These two centers must work together to help all Somali immigrants and also other Africans in their city. - - Donna Poisl
By: Chuck Haga, Grand Forks Herald
Two centers have opened in Grand Forks for recent immigrants - most of them refugees from war and the breakdown of civil authority in Somalia. Many spent years in crowded camps in neighboring Kenya before winning permission to come to America. Some came to Grand Forks as refugees from violence in Minneapolis and other large American cities. But even here, divisions seem to hamper the Somali people.
With the urgent intensity of a general in the field, Mohamed Ismail maneuvers easily from Somali to English and back to Somali as he reviews the day’s assignments: nouns, common (as in “city” and “country”), and nouns, proper (as in “Grand Forks” and “United States”).
He runs through the intricacies of English pronouns, too, and their baffling verbs. “I am, you are, he is …”
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This country was built by immigrants, it will continue to attract and need immigrants. Some people think there are enough people here now -- people have been saying this since the 1700s and it still is not true. They are needed to make up for our aging population and low birthrate. Immigrants often are entrepreneurs, creating jobs. We must help them become Americans and not just people who live here and think of themselves as visitors. When immigrants succeed here, the whole country benefits.
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