By Sadiq A. Abdirahman
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN
Their book is the product of many years of traveling, interviewing and documenting the journey of Somalis residing in North America, especially in Minneapolis; Columbus, Ohio; Anaheim, Calif.; and Lewisville, Maine. Though Rochester isn't featured prominently, it has a strong community of Somali immigrants, and this book will resonate with them.
Through words and compelling images, they bring to vivid life the universal experiences of people leaving their homes to build new lives elsewhere.
The cover photo is of a young girl dribbling a basketball while wearing her native Somali attire. This interweaving of two cultures is one of the revelations of the book -- so many of the new immigrants are seamlessly at ease with their identity, living comfortably within both cultures.
The book is presented in a simple format -- seven chapters, richly illustrated with intimate photographs that, by themselves, reveal volumes of information about the people featured.
Roble was born in Mogadishu, Somalia, and migrated to Columbus via Washington, D.C., in 1989. At that time. only a few Somali families were living in Columbus, unlike today's very active population. Roble was a professional soccer player in Somalia; he left two years before the outbreak of the civil war that has caused so much destruction in his homeland.
Roble wanted to help new arrivals to this country in any way he could. That impulse connected him with Rutledge, the son of a factory worker who was born in Michigan. Rutledge's father never made it past the eighth grade, but he watched his son get his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago; Doug went on to become a poet, playwright and English professor.
Although immigration has been an integral part of American history, and a major contributor of population growth and prosperity, the influx of newcomers causes unease and challenges of assimilation. Roble and Rutledge address these challenges head-on and provide some answers to questions people naturally have in those communities.
Somalis have a strong commitment to family and faith, and they believe it's a religious obligation to extend kindness to their neighbors. A major element of their faith is that "one's first act of charity should be to one's neighbor."
Based on the reporting and photography in this book, it's encouraging to see how Somalis are becoming active participants in their new communities. Many have gained success in business, and they are politically involved as well.
Among the most affecting parts of the book is the chapter on the Dadaab refugee camp, located in a remote area of northeastern Kenya. The camp is home to more than 150,000 Somalis who have fled the violence in their homeland. The camp has no running water, no functioning hospital, inadequate food supplies and no schools for the children.
"The Somali Diaspora" is the most complete, well-written book to come out of the crisis in that country and the new life being discovered in places such as Rochester and Minneapolis.
Sadiq Abdirahman is a Somali American and lives in Apple Valley. He is a production systems management support engineer at Fair Isaac Corporation.
Book notes
"The Somali Diaspora: A Journey Away"
Abdi Roble and Doug Rutledge
University of Minnesota Press
188 pages, $34.95