Kafia Mahamed, left, and Asho Ali look for houses in Green Bay as part of their finance class assignment during a summer class at West High School in Green Bay.
Green Bay Press Gazette
Monday, August 08, 2011
She is from Somalia, a country on the Horn of Africa that has been in civil war since 1991. It put Mahamed and her family in jeopardy, and she was even wounded.
"I got shot in my leg," she said. "I was standing in the middle of crossfire."
Life in the Somali capital of Mogadishu is never consistent during war. People never know when a gun could be fired or when a bomb could go off.
"It's possible not to hear a shot for three months," she said. "Or sometimes you hear shooting every day for three months."
Mahamed is among 71 Somali refugees who have moved to Brown County since 1995, according to the state Department of Children and Families. This year alone, 32 have made Brown County home.
"There is a problem area in Somalia," said Karen Johnston, director of Catholic Charities in Green Bay. "They are arriving in great numbers to the United States, and over the past year in Green Bay, we have resettled six cases including 26 individuals."
Catholic Charities is one of many organizations that help facilitate new arrivals to the United States. They help find housing and jobs, as well as health services provided by the federal government.
"We help make the process welcoming and less isolating," Johnston said. "A lot of them come scared, and we need to provide assurance that they're safe here."
That reassurance is needed because of the place they left.
The education system deteriorated after the war started, and health services were nearly nonexistent.
"One of my daughters is mentally sick," Mahamed said. "I cannot live without a doctor; because of that, I left."
Firdosa Hussein, a friend of Mahamed who also relocated to the area, says because of the war, basic necessities like doctors or schools are not available. That is a big reason so many families want to leave.
"All the clinics are blown up," Hussein said. "You can't help a child that's mentally disabled if there's no doctors."
Desperate to find better opportunities for herself and her children, Mahamed made a tough decision to move them to Cairo four years ago before ultimately coming to Green Bay last year.
"I am happy here," she said. "I don't want to move anywhere else."
Settling down
Since 1995, 698 Somali refugees have come to Wisconsin. Most have settled in Milwaukee.
"Milwaukee is a little bit different than Green Bay," said Abdul Nur, a Somali refugee and graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. "It has a lot of culture, and when you learn English as a second language, all of your buddies are on the same level you are. The person right next to me is struggling with the same thing I am, and we have something in common."
Nur is considered by many to be the first Somali in Green Bay. After coming to Milwaukee in 1986 to attend school, he met his wife and moved north.
He is among hundreds of Somali refugees in Green Bay considered "second migration refugees" who settle in one city after leaving Somalia and then move to another.
Although there is no way to track how many of these refugees are in the area, places like the Green Bay School District can provide an indication through enrollment numbers. At the end of the 2009-10 school year, the district had 18 Somali students. In the school year that ended in June, the number jumped to 220.
"The education is good here," 10-year-old Mohamed Hassan said. "Education is number one."
Hassan is also a second migration refugee.
He and his family left Somalia in 2010 to go to Columbus, Ohio, before they moved to Green Bay three months ago. Like many boys his age, he enjoys playing outside — soccer especially.
"I love soccer," he said. "It's my passion."
The group Literacy Green Bay also has seen an increase in the number of Somalis in the Green Bay area. It operates at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College and provides adult tutoring and English language classes. In 2010, 12 Somalis were registered. This year, 42 are enrolled so far.
"They will learn English, improve their basic skills in reading and writing," said Jennifer Nelson, the director of Literacy Green Bay. They're also able to "participate in their children's education and become more employable because of gaining these benefits."
Mahamed is taking English classes at NWTC, as well as child care classes. She says she wants to make life easier for Somali families here in Green Bay and is planning to open a child care center specifically for these families.
When she first got to Green Bay, Mahamed said, it was difficult to find a child care center that understood the Somali culture and their needs. They do not eat pork, and pray five times a day. Because of those differences and others, she said she wants her child care center to be the perfect place for Somali children.
Fitting in
Coming to Green Bay has been a drastic cultural shock to some Somalis. Many women wear headscarves called hijabs that conceal their hair. Some young people say people stare at them when they walk around Green Bay.
"I don't like them looking at me," said 17-year-old Asho Ali. "I doesn't make me feel good."
Others have different reactions.
"They stare at us, and not just a quick look," said 17-year-old Kafia Mahamed. "They are just curious about our culture."
Firdumo Mahamed and Nur say they are here to stay in Green Bay.
"I am a Packer fan," Nur said, laughing. "If you're going to be here, and go around Green Bay, and want to have a lot of friends, then you better be a Packer fan."
For the younger Somalis, they are a little more curious to see other parts of the world.
Hassan wants to tour Europe, Kafia Mahamed wants to go to Minneapolis, and Ali wants to go home.
Ali was born in Kenya and has never been to Somalia. However, she longs to go to her people's homeland.
"I am Somali," she said. "Somalia is home."