What Does Obama’s Election Mean
to the Somali Community?
By DR. DOUG RUTLEDGE
On the evening of Tuesday, November 4th, the atmosphere in the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Columbus was electrifying, to say the least.  People were dancing and singing as they watched the television monitors.  As one state after another declared for Barack Obama, people would stop dancing long enough to cheer and scream.  Folks of all backgrounds were very excited for many different reasons.  Often when politicians came forward to announce the election of local candidates, people could hardly be influenced to look away from the monitors, as Obama’s election looked more and more inevitable.  A gentleman named John Chubb stopped me to report that “this is a monumental event of biblical proportions.”
Obama had been campaigning on the concept of change.

The question for me was what would that change would mean for Columbus and the Somali Community? When the announcement came over the television monitors that Obama had won, the energy in the room was palpable.  People were screaming, while politicians were trying to make speeches.  Governor Strickland responded to the success of the Democrats in the Buckeye State by saying, “Ohio has turned blue.”  When Obama came out quite modestly to acknowledge the results of the election, he himself announced that “there is not a red America or a blue America, but the United States of America.”

Clearly, the election meant to the president elect that divisions in America had been, or at least could be, overcome, but it seemed to mean something more immediately political to the governor of Ohio.

On the other hand, when I asked Mayor Coleman, as a black politician, what the election of Barack Obama meant to him, he said, “this is the most important moment of my life.  Next to my marriage and the birth of my children, this is the most important moment in my life. My eyes well up with tears; my body starts to shake when I think about it.  This is how much it means to me.” Clearly, the election had a profound effect, an effect that was beyond the immediately political, on Mayor Coleman. Mayor Coleman was excited by the election because Barack Obama is black, but for many Somalis in the room, the event was also meaningful because the president elect was African.  Mohamud Mumin reported that “it matters to me that a black person just like me has made it this far.  And his roots are in Kenya.”

Hassan Omar, President of the Somali Community Association of Ohio seemed to think that Obama’s election meant something to the Somali Community not only because he was an African, but also because he strives to bring people from disparate communities together. “I think if we stay the same way we were back in Africa, we will remain in fragments,” he said.  “We have to come together.  It is in our best interest to work together.”

Many Somalis I interviewed believed that the election would inspire their countrymen to participate in the political process.  For example, Ali Warsame said, “this will encourage the Somali people to be more involved.  Many Somali people are not part of the political process.  But seeing an African American, whose father is from Kenya, get elected will inspire people who [previously] has little hope of influencing the country.”

Several Somali people I spoke with were excited about the opportunity this gave their children.  After all, if the son of an African immigrant could be elected president, this meant that the opportunity for their kids is unbounded.

Personally, that evening I wondered what effect the election might have on Somalia itself.  Was it possible that the aggressive policy adopted by the Bush administration, which supported the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia, might be mitigated by a president whose heritage was rooted in East Africa?

Was it possible that a president, who advocated diplomacy during his campaign, might believe that cruise missiles as an instrument of foreign policy would be a rather blunt tool to use in a third world country against which America has not even declared war?

Now I want to ask, is it simply a coincidence that the Washington Post declared on November 28th, that “Ethiopia said on Friday it would withdraw its troops from Somalia by the end of this year, piling pressure on Somalia’s feuding government and African nations that had promised to send peacekeepers?”

Can it be a coincidence that the Ethiopians will withdraw from Somalia 20 days before Obama takes office?

Haa waan awoodnaa!!
Qoray SAID HADDE
“Isbedel aan rumaysan karno, haa waan awoodnaa, haa waan awoodnaa” ereyadaan waxay ahaayeen halku dhigyo uu isticmaalayay musharaxii Barack Obama. Hadaladaan waxay soo jiiteen malyamaad qof ah oo ku nool maraykanka iyo aduunka dacaladiisa.
Si kastaba ha ahaatee, waxaa doorasho madaxweyne kutartamahay Barack Obama oo kasocday xisbiga dimuquraadiga iyo John Mcain oo kasocday jamhuuriga.   Doorashadaan ayaa ka duwanayd kuwii horay uga dhici jiray maraykanka, waayo waa markii oogu horaysay uu qof madow ah uu heerkan soo gaaro hadana uu raayo. Obama ayaa wuxuu noqday mucjiso aan hore loo arag loona maqal, kadib markii uu noqday madaxweynihii 44 ee maraykanka uuna si cad uga badiyay Mcain.

Arintan waxay wax kabadashay qaabkii ama siyaasadii uu kudhaqmi jiray maraykanka tan iyo markii uu xornimada qaatay. Obama wuxuu suurta galiyay riyadii Martin Luther King oo ahaa ninkii u doodi jiray dadka madowga ah xaqooda, wuxuuna aaminsanaa maalin maalmaha kamid ahi in ay cadaalad iyo wadasinaasho ay ka dhici doonto maraykanka loona ogolaandoono qof walba oo madow ah xaqiisa, waayo madowga waa lagumaysan jiray waana lamidab takoori jiray xiligii hore.

