The Somali story (Minneapolis, St. Paul, Eden Prairie: crime, home, employment)

[brikag]

We wanted to hear from the general MSP population about the Somali gangs. Is the situation that dire we should be concerned of moving to MSP? We don't look for trouble. We would stay out of troubled or questionable areas. Is the whole situation blown out of proportion due to fears and MEDIA ratings? Or is it a genuine concern that my family members should carry protection?

Any feedback of these questions is greatly appreciated.

[Minnehahapolitan]

No. Generally, Somalis are good and upstanding citizens. There is a small number of Somali gangs, but negligable in comparison to other groups. If Mpls. has gang problems it is with Blacks and Hispanics. The latter is the worst problem, as it is growing. Our gangs are no more violent than any other city, and certainly no reason to avoid the city as a whole. If you look at where a majority of Somalis live (Cedar Riverside, in less numbers in Phillips) The neighborhoods are fairly safe. In the case of Phillips, it is not Somalis. You are certainly right about the media ratings, don't fall for hype.

[TimtheGuy]

Our cities (MSP & St. Paul) are relatively small surrounded by a LARGE suburban area. The combined population of MSP & St. Paul is only about 800k or less while the entire metro is about 3mil.

Move to the suburbs and you won't realize much of a Somali presence or much gang presence at all. Especially if you go to the second tier suburbs.

[swede32]

Originally Posted by TimtheGuy

Our cities (MSP & St. Paul) are relatively small surrounded by a LARGE suburban area. The combined population of MSP & St. Paul is only about 800k or less while the entire metro is about 3mil.

Move to the suburbs and you won't realize much of a Somali presence or much gang presence at all. Especially if you go to the second tier suburbs.

Are you serious? I have lived in Southwest Minneapolis my whole life and the only time I even see Somalia's is the cab driver when I take a cab somewhere. All the Somalis in Mpls only live in one little area off 94 near downtown. The rest of them are all out in the burbs in Hopkins or Eden Prairie

[Mojo Riley]

Originally Posted by brikag

We wanted to hear from the general MSP population about the Somali gangs. Is the situation that dire we should be concerned of moving to MSP? We don't look for trouble. We would stay out of troubled or questionable areas. Is the whole situation blown out of proportion due to fears and MEDIA ratings? Or is it a genuine concern that my family members should carry protection?

Any feedback of these questions is greatly appreciated.

Lol, no you don't need to "carry protection" to defend yourself against roving Somali gangs here. While I've heard a *small* handful of new stories about crimes committed by Somalis, the VAST majority that I've met are hardworking "model minorities." They are quiet, respectful, polite, decent people, most of whom came from horrific conditions in their home country that most of us can't begin to imagine and simply to better their situation through hardwork and education. They have my utmost respect. I have noticed that Somalis here are very frustrated with American blacks, and don't seem to want to be associated with them.

Let me put it this way- I would never cross the street in abject fear if I saw a "gang" of Somalis coming my way, but I can't say the same about certain other groups in the Twin Cities sadly...

[golfgal]

In my experience the Somali's as a whole are highly educated and are working hard to learn English in order to find better paying jobs. We had a family in our old town, dad was an Olympic marathoner and a physicist but because he lacked English skills is working in a turkey processing plant. He is the most upbeat, positive person you have ever met. For the many cultural differences the Somali population seems to be one of the most 'assimilated' immigrant groups.

[TimtheGuy]

Are you serious? I have lived in Southwest Minneapolis my whole life and the only time I even see Somalia's is the cab driver when I take a cab somewhere. All the Somalis in Mpls only live in one little area off 94 near downtown. The rest of them are all out in the burbs in Hopkins or Eden Prairie

If you read my post I am pretty sure I did not mention ANYTHING about S. MPLS. I also did not say anything about the Somalis being bad people. I think the original poster is mislead by "Somali gang activity". Probably read some overzealous media report.

