering place for most Somalis, and the Sheik often sought for advice.
Languages Spoken
1. The Aboriginal people of Southern Somalia speak the Reewin language known as Mai.
2. The nomadic groups who live in central and northern Somalia speak Maha.
3. Mai and Maha are not mutually intelligible, but are more like Spanish vs. Portuguese.
4. Although most Somalis share the same language, religion and culture, they are divided into groups by deeply ingrained clan structure, such as the Darod, Dir, Isaq and Digil.
5. Other languages that may be understood both in reading and writing are Italian, Arabic, Swahili, Oramo, and English.
6. Most of the younger Somali immigrants have some understanding of English when they come to the United States, because the language is taught in school.
Health Care and Religious and Cultural Beliefs
1. Common diseases seen in Somali immigrants include malaria, parasitic
  Diseases, hepatitis B, and tuberculosis.
2. Most of the disabilities including blindness in the Somali population are a
  result of the war. Most of the people with disabilities were left in Somalia.
3. Somalis may reject medical interventions that are seen as interfering with the will of God.
4. Somalis may utilize traditional medicine which can involve practices such
  as:
  1. fire-burning;
  2. herbal treatments;
  3. casting; and
  4. prayer to treat illness.
5. A person with a disability in the Somali culture would not be expected to a job and the family would take care of all of the person’s needs. If the family is unable to care for the family member, a religious leader (Sheik) would be consulted to help determine who would be that person’s caretaker.
Family Structure
1. The extended family is the main family structure and consists of grandparents, children, uncles, and aunts with the male being the head of the household.
2. The oldest son learns to be a good provider by working and getting
  excellent grades in school. He also has the responsibility for transportation of younger siblings. (This may be part of the reason that so many Somali men are cab drivers when they immigrate to the United States as it is viewed as an honor to provide transportation to others in the community).
3. Male elders are highly respected, and their presence and blessing are very
  important in traditional ceremonies and cultural practices.
4. Married females continue to belong to their father’s family and to keep
  their father’s family name.
5. Women are responsible for food preparation and performing farming
  tasks.
6. Many women may cover their heads and also wear loose fitting clothing.
  Some may cover their faces. This is based on religious teachings which call for women to cover their heads and necks and wear loose clothing that does not describe the shape of their bodies. This practice is called hijab and refers to the custom and the head covering itself.
7. It is a daughter’s responsibility to provide care for ailing relatives, Mothers that have just given birth or grandparents that cannot care for themselves. (Currently the Somali culture does not believe in nursing homes or transitional care settings.)
8. As a way of paying respect to someone who is older in their religious tradition, Somalis call that person Aunt or Uncle in the same way we might call one another a brother or sister.
Occupational Background
1. Rural Somalis were farmers/agriculturists.
2. Urban Somalis were employed in a variety of capacities including many from the professional areas found in the United States.
3. When a Somali woman is first employed, to show respect to her employer
  she will ask for permission to wear the traditional dress and to cover the head.
4. Hard work is very important in the culture, and very soon after immigrating to the United States, the family will be out looking for work. This also shows respect for the culture they are immigrating into by trying to fit into the work environment.

RESOURCE LIST FOR SOMALI IMMIGRANTS IN MINNESOTA

Closing the Gap: A Public Health Report on Health Disparities; Metropolitan Minority Health Assessment Project; web site address: www.co.hennepin.mn.us/vgn/images/portal/cit_100003616/58/16/105465850ImmRefugee20010724.pdf June, 2001.

Estimates of Selected Immigrant Populations in Minnesota: 2004; Minnesota State Demographic Center; Ronningen, Barbara J.; web site address: www.demography.state.mn.us/PopNotes/EvaluatingEstimates.pdf June, 2004.

Immigration in Minnesota; The Minneapolis Foundation; 1999.

Interview with Miriam Warsame; interview conducted by Carol Leaders, Chairperson of the Minority Outreach Committee of the State Rehabilitation Council for the Blind (SRC-B) and member of the SRC-B.

Somali Immigrant Settlement in Small Midwestern Communities; A Research Project conducted by the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire Geography Department; Grossman, Dr. Zoltan – Assistant Professor of Geography and Schaid, Jessica; web site address: www.uwec.edu/grossmzc/somali.html Summer 2003.

Somali Mai Community of Minnesota, Inc. ; Winter Quarter Newsletter; web site address: www.arlaadi.com/Newsletter2.htm 2004.