Hadaba sababaha keentay in Obama raayo ayaa waxay ahayd codkarnimadiisa iyo asagoo balanqaaday in uu wax kabadali doono qaabka aqalka cad uu ushaqeeyo, sida dhaqaalaha wadanka in uu kor u soo celiyo, in uu soo afjaro dagaalka ciraaq iyo Afghanistan, iyo in uu lahadlo wadamada ay isaga soo horjeedaan xaga siyaasada sida Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, Cuba, iyo Syria.  Hadaba su aasha isweydiinta leh waxay tahay Obama wax makaqabandoonaa arimaha Somaliya? Kolay su,aashaas waxan ku dhaafayaa sarbeebta ah biyo sare tagay waa la sugayaa. Si kastaba arin ha ahaatee Ohio waxay kamid ahayd goboladii uu ku raayay Obama, waxaana qiyaas ahaan kunool Somali kudhan 40,000.

Qaasatan Somalida kunool Columbus waxay si aad ah ay ugu codeeyeen Obama. mar aan tagay habeenkii ugu dambeesay ee doorashada Cyphras Café oo ay isugu imaadaan dhalinyaro badan oo Somali ah ayaan waxaan wareystay Cawil ahmed wuxuuna yiri, “Obama ayaan doortay waayo waxaan u baahan nahnay isbadal weyn” sidoo kale waxaan lakulmay Cabdiraxmaan Indhamaleh oo ah Somalida ku nool Columbas una ololeeya Obama ayaa wuxuu yiri, Obama waxaan ka rajayneenaa in uu wax ka qabto arimaha Somaliya markii uu xukunka qabto sanadka dambe.  Ugu dambeentii, ilaa iyo hada war cad lagama hayo in uu Obama wax kabadali doono arimaha Somaliya iyo inkale, balse waxaa cad in ay Somalida oo dhan ay wada taageertay Obama uuna uu ku dhacay jacyl aad u xoogan oo aan ku tilmaami karo Obamamania.

Hadaba aan aragno halka ay ku danbayso xiisaha iyo abaabulka ay u galeen somaalidu doorashada obaama iyo bal sida uu wax uga qaban doono arinkii soomaliya ee baryahan oo dhana ahaa sidii arinkii lagu tilmaami jiray (cidna uma maqna ceelna uma qodna)

Danger for the Somali Community: New Anti-Somali Attitudes at The Department of Homeland Security

By DENNIS MUCHNIKI
of MUCHNICKI LAW OFFICE

For over 14 years Muchnicki Law Office has proudly represented the members of the Somali community in all aspects of their immigration process, from asylum to green cards and citizenship, and in all aspects of their adjustment to American life, including formation of businesses, defense against criminal charges, and marriage and divorce.  Because of Somalis’ fundamental honesty, willingness to work hard, and desire to give back to their new country, the lawyers in our office have always felt a particular pride in helping Somalis deal with the complicated laws of this country.  Thus, the lawyers at Muchnick Law Office are particularly upset at what appears to be a new and dangerous anti-Somali attitude at the Department of Homeland Security office in Columbus.

We have seen the anti-Somali attitude of Homeland Security demonstrated in many different aspects of DHS’ handling of Somali immigration benefits applications.  From background and security checks that are sometimes taking four to five years and delaying Somali green card and citizenship applications, to trick questions at citizenship and green card interviews, DHS now seems to be trying find ways to place road blocks in the path of Somalis who are working to become U.S. citizens.   One example of the new anti-Somali attitude at Homeland Security is extremely long delays in processing of fingerprints of Somali males who have made the pilgrimage to Mecca. DHS now seems to think that all of the trips which are made for obvious religious purposes could be cover ups for meetings with Islamic radicals in Saudi Arabia.

In these situations, DHS has no real evidence of any wrongdoing by Somali men but the interviews are conducted in a very hostile, aggressive manner as if trying to catch the Somali men in a mistake.  Another example of how DHS suspects Somali men of terrorist connections is that DHS attempts to link men to money transfer agencies that send money back to Africa. DHS suspects that Somali men who work in this area are actually helping to funnel money to terrorist organizations outside the U.S.  Another  anti-Somali tactic used by DHS concerns the manner in which the Columbus DHS office conducts its interview of both Somali men and women.  We have noticed during several recent interviews that very detailed background checks are being conducted of virtually every Somali.

Every document concerning each Somali from anywhere in the world, including refugee processing centers in Africa and every state in the U.S. where each Somali has ever lived are being compiled before the interviews.
Then, using all of these documents, many of which are ten to fifteen years old, DHS interviewers are asking vague, generalized questions and treating any mistake the Somali interviewee makes about these old documents as proof that the Somalis is a liar who does not deserve either a green card or citizenship status. Efforts of Somalis to explain their lack of memory about details from many years ago are rejected automatically.  In effect, the Columbus DHS office seems to making “gotcha” type questions the norm rather than the exception when interviewing Somalis.

All of this creates a very different atmosphere from the way DHS treated Somalis five or six years ago.  While many Somalis rely on non-attorneys to prepare their immigration applications, there is now a serious reason why Somalis may need to think about whether they should obtain the assistance of attorneys.  DHS is now actively trying to find any way possible to deny Somali immigration benefits applications.