I did say if you want to avoid Somalis and any gangs in general that 2nd teir suburbs would be a good choice. I live in Hastings. I am not sure if their is a single Somali person in town and I am positive there is not a single "gang" in town. Here again, I certainly would not mind if there were Somalis in town. As Mojo and Golfgal point out they are generally good/non-violent people.

I will say that there is no question that living in S. MPLS will put you in closer proximity to gangs and crime activity.

[brikag]

I would like to thank all of your input. My partner and I were looking at some media sources about the immigration groups of the mid-west and were impressed that local and state gov't. were taking a postive role of their assimulation. We just wanted to hear the public view of the situation. But, our assumptions were correct that the Somali group is a peaceful and respectful group just as you mentioned in your previous reports. We are glad to hear it from you! Now, we just have to get over the cold winters for us to move out there in MSP.

Once again, thank you for your pleasant thoughts. Have a wonderful spring!

[internat]

It would be ignorant to associate them with African-Americans. They are recent immigrants with a different history. The ancestors of African-Americans were also not from the Horn of Africa. It's also easy to distinguish them from physical features. There's a very high unemployment rate among Somalians living in North-western Europe. One cannot just blame Somalians though. Immigrant groups in Europe tend to have a higher unemployment rate than natives. It's often the other way around in America. There is also problem with the use (mainly through chewing) of the drug khat or qat among Somalians. Sure, in Europe there might be a problem with immigrants using the social welfare system. Minneapolis may have also received Somalians of a different social background. In any case, it's good to know they are doing better in Minneapolis. One must also take discrimination, immigration policies, and entreprenurial opportunities into consideration.

I read an interesting article on immigration and unemployment. Somalians are used as an example. Var vill du helst vara somalier - i Minneapolis eller Falun? in Dalademokraten (Swedish paper) with the title where do you prefer to be Somalian - in Minneapolis or Falun? The article is in Swedish. I will do a rough translation below for those who don't understand the language.

Hundred thousand of Somalians fled their home country in the early 1990's. Nearly 20 thousand settled in Sweden and about the same in Minneapolis around the old Swedish districts. Benny Clarkson, researcher in economic history of ideas, have studied how it went for them. The Somalians who came to Sweden had a very difficult time to enter the labour market. Only 1 in 10 Somalians were employed in the middle of 1990's. This number has gradually increased to 30 %, less than half of the unemployment rate of Sweden.

The employment rate among Somalians in Minneapolis is around the double the Somalians in Sweden. The Somalians in Minneapolis have got a reputation of being a hard-working ethnic group. According to Benny Clarkson it's explained by great differences in entrepenurialship. There are hardly 40 self-employed Somalians in Sweden. In Minneapolis on the other hand, around 800 companies are run by Somalians. The number of companies is also increasing. It's in the field of road carrying, restaurants, grocery stores, and even Somalian malls.

Not only Somalians are met with difficulties in Sweden. According to OECD the unemployment rate among male immigrants were 16 % and 13 % among females in early years of 2000's, which was considerably higher than the average unemployment rate of around 5 %.

The last 5 years almost 800 Somalians have chosen to move from Sweden to Britain according to the National Central Bureau of Statistics (statistiska centralbyrån). For example, after a long period of unemployment the interpreter Madal Suleiman chose to move to Birmingham, where he has opened a mobile telephone story at the same time he's working as an interpreter. In an interview with Swedish ratio Ekot Madal justify his decision in the following way: One doesn't feel good when one doesn't have a job and it's the main reason we have moved. If there were jobs in Sweden I would have never moved here.

In conclusion, one doesn't feel good or part of society without a job. I think many social problems are related to long-term unemployment.

Originally Posted by Mojo Riley

I have noticed that Somalis here are very frustrated with American blacks, and don't seem to want to be associated with them.

[Lillietta]

The police chief in Mpls gave a seminar on gang activity in the Twin Cities which I attended two years ago. Largest group is Asian; second - Hispanic; third African-American; fourth - white; fifth Native American. Somalis weren't mentioned at the time.