Swedish delegates study Somali success in Minnesota

by Issa A. Mansaray
Contributing Writer

Twin Cities Somalis’ business and educational pursuits inspire visitors

Minnesota is home to about 25,000 Somalis, about half of the more than 50,000 Somalis in Sweden. The Somalis are considered one of that country’s largest refugee populations.

Harald Fredriksson, manager and council member of the Southern Småland Region, said 80,000 people enter Sweden each year, and 20,000 of them are refugees.

Johan Walter, handling officer of the Swedish Migration Board, estimates that 47 percent of this year’s refugees came from Somalia.

In the interest of thousands of Somali refugees in the Scandinavian country, 23 Swedish delegates, including politicians, academics and representatives from nonprofit organizations, came to the Twin Cities on October 15-22 to learn about the successes of the Somali community in Minnesota. They wanted to learn how Somalis are adapting in Minnesota as compared to the 50,000 Somalis that live in Swedish communities.

“It is a very diverse group, and they are here with one mission: to learn the unique entrepreneur successes of the Somali community,” said Ramala Bile, communication and fund development manager at the Africa Development Center (ADC). “The system works for them [here in Minnesota]. Also, the community is large enough for them to support each other’s businesses.”

Swedish professor Benny Carlson, who led the delegation, first learned of the “vibrant Somali community” on his first trip to the Twin Cities in 2005.

Carlson said many Swedes do not know about the Somalis in Minnesota.

“The first step was to bring this message that there was a vibrant Somali community in Minnesota back to Sweden,” said Carlson, a professor at Lund University’s School of Economics and Management in Sweden. In 2007, Carlson and others conducted a study to obtain and disseminate information about Somalis in Sweden. The aim was also to “inspire” them because, according to Carlson, “They sometimes find their situation rather hopeless.”

“We want to find out about the Somali American community,” said Fredriksson. “We’ll be here to study the ways of the Minnesota Somali shopping centers.”

“This group came from Sweden to study about the Somali American community, which is part of the African American community of America,” added Hussein Samatar, director of ADC. “This is a great group. They came to learn, and we also learn a lot from them.”

During the two-week visit, the delegates, hosted by the ADC and its staff, visited various Somali businesses and the Cedar-Riverside area where many Somalis reside. They were impressed with much of what they saw, including the Midtown Global Market, which they described as a “very good local model.”

The example of local government taking the risk of investing in such a marketplace is something they would like to replicate in Sweden.

“We have learned a lot from them [Somali Americans],” said Rahma Dirie, a Swedish Somali and Stockholm council member, during a press conference at the ADC’s office, “to inspire the Somalis in Sweden.”

Somalia’s endless war has seen many of its citizens fleeing the country and seeking refuge in many European Union countries including Sweden, where their population continues to grow. “[This has] created an urge to find new solutions,” said Carlson, who preferred to study development among Twin Cities Somalis rather than those in neighboring EU countries.

“We want to see something different,” he said, “something that works.”

“People here are more organized than we are in Sweden,” said Dirie, comparing the Somali youths in her adopted country and in Minnesota.

“The Somali youths are competitive in studying [in the States]. And they have great role models.”

The delegates said they have seen a range of differences between the Somalis in Sweden and those in the Twin Cities from education to business. Dirie said most of the Somalis she met here are either pursuing or completing their higher education.

Dirie believes many of them are motivated to follow the new American culture, while few Somalis in Sweden pursue higher education. “We have some that are doing their higher education, but not as much as here [in the U.S.]. Here they are more dynamic and motivated to educate themselves,” said Dirie who thinks the lack of role models is also part of their problem in Sweden.

“I think over there [in Sweden], people can survive whether they have education or not. The lack of role models is part of it. We have to motivate people there… People need to educate themselves if they want to be part of the society.”

The Somali community in Minnesota is very young, on average less than 20 years old. Somalis have been in the Twin Cities and America for many years, but a large number arrived in the ’90s. Compared to other groups that found their way to the States earlier, the Somalis are said to be doing well in improving their situation in Minnesota, although with constant challenges. Many are adapting but can’t change their culture.

“They started businesses, became homeowners, and they participate in the labor market more than native-born Americans,” opined Samatar.

“There are over 700 African students at the University of Minnesota, and many of them are Somalis.”

One thing that hinders the progress of Somalis in Sweden is the social welfare system, according to the delegates. Many Swedes are not used to starting businesses; they first of think of work before thinking of starting a business.

Thus, many Somalis followed the trend in their host country, looking for jobs rather than starting businesses as their Twin Cities compatriots did.

“Many people say it doesn’t matter whether you work or not, your life standard is the same,” said Dirie. “Here, people I talk to say they have to work hard. That motivates people to do more.”

After their study trip, delegate Kenny Sioberg plans to establish a multiethnic shopping mall similar to those he observed in Minneapolis to provide work for the Swedish Somalis. The group had a big task, because there is a lot to learn about the elements contributing to Somalis’ successes here.

For example, they learned that “You don’t need to be fluent in English to be a successful entrepreneur in America,” said Bile. “I think that differs from Sweden. They put more emphasis on the language. Language is very important and something that we should encourage and support, but it is not the only thing that matters. You can still be successful if language is a barrier.”

The trip was inspirational to the two Swedish Somalis, who are not used to seeing Somalis studying in many academic areas and holding higher offices in Sweden. “When people have the right tools, they can definitely succeed,” said Bile.

Issa Mansaray welcomes reader responses to theafricapaper@yahoo.com.