CULTURE PROFILE| << | CHAPTER |
| SOMALI
BANTU
— THEIR HISTORY AND CULTURE
CULTURE PROFILE |
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CONTENTS | PREFACE | INTRODUCTION | LAND | PEOPLE | ECONOMY | HISTORY | RELIGION | DAILY LIFE & VALUES | LANGUAGE & LITERACY | EDUCATION | CROSS-CULTURAL CHALLENGES | GLOSSARY | BIBLIOGRAPHY | ORDER A PRINT COPY | ||||
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As a persecuted minority group in Somalia, the Bantu refugees had endured continual marginalization in Somalia since their arrival as slaves in the 19th century. |
In Africa, the Bantu-speaking peoples make up a major part of the population of nearly all African countries south of the Sahara. They belong to over 300 groups, each with its own language or dialect. Groups vary in size from a few hundred to several million. Among the best known are the Kikuyu, the largest group in Kenya; the Swahili, whose language is spoken throughout eastern Africa; and the Zulu of South Africa. The Somali Bantu can be subdivided into distinct groups. There are those who are indigenous to Somalia, those who were brought to Somalia as slaves from Bantu-speaking tribes but integrated into Somali society, and those who were brought to Somalia as slaves but maintained, to varying degrees, their ancestral culture, Bantu languages, and sense of southeast African identity. It is this last group of Bantu refugees that has particularly suffered persecution in Somalia and that is therefore in need of protection through resettlement. These Bantu originally sought resettlement to Tanzania in 1993 and 1994, and to Mozambique in 1997 and 1998, before they were considered for resettlement in the United States in 1999. As a persecuted minority group in Somalia, the Bantu refugees have endured continual marginalization in Somalia since their arrival as slaves in the 19th century. Although they have lived in Somalia for approximately two centuries, these Bantu are, in many ways, viewed and treated as foreigners. This history, coupled with their cultural, linguistic and physical differences, distinguishes them from other Somali refugees who have been resettled in the United States. The culture of subjugation under which most of them lived may present special challenges to their American resettlement caseworkers. Today, an estimated 300 Somali Bantu live in the United States. Of these, some have come as students, others have accompanied spouses or other family members, and a few have been resettled as refugees. The Somali Bantu, like other refugee groups, have tended to concentrate in urban areas. One of the largest concentrations is in Atlanta, Georgia, where the Bantu have established a community association, the Somali Bantu Community Organization, to assist newly resettled Somali Bantu refugees. The total number of Somalis living in the United States is estimated at 150,000, of whom about 40,000 are Somali refugees from the dominant clans. With tens of thousands of Somalis, Minneapolis has the largest Somali community in the United States. Other metropolitan areas with large numbers of Somalis include Columbus, Ohio, New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, San Diego, Atlanta, and Detroit. (For more information on Somalia in general, please see the Center for Applied LinguisticsÕ Culture Profile on Somali refugees.) Before the U.S. resettlement offer, faced with the prospect of indefinite residency in the refugee camps, some Bantu refugee families may have felt compelled to send members back to Somalia to try to claim their former farms. However, when asked in 1996 if Bantu refugees were still determined to resettle, a Bantu elder affirmed emphatically, ÒWe didnÕt know what freedom was; we have been let out of the cage and we donÕt want to go back in.Ó |
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The Cultural Orientation Project--http://www.culturalorientation.net,
for more information contact sanja@cal.org |