Twin Cities World (Africa) Refugee Day Celebrations

What is today known as International or World Refugee Day was first declared as African Refugee Day by the African Union. Africa hosts the most refugees in the world and in 2001 the African Union and UN agreed to have International Refugee Day coincide with the June 20th Africa Refugee Day.

Minnesota is home to many large refugee populations and has the highest proportion of refugees compared to immigrants in the US. Minnesota has the largest Somali population, 2nd largest Hmong population, one of the largest Liberian populations and pretty decent sized East African populations. In fact, the fastest growing group of immigrants in MN are from Africa. If you’d like to read more stats check out the state demographer’s center or the office of refugee resettlement website.

You can celebrate the Twin Cities diversity by at the 3rd annual Twin Cities World Refugee event at Minnehaha Park.  Here’s a snap shot of the schedule.

Saturday, June 20, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

11 a.m.-2 p.m. – Immigrant resource fair and global cultural displays

12-3 p.m. – Diverse music and dance performances

3 p.m. – Main program, featuring speakers from six prominent refugee communities, spoken word and break dancing

4:30 p.m. – Live music by Marimba Africa

For more information click here

Al Jazeera’s Rageh Omaar in Minneapolis

This is a short notice, I just learned about this event (scroll to the bottom of this page for details on event). Rageh Omaar is an internationally renowned reporter. He worked for the BBC for a few years where he covered the conflicts in Somalia and Iraq. However, what makes Omaar stand out and what has made him, perhaps one of the best investigative reporters on broadcast, is his work on Al Jazeera.

Somali Woman’s Illness and A Family’s Quest for Healing

Joel Grostephan

New America MediaST.CLOUD, Minn. — Samira Iman was missing for nearly two years. The 31-year-old Somali didn’t run away. She wasn’t kidnapped. She didn’t go to Africa to fight in Somalia’s decades-old civil war. She was living in St. Cloud, Minn., in a group home for the mentally ill. But Samira’s family lost track of her, and mental health officials did not help them locate her.

ST.CLOUD, Minn. — Samira Iman was missing for nearly two years. The 31-year-old Somali didn’t run away. She wasn’t kidnapped. She didn’t go to Africa to fight in Somalia’s decades-old civil war. She was living in St. Cloud, Minn., in a group home for the mentally ill. But Samira’s family lost track of her, and mental health officials did not help them locate her.

One day in the fall of 2007, Samira fainted at the poultry processing plant where she had begun working. She was taken to a hospital, where she was diagnosed with mental illness, according to her family. After she was discharged, she was either sent to a group home or released on to the street, but not to her family. When her younger brother, Yahya Iman, tried to find out where she was, Stearns County Human Services cited government privacy laws and would give no information.

Helping victims of torture, from Minnesota to the world

Jaclyn Evert , TC Daily Planet

From counseling torture victims in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to fixing bikes for political refugees in Minneapolis, the Center for Victims of Torture provides healing services that reach around the world.

CVT provides free mental health treatment to victims of politically motivated torture in centers and partnership programs in the United States, Latin America, Asia, and Eastern Europe, with a specific focus in Africa. CVT is the first organization in the United States and the third worldwide to focus on providing mental health services to victims of torture.