On Somali Street, a mall rests inside a wide, blue bungalow. There, different vendors in stalls sell traditional clothes, food items, and duvets. A few feet away, a two-story brick building houses the Masjid Darul-Quba mosque and a cultural center. Opposite the mall, several mothers stroll with their children in a small park.
Signs for Somali restaurants and other small businesses dot more streets. Minnesota is home to 69, Somali Americansβabout 40 percent of the Somalis living in the United States. Several people stopped to say hello.
The war began when rival militias pushed out the military dictatorship led by Siad Barre. The resulting political vacuum spurred the rise of several armed groups asserting control across the country. The bloodshed and ensuing famine sent millions of refugees out of the country, including to the United States. Remnants from some of the armed groups formed the al-Qaeda-backed al-Shabaab, which continues to target government and security forces in Somalia.
In , he launched Somali Link Radio , a weekly English program that talks about public affairs and hosts Somali guests in public service and other fields. That same year, the neighborhood experienced its worst year of violent crimes, with 97 incidents that included aggravated assault and robbery. Authorities attributed the surge to rival Somali gangs in the area. Half of the U. Somali population is 22 or younger, according to the Census Bureau. In the last two years he and some partners have provided bicycles to young people.
Down the street, the Brian Coyle Community Center also serves as a central gathering spot for the youth. Young people have access to an open gym on Friday nights, weekend nights-out, and a new teen tech center. Ahmed Mussa, health and wellness coordinator at the center, told me some of the older women in the community run a motherhood program that keeps an eye out on the youth late in the evening until about midnight.
