Abdikadir Ibrahim. Imam Abdisalam Adam contributed to this presentation. All rights reserved

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1 Abdikadir Ibrahim Imam Abdisalam Adam contributed to this presentation

2 History Geographic location Background information Culture Dress Code Food Names & Birth Days Greetings Holydays & Celebrations Gesture General Interactions Visiting a Mosque Visiting a Muslim Home Civil War & Pre Migration Refugee Camps Pre Migration Factors Somalis in Minnesota Why Minnesota Education overview Areas of Awareness for Educators Challenges Recommendation connecting with immigrants Somali parents Response

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5 Area: 246,000 sq miles Current Politics: Federal Government elected in September, 2012, weak Capital City: Mogadishu Nationality: Somali (singular); Somalis (plural) Population: 12 million estimate Language: Somali (native), Arabic, English

6 Languages: Somali (native), Arabic, English Religion: Islam Currency: Somali shilling Major Exports: livestock, bananas, animal hides, fish Climate: Tropical/Savannah and warm throughout the year The Equator passes through Southern Somalia Length of day and night equal throughout the year with each lasting 12 hours Nomadic lifestyle still common Time is elastic and punctuality is a struggle Important issues: Education, employment, youth, family, faith, business, health

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8 : Democratic civilian Govt. with a multi-party system. 2 presidents elected during this period : Military rule of General Mohamed Siad Barre 1972: Official adoption of the Roman Script for Somali : Literacy campaign to teach or learn Somali orthography : War with Ethiopia; defeat of Somalia marks the beginning of the decline of Somalia; break-up with the Soviet Union 1980s: Opposition to Military regime increases with the formation of clan-based opposition movements 1991: January, central government falls and Somalia falls into anarchy with different factions of warlords competing for power

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11 Hijab Mandated in Qur an and Sunnah (Hadith) Muslim women wear hijab, veil, or headscarf to conceal the body from unrelated males Hijab requirements: Extent of covering (long) Thickness (not transparent) Loose (not too tight) The face and hands are generally not covered Niqab/burqah conceals the face as well Biggest concern Gender specific facilities

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13 Muslim men cover from the navel to the knees Men not to wear pure silk or gold material Men may wear a cap called kufi or kofiyad Men encouraged to grow beard Some men object to wearing a tie

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15 Intoxicants or alcohol forbidden Muslims do not consume any food containing pork or its derivatives Halal food especially meat processing encouraged Kasher signs- Check ingredients before buying Regular Somali meals serve anjero (flat pancake-like bread), spaghetti, rice, meat, juice, bananas. Sambusa popular meat or fish patty snack

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17 Somalis normally use three names: a given (first) name, father's name and grandfather's name There is no family, clan, or tribal name that remains consistent over the generations Somali women keep their maiden name after marriage Somali names have Islamic or indigenous roots. Names relating to Prophet Muhammad (personal, family, companions are the most common) Common male names are Mohamed and Ali (Islamic); Liban and Samatar (Somali) Common female names are Fadumo (Fatima) and Asha (Islamic); Ubah and Fartun (Somali)

18 Somali greet warmly with a handshake or hug. Many avoid shaking hands with the opposite gender for religious reasons Common expressions: Iska warran (how are you?) Fii an (fine, good, OK) Nabad (peace) Soo dhawaw? (welcome) Nabad gelyo (Goodbye ) Subax wanaagsan (Good morning) Galab wanaagsan (Good afternoon) Somalis widely use the Islamic greeting, assalamu alaikum meaning, (Peace be upon you). The response is, waa alaikumu salam (and peace be upon you, too.)

19 Ramadan Fasting: Muslims abstain from food, fluids, smoking, sexual intimacy, and vulgar speech from dawn to sunset. Ramadan this year, June 6 July 26, 2016 Eid Al-Fitr: Feast of Breaking the fast observed at the end of Ramadan Eid Al Ad-ha: Feast of Sacrifice observed during the pilgrimage to Mecca around September 9, 2016 July 1 st - Somali Independent Day

20 Many ideas are expressed through specific hand gestures. It is considered impolite to use curled index finger to call someone. It means inferior person Placing both index fingers parallel to one another to indicate "the same A swift twist of the open palm and wrist means "nothing" or "no A thumb under the chin indicates full to capacity Snapping fingers may mean "long ago or quickly Winking with opposite gender is discouraged

21 Maintaining physical space with the opposite gender at puberty and beyond Minimizing direct eye contact with opposite gender Feeling uncomfortable with gestures that include touching, especially from the opposite gender Many Muslims may feel great fear or discomfort around dogs and pigs due to the belief that the saliva and waste products of these animals are ritually impure and must be washed scrupulously before one can pray. Restrain dogs in close proximity to Muslims

22 If visiting a Mosque: Make an appointment Shoes are removed in prayer hall Dress modestly Men and women pray in separate areas or rows usually men in front for modesty People praying cannot respond to others until they finish

23 Knock and wait as the women may take to cover especially if the visitor is a man Remove shoes Home is considered a sanctuary for women May feel the aroma of incense used to make the house smell better

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25 1991 to present: Over one million people fled the country to the neighboring countries such as Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Yemen. Many people were internally displaced. Some are returning to Somalia now Over a million Somalis dispersed all over the world as refugees/immigrants. Most live in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Italy, Scandinavian countries, and the Middle East Refugee Camps: Dadaab in Kenya hosts nearly half a million Somali refugees and is the largest camp in the world

