Our Somali Community

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A series of reflections about immigration, life in Minnesota, and parenting from the perspectives of parents an grandparents from African immigrant community in East Grand Forks Minnesota.

  1. 11/26/2025

    Deka's Story

    Deka Ali lives in the northwestern town of East Grand Forks Minnesota.   As a Somali immigrant, interpreter and community organizer, she has gained the respect of her rural community for bringing people together.  In 2025 Deka is working with In Progress to identify and guide families through an intergenerational storytelling project focused on sharing stories of immigration, cultural identity and place.  Her daughter Sana Nür and son Sajid Nür collected her story and shares it here as part of the Waterers Oral Histories Program.

    Deka's Story

  2. 11/25/2025

    Mohamed's Story

    Mohamed Yusaf engaged youth of his community in a light-hearted, fast-moving conversation among Somali and Arabic-speaking community members who weave together jokes, memories, and references to daily life, migration, and cultural identity. Through playful banter Mohamed reflect the energy, humor, and resilience of Somali diaspora life. The exchange highlights how shared language, storytelling, and cultural pride help them stay connected across places and generations.

    Mohamed's Story

  3. 11/25/2025

    Rashida's Story

    Rashida's Story represents a short interview between two generations of Somali women as they reflect on their experiences as immigrants balancing faith, community life, and the challenges of building a future in America. They speak about the pressures they face and the importance of staying connected to Somali culture, community centers, and religious practices. Despite hardships, they express determination, resilience, and a desire to find belonging while supporting their families.

    Rashida's Story

  4. 11/25/2025

    Anav's Story

    Anav Ahmed is mother, health worker and Somali immigrant who migrated from the country of Kenya to East Grand Forks Minnesota in 2008.  She shared some of her story with her daughter Najma Ahmed as part of the Waterers Oral Histories Program.

    Anav's Story

  5. 11/24/2025

    Your Mother Is Your Wall

    One story that happened to me when I was sixteen years old. We were a group of young kids fooling around. We all do that. We get in trouble. Actually, we went to the Perkins and I did tell this story to my kids because one of them was older than us. She was seventeen and she got the food stamp and she thought the food stamp was the credit card. So she was like, she invited us to the Perkins. And she was like, let's go eat. And we went there. We ordered food, whatever they want. And then the pay time came and she handed the food stamp and the guy was like, you can't buy food with this food. And basically everyone mother came and she paid for it. And no one paid for it for me because I didn't have a mother. I ended up washing the dishes for a whole week. I remember saying that I wish the grave have a phone that I could call my mom. So I ended up washing the dishes. And then they started blaming on me, even though I wasn't me, the one who came up with the first card. It was so weird. So basically when when we get trouble, people pick on me all the time because I was an easy target, where the other kids have their mothers backing up and say, hey, don't talk to my child like that. So, like I said, you will never know when that time comes. So be kind to your parents. Be kind to your parents, especially to your mother, because your mother is your wall. She will take the bullet for you. And and I can say that because I've been through it. --Deka Ali / mother & cultural navigator from East Grand Forks Minnesota

    Your Mother Is Your Wall

  6. 11/24/2025

    Refugee Camp

    So we fled to Kenya, which is a neighbor to Somalia. So we went there. You have to go through in a lot of process in order to get to the United States. So it's not like that. Oh, I'm just going to get a ticket. I have a passport. No. So you have to go through a lot of process, which is the refugee camp. It's the part of the process. So when we fled in Somalia, I was only nine months. So we stayed from nine months to six years old to refugee camp. So it took us six years to get here in the United States. So basically I grew up in my childhood, before I get to United States in a refugee camp, there was no water, no food. There's not that much shelter. There's no housing. So people literally live in the tents. So in the morning when you wake up, you have to go in a line and get water and get food and then come back. So that was kind of in my childhood. That was not fun. So when we get here in Minnesota, it was me and my siblings. --Deka Ali / mother & cultural navigator from East Grand Forks Minnesota

    Refugee Camp

  7. 11/24/2025

    On My Own

    Basically. I grew up by myself. I have to figure out everything by myself. You can imagine being a fourteen year old because my oldest son and I, we only thirteen years apart, and a parent to myself, I didn't have anyone to give me advice. I didn't have anyone. I can go back to it when I'm going through so much. I didn't have anyone that I can cry to it and go back to it, and I didn't have anybody ever hold me and told me I love you besides my kids. So basically, it's just like this world against the fourteen year old and no one to hold you, no one to support you, no one to guide you no one to give you advice. And that's why in my job I take very seriously. I love the kids I work with. I care about them. Sometimes I push them, I yell at them but the reason I'm doing that because no one did that for me. Like if I was in trouble, I didn't have anyone to call to. Well, some kids have their parents. They can just give them a call and say, come save me. So basically, I feel like I'm going to give a credit myself because I feel like I did a phenomenal job in myself. --Deka Ali / mother & cultural navigator from East Grand Forks Minnesota

    On My Own

  8. 11/24/2025

    My Sister

    My sister was amazing. She was really amazing woman. She had so much responsibility on herself because she was the oldest out of the eight children, and all of them were younger than her. And you can understand as her being seventeen, having her three children, because when my parents passed away, my sister was only seventeen. And rest of us. We become her responsibility and understand that coming to the United States, lack of education, lack of the language, being responsible of eight children without a parent. I feel like my sister tried her best. There is always challenging misunderstanding all that. Sometimes as me being a teenager, like you're not my parents, you're my sister. You can't be boss on me all that. Basically, I grew up by myself. I have to figure out everything by myself. --Deka Ali / mother & cultural navigator from East Grand Forks Minnesota

    My Sister
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About

A series of reflections about immigration, life in Minnesota, and parenting from the perspectives of parents an grandparents from African immigrant community in East Grand Forks Minnesota.

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  • Creator
    In Progress
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2025 In Progress
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    Our Somali Community