Somalia
MN Somalis set deadline to pull money from Wells Fargo
The only way that many people in Somalia survive is from money wired to them from relatives in Minnesota. That life line was cut when the US government pressured banks to stop accepting the wire transfers, fearing the money could be going to terrorist organizations.MORE »
Minnesota Somalis to global leaders: Let us help rebuild Somalia
Is Somalia, the world’s ultimate failed state, on the brink of authentic renewal and reconstruction? Is its bloody, famine-furthering, piracy-producing 20-year-old civil war close to an end?
That has been the fierce if fragile hope recently of tens of thousands of Somali refugees living in Minnesota, most of whom last saw their homeland in the period after its last functioning government was toppled in 1991.MORE »
Shining a light on Somalia
During his first trip back to Somalia in summer 2010, Mohamed Samatar, 19, of Minneapolis, expected there to be no electricity and to be in a desert.
“Everything I had in America was there. The only difference is that the weather in Somalia is nicer,” Samatar said.MORE »
Banks: No money to Somalia until risks reduced
“This is not fair. It’s not fair to single out one community. The lifeline for so many innocent people depends on the money we send,” said Abdulaziz Sugule, the former chairman of SAMSA (Somali American Money Service Association) referring to Franklin Bank’s decision to end remittances to Somalia last December 30. “I hope elected officials will come up with a workable solution.”MORE »
Reflections of New Minnesotans: Abdulaziz Sugule and Hashi Shafi on hawala closures
Abdulaziz Sugule, former chairman of the Somali Money Services Business, and Hashi Shafi, of the Somalia Action Alliance, discuss the local hawala situation. [Audio below]
Somalis close Wells Fargo accounts to protest bank's lack of support
Wells Fargo Bank isn’t backing the Minnesota Somali community’s fight to send money back to their starving families, so some Somalis are pulling their money out of Wells Fargo.MORE »
Hawala update
Somali people in Minnesota who send money to east Africa are still concerned that the method they use to transfer funds to family members in Africa will soon shut down. Earlier this month, the Franklin Bank in Minneapolis announced it would stop working with “hawalas” on the fund transfers. The deadline was this week.MORE »
Somalia update
With the Thanksgiving holiday, Americans who are economically prosperous give thanks for good fortune, family and sufficient food.MORE »
Somali students fight famine, forgetfulness
Students from the University of Minnesota’s Somali Student Association are frustrated with the media’s declining interest in the African famine.
A drought throughout the Horn of Africa brought on a famine that has killed more than 29,000 children in Somalia alone.MORE »
ARAHA's Mohamad Idris on famine in Somalia
The devastating famine in the horn of Africa continues, with much of the human suffering concentrated in the southern section of Somalia. Displaced families are moving into refugee camps. Children are dying.MORE »
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