KEEP IT REAL

     When the government in Somalia collapsed in 1990 because of warring clans, hundreds of thousands Somali-Bantu fled to nearby Kenya, walking hundreds of miles to escape persecution. Twelve thousand Somali-Bantus spent more than ten years waiting in refugee camps while the U.N. searched for a country to resettle them in. Originally from areas surrounding Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia, Arab traders brought the Somali-Bantu to Somalia as slaves in the 19th century, resulting in widespread and dramatic discrimination. Most vowed that they would never return even if peace were ever restored.

 

     When the Bantu were preparing to leave Kenya for the United States in 2002, the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) described their new challenge:

“The Bantu now face a frightening cultural chasm. Most cannot read, write, or speak English. They are sturdy farm workers with few other skills, who have never turned on an electric light switch, used a flush toilet, crossed a busy street, ridden in a car or on an elevator, seen snow or experienced air conditioning… [but for them] the choice between America and Somalia is ‘between the fire and paradise.’”

 

     And that’s where we come in. America is hardly paradise, but to the Somali-Bantu, it very well could be. Many things we take for granted are things many of these people could never fathom, like the advantage of having a proper education or the ability to freely play a sport. The transition to life in America, for anyone, is a difficult one. But for the Somali-Bantu, we’re here to make that transition a little bit easier.