26 Coping with traumatic experiences related to civil war, torture, human rights violations, grief and loss, and detention while seeking asylum Illiteracy or interrupted education Long and often difficult process toward final settlement Loss of status and financial independence

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28 Employment opportunities Accommodating educational system Social and public services Existing community support system & family unification Early arrivals in census estimates 32,000 but community estimates more than 70,000 Areas of concentration: Twin Cities Metro, Rochester, Faribault, Owatonna, Marshall, St. Cloud, Willmar, Mankato

29 Health Diabetes Hypertension Mental illness Autisms spectrum Cultural Integrational gap Identity crisis with young people Change of social status Language and system navigation barriers Concerns about values and culture Education Special Education Lack of character and quality education

30 Jobs & Economic Development Economic hardships Lack of employment Low wages Concerns of racism and discrimination in the workforce for , put Somalis unemployment at 21 percent, about three times the rate for the general population during the same period of time.

31 Educational achievement a high priority for the Somali community Somali children enrolled in traditional public, public charter, and private schools Approximately15,000 students in K-12 Somalis enrolling in higher education institutions at increasing numbers

32 Parent Engagement: Barriers include the need for transportation, interpreting, and childcare Ablution: Ritual washing for prayer to be valid Daily Prayers (5 times a day) Muslims face NE (the direction of Mecca) Friday prayer performed with sermon and in a group setting between12:00 Noon and 2:00 PM

33 Special education: Stigma attached to it Music: Objection to taking music class or listening to musical instruments; Generally vocal and drum allowed Physical Education Class: Mix gender and dress concerns Arts Class: Objections to drawing humans and animals Dating and Dancing frowned upon (prom and valentines) Science Class: Evolution and experiment with pigs Health Education Class: Taboo to talk about sexuality Sounds confused between Somali and English /b/ Ben and /p/ pen; /f/ fan and /v/ van; /s/ sue and /z/ zoo

34 Students of color Gap between home life and school practice There is a huge gap between students home life and school practice for students of color, where school and home are like extensions of one another for middle class white students (McCarthey 1997). Immigrant students Deficit End In the school culture, immigrant students are looked at what they lack at the school, the deficit end (Kruizenga p. 4, 2010).

35 Somali Students Faith While Somali students are similar with other immigrant students, Somali children have other challenges in school. Their value and Islamic faith makes them different with their day-to-day school activities the social pressure (dating, premarital sex and alcohol) are complicated and contradictor to their faith (Kruizenga, 2010).

36 Parents lack of familiarity with education system in U.S. Placement by age rather than educational experience Unprepared youth may become disaffected English Language Learners Oral skills may develop faster than reading and writing domains

37 Become familiar with the struggles and challenges of the Somali refugee/immigrant students and their families Look deeper into factors that influence their academic achievement prior to developing and implementing any instructional or support services Initiate meaningful dialogue and further research on the educational outcomes and the instructional strategies that are effective for immigrant students in general and Somali students in particular Somali parents value education highly for their children. This is a huge advantage for Somali children. Empower parents and give them tools to be able to participate in their students education Invite credible sociological studies and academic advocacy groups that articulate the experience of Somalis in the U.S. or Minnesota

38 Multiple languages Somali immigrant children Speak Somali at home, study Arabic text at Quranic Schools and learn English at school. In order to work effectively with Somali children and their families, one has to know the literacy background of the children and their families (Moore, 2009). Resilience Strength based approach- Somali students and Somali families and refugees in general are viewed with deficit outlook! It would be essential for educators to be aware that in fact refugees, especially those who actually make it here are some of the most resilient people amongst us!

39 Recruiting more diverse staff Effectively utilizing community resources Appropriate educational strategies Increase cultural sensitivity Acknowledge the need to improve upon: Cultural awareness Cultural knowledge Cultural skills Devoting adequate institutional and individual resources to address needs Removing structural barriers (transportation, access to services, multilingual signs) Empowerment: give the individual and community tools to be able to participate in the process. adopted from PF Walker, MD, DTM&H

40 What makes your child successful in school? What are some barriers to your child s success in school? What improvements can be made to the school system to help your child succeed? What are you as a parent doing to help your child succeed in school?

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42 Parents' responses

43 Parents' Responses

44 Cross-Prompt Comparison of Most Frequently Assigned Codes to each Question Code Categories Success prompt Barriers prompt Improvements prompt Parenting prompt Parenting/Home 5 Good School 6 Parents Knowledge & Involvement 8 Lack of Communication (parent- teacher) 4 Lack of Resources both school & home 3 Screen Time 3 Communications (parent-teacher) 4 Diversity in the school staff 3 Personalized Education 3 Educational support 7 Routine Schedule 4 Relationship 3

45 Point I: Parents involve in their children s education; participate in the school activities; communicate with teachers; provide educational and financial support such as nutrition, safe and healthy environment, school material, and good livable home; create a routine schedule at home, and establish a good relationship with their children. Many of these points will depend on parents educational and economic background.

46 Point II: good school that have a welcoming environment in which students and parents feel belong school that respects all cultures. School that have a racially diverse staff, in which students can relate to and see as their role models. A school that provides quality of education which include having enough resources, teachers, personalized education that fits each student s needs. community and neighborhood can impact what school can offer

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