PURPOSE OF THIS WEBSITE
This Website was developed by students in The Ohio State University Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Multicultural class. The purpose of this Website is to inform Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists about Somalian culture in the United States and also to provide information, which will be helpful with speech-language assessment of the Somalian population.
SOMALIS IN THE WORLD
About 1 million Somalians live scattered around the world. Most of the Somalians live in countries that border Somalia, but there are also Somali communities in Europe and North America, Kenya, Ethiopia, Yemen, Djibouti, Egypt, Tanzania, Libya, Eritrea, and Uganda. The largest of the Somali communities is in Toronto, Canada, where over 10,000 Somali's have settled.
SOMALIS IN THE UNITED STATES
In 1920, the first Somali immigrants started coming to the United States and settled in the New York area to work in steel mills. In the 1960's, Somali students began coming to the US through the support of relatives living in the United States, through US government scholarships, or through UN scholarships. In the 1980's, Somalis were admitted to the US as refugees, and in 1990's, the number admitted was increased because of the Somalian civil war. Some of the highly populated Somali cities are New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Los Angeles, San Diego, Atlanta, and Detroit (www.culturalorientation.net). In the United States, Minneapolis has the largest influx of new immigrants. Typically, life in the United States will consist of Somali family that includes husband, wife children, cousins, aunts and uncles. Men are typically the head of the family, and women are not considered equal. The whole family wears western style clothing, but head coverings are still worn by women. Most Somalians follow the Islamic religion that consists of the following five pillars: the profession of faith; daily prayers; alms-giving; going on pilgrimage to Mecca; and keeping the fast of Ramona (Burrs & Kelly, 2001)
SOMALIS IN COLUMBUS
It is estimated that the area's Somali population is between 15,000-17,000 (Turnbull, 2001). In Columbus, they have established many businesses and also have established a Koranic Church. Columbus has the second largest population of Somalian immigrants due to its great job market and affordable cost of living. Somalians are a very close society, and they work to help each other in new environments. Average families range from six to seven children in a family. Somalian individuals will tend to move to cities where there is the most family support. |
