Times Staff Writer
 Sharing Dan Barker/Fort Morgan Times Susan Anderson, middle, talked to Fort Morgan Lions Club members about how they can help welcome Somali refugees to the area. Club President Kathy Thompson is at left and Lion Vernon Tryon is at right. Volunteers are needed to tutor refugees, go shopping with them to teach them the commercial system and to teach them the rules of the road among other things. |
Lutheran
Family Services of Colorado has an office in Fort Morgan to aid the
Somali refugees who have moved into town but could use a hand from
residents to help the newcomers assimilate.
Somali refugees fled
from their homeland starting fin 1991 when civil war broke out with
clan warfare. The adults spent many years in refugee camps — where the
average stay is 20 years — and were carefully screened before being
allowed to immigrate to the U.S., said Susan Anderson, case management
administrator, during the Fort Morgan Lions Club meeting Friday.
Somalis
have become nomadic and have assimilated to their surroundings. For
instance, the women did not used to wear the Islamic robes which are
now seen on the streets in Fort Morgan. That dress came after some of
them fled to Saudi Arabia, and they were influenced by that
conservative Islamic culture.
The war also made them more
conservative in their religion. At one point, Somalia was fairly
westernized, but that changed under the stress of the war, Anderson
said.
Now the Somalis have to assimilate once again, and Fort Morgan volunteers can pitch in, she said.
People can also help out with donations of items such as beds, furniture, clothing and coats. The refugees come to the U.S. with very little, Anderson said.
Right now, most of the Somalis are young men following the relatively high-pay jobs at Cargill Meat Solutions. There are fewer than 15 children out of 200 people. The young men are waiting to bring family members, but in the meantime are supporting a lot of other people by sending money back to family and even back to the refugee camps where family and friends need aid, she said.
“They don’t just think about themselves,” Anderson said.
Growth in the Somali population in Fort Morgan has not boomed as expected earlier. Many of the men have been lured to the Swift Company meat packing plant in Greeley, she said.
However, those who are here say they like the fact that it is a smaller, peaceful city, Anderson said.
Somalis have a great respect for elders and their own community structure, which continues in the U.S. The Fort Morgan group set up a committee of elders and elected a representative leader, she said.
Somalis have a very oral communication system. When one person hears or experiences something, it will be about a day before all of the Somalis have heard about it, Anderson said.
Nonetheless, they need to learn the cultural aspects of the area, as local residents need to understand some of the culture of the Africans, she said.
OneMorgan County, in conjunction with LFS, is sponsoring workshops for the Somalis to learn about American culture. Recently, the local health agencies taught how to use the health system, and a workshop on American laws is planned, Anderson said.
Somalis can adapt, but they do have certain customs which people should understand. First and foremost are the ways of Islam. Muslims pray five times a day and have purification rites when they come into forbidden contact, she said.
For instance, men and women do not shake hands often, because under certain circumstances they must then ritually wash themselves, which can be inconvenient. Only shake the hand of the opposite gender if the Somali extends a hand first, Anderson said.
The Somalis moving to Fort Morgan are not necessarily uneducated people. Some were physicians and lawyers before the civil war broke out, although there are also women who were never allowed education. A number of the Somalis are learning English through a Morgan Community College program, she said.
It is important that people reach out to bridge the cultural gap. She encourages people to introduce themselves and be open to gently teaching them the cultural ways of the area, Anderson said.
“It’s very important to welcome the stranger,” she said.
“You might be entertaining angels,” Anderson said, quoting the Bible. “Open up your arms; open up your hearts.”
Those who wish to volunteer or make donations can call Anderson at 303-225-0191.
SOURCE: Fort Morgan Times, November 6, 2007