So Many Somali in Minneapolis, Minnesota

Image by PhotosByJeremiah

Minneapolis, Minnesota, has an impressively large population of German and Scandinavian descent, but as of late the city’s growing population of Somali immigrants has been drawing attention.

Acting as a sort of gateway for immigrants coming to the US, Minneapolis has experienced a population surge in the last couple of decades, with the number of the city’s foreign-born residents increasing by 127 percent between 1990 and 2000. And immigration from Somalia has played one of the most prominent roles in this surge, influencing the culture and economy of the city.

How Somali Immigrants Came to Minnesota

The majority of Somali immigrants, or descendants of Somali immigrants, currently living in the US are still relatively new to the country. It was with the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in the 1990s that Somali immigrants first began flocking to the US in large numbers.

In this short period of time, however, Somali immigrants have managed to forge a significant, lasting presence in the US, with the 2010 American Community Survey estimating there to be 85,700 immigrants from Somalia, or descendants of Somali immigrants, in the country today. That means the US hosts the 7th largest Somali community in the world.

Of all the Somalis living in the US today, a bit less than a third (~25,000) call Minnesota their home, with the majority residing in Minneapolis. California, Ohio and Washington all have significant Somali populations as well, but the numbers are not nearly as great as those boasted by Minnesota.

Somali Life in Minneapolis

With the country’s largest population of Somali immigrants (and their descendants), Minneapolis has been deeply influenced by the presence of its vibrant Somali community. Somali immigrants residing in the city have opened up hundreds of shops and businesses, bolstering the city’s economy and introducing unique products to the Minneapolis market.

Where you would once expect to see solely European specialties such as lutefisk and bratwurst, you can now find halal meat, Somali-influenced clothing and jewelry, and Somali films and music. Services such as money transfer agencies have also been opened by Somali immigrants, likely in order to provide support to family members living in Somalia.

Enabling Equality and Avoiding Miscommunication

In order to help ensure that all of the city’s residents receive equal treatment and opportunities, employing professional Somali-English translators and interpreters would be beneficial in a number of areas, including medical treatment facilities and courts of law. When issues of health or legality are at hand, it is especially important that the interpreting and/or translating be done by experts with the proper experience and specialized vocabularies – bilingual friends and relatives are never enough!

In some cases, a person’s cultural background can come into conflict with a company’s policies. In such cases, professional translation services can be employed preemptively to help prevent simple misunderstandings from escalating to unnecessarily drastic levels. For example, if a company’s policy manual or handbook has been properly translated, potential issues such as uniform policies or dress codes can be addressed early on.

Somali immigrants are already becoming integrated into the fabric of our great immigration nation. With a little more knowledge about their backgrounds and attention to their translation and interpreting needs, we can help them feel even more at home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and beyond.