"Shanbaro" refers to the five Somali Bantu tribes and is the name that the families in Chelsea, Revere and Lynn, Massachusetts have recently chosen to call themselves in the United States.
Aweis Hussein, was invited to speak at a Thanksgiving week event at the Massachusetts State House sponsored by MIRA .
Here is the edited text of his speech which introduces his people to the people of Massachusetts:
My name is Aweis Hussein and I came to America with my wife, three children, and two brothers as a refugee in January 2004. We are part of the ethnic minority group called Somali Bantu. We lived in southern Somalia along the river valley.
My ancestors were brought to Somalia as slaves. We are considered the lowest class of people by other Somalis. For example, we had no access to education. We had no access to healthcare. We had no access to jobs. And so we became farmers growing corn, sesame, potatoes, beans, mango and other crops for subsistence to survive. In Somalia, Somali Bantu don’t commit crimes.
After the civil war erupted in the early 1990s, the Somali Bantu were the main target. We have been tortured, killed, and raped. Some of us were used as means of transportation. They would load our heads and backs with goods and force us to walk about 200 miles with heavy loads.
Those who survived had to walk about 20 days without food or water to the border of Kenya. As a result, many more of my people died along the way. At the border we met the relief agencies like UNHCR. However, as Somali Bantu we still faced discrimination in the refugee camp. And the rations were not enough to feed our large families so we had many worries. But the relief agencies provided us with schools where some of us, including myself, learned how to read and write English. Our first time to go to school was in the refugee camp, not in Somalia.
We had access to healthcare for the first time in our lives. We got the opportunity to write a petition to the United States to give us U.S. resettlement. Our petition was approved in 2001. After more than 10 years in the refugee camp, about 12,000 of us made it through the intense immigration interview process and got the chance to start a new life in the United States. However, many of our family members remain in the refugee camps without much hope for the future so we send what little money we have to help them.
The first Somali Bantu family came to Boston in November 2003. My family arrived in January 2004, the second family. Now there are about 70 families in the greater Boston area, mainly in Chelsea, Revere, Everett, and Lynn. We are very proud to be in the United States and very happy to be in Boston.
As a Somali Bantu we still face many difficulties to adjust. Almost 95% of my people can’t speak English and are not literate in our native language of Mai so it is hard for them to find a job to pay the high rent and bills. And many families are headed by single mothers so it is especially difficult for them.
Almost everything about the American way of life is new to us – computers, bank accounts, insurance, signatures, paperwork, rent and utilities. I am working two full-time jobs to support my family and taking a computer class to increase my skills. There are many new systems to learn, but we are quick learners and our Somali Bantu community supports each other. However, we ask for the Boston community’s help to overcome all these problems so we can reach self-sufficiency.
We have started a mutual assistance association called Shanbaro Community Association. Shanbaro means “five tribes,” representing the five tribes among Somali Bantu. The word Shanbaro symbolizes our unity, pride, hope, and future. Our dream is for Shanbaro to help us help ourselves.
We want to preserve our culture and traditions and provide services such as tutoring support to help our children succeed in school, interpretation and translation, affordable housing placement, transportation, job placement, and emergency financial assistance. Now our children go to school and learn everyday. When we are sick, we can see a doctor. And when we have been here for five years, we can become citizens of this country and participate in the government for the first time in our lives.
My wife and I had a baby exactly one year ago in the United States. I am proud that my son is an American citizen and will grow up with equal opportunity. We have a chance at a future and my family and I have a lot to be thankful for on this American Thanksgiving. Thank you for listening to my story.
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