Preface

This booklet is a basic introduction to the people, history, and culture of Somalia. It is designed primarily for service providers and others assisting Somali refugees in their new communities in the United States.

The principal writers are Dr. Diana Briton Putman and Dr. Mohamood Cabdi Noor. Dr. Putman, a foreign service officer for the United States Agency for International Development, conducted doctoral research in the Baay Region of Somalia and also worked on various development projects between 1980 and 1983. Dr. Noor, a refugee from Somalia, works at the World Bank. He served at Somali National University as Vice President and as Dean of the College of Agriculture. He also served in the Somali government as Vice Minister for Agriculture. The opinions expressed in this booklet are those of the authors only, and do not represent USAID or World Bank official views or policy.

The section on the Somali language was written by Dr. David Zorc, a senior linguist at MRM, Inc., and Madina Osman, a Somali language consultant. Dr. Zorc and Ms. Osman are co-authors of a Somali-English dictionary.

Many people read and commented on drafts of the manuscript. In particular, we would like to thank: Dr. Ali Jimale Ahmed, Professor of Comparative Literature at Queens College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York; Dr. Charles Geshekter, Professor of African History at California State University, Chico; Dora Johnson, Program Associate at the Center for Applied Linguistics; Warren and Patricia Putman, who worked in Somalia for three years and know the people and culture well; William Sage, International Liaison for the Immigration and Refugee Program of Church World Service; Abby Thomas, who worked as a Peace Corps volunteer and development anthropologist in Somalia and is currently a PhD candidate at The American University; Elizabeth D. Thompson, Program Officer for African Admissions, Bureau for Refugee Programs, U.S. Department of State; and Nancy F. Weaver, Refugee Resettlement Caseworker at Lutheran Refugee and Immigration Services in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. We would also like to acknowledge Sarah Neal of the Center for Applied Linguistics for her valuable copyediting and proofreading assistance.

Finally, we would like to thank the Bureau for Refugee Programs, U.S. Department of State, whose support made this guide possible.

Donald A. Ranard, Editor

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