community

Dear Kari sent us an e-mail yesterday. An Augsburg student was murdered on his way back from teaching kids in the projects. Expecting to read about it in the paper, imagine her surprise when there was only a teeny blurb on one of the back pages. What took front page? A slight development in a murder case (old case) of a white woman by a white man, not even in the area.

The young student's name? Ahmed. Yeah, he's not white, and he's not FROM America, but is he a part of the community? Is he a part of the US's community? Or is he just another one of those darned "others?" What a nuisance, trying to get them to speak English and adapt to our ways, and our tests, our society. It's just so much WORK. What's 'our' community, then? The middle income white Scandinavian folks we've grown up with? Is there room for anyone else? It's like my memory of going into a small rural church and being totally ignored (that doesn't happen in every rural church, but DID happen in this one) - I felt like an intruder on their little club. They didn't WANT anyone new there - they were happy exactly the way it was. So I left, without having talked to anyone, or had anyone come up to talk with me. That was okay, but I sure didn't feel welcomed.

What's the big deal, then? Are we afraid of losing ourselves, or losing something if we let others in, who may have different skin colors or experiences? Can't we learn from them, make our own little world larger? What can we do? I don't have any of those answers, but something has stirred deep within me these past few days, starting with writing the article for WALKsudan, and talking with Roy, to hearing from Kari. I urged her to write a letter to the editor of the Star Tribune to tell them how she feels about the unfair reporting and treatment of others who are not white, and she gave me permission to print it here. I love her so very much, and am so very proud of her and who she is in this world.

I am deeply disappointed and disturbed by the Star Tribune's
coverage of the murder of Augsburg student Ahmed Ali, who was fatally shot Monday evening after tutoring neighborhood Somali children at a community center. As a recent graduate of Augsburg I received an e-mail Monday night notifying me of the terrible news. Tuesday morning I logged on to StarTribune.com expecting to see a full page spread of the event. To my shock I learned that Ahmed Ali's murder didn't even make the front page. In fact, the story barely made an appearance. I had to search "Augsburg" on the website to even locate the article.
I want to be cautious here in my criticism and emphasize that any murder is horrible, unfathomable, and deplorable. I cannot help, however, but be struck by the disproportionate attention placed on the murder of Joe Sodd in June compared to Ahmed Ali and 18-year-old Abdullahi Awil Abdi last April. In the past year, three men have been murdered in the same neighborhood. The two who were Somali (Ahmed Ali and Abdullahi Awil Abdi) received little to no media attention. The
good-looking, white male (Joe Sodd), however, received at least three days worth of newspaper attention in addition to a full page spread along with reactions from community members.
This is most definitely and obviously an issue of racial discrimination, but I believe there is even more at stake here. The
Star Tribune's failure to equally represent the murders of two Somali men is a reflection of the failure of our community. We have neglected to embrace our East African immigrant brothers and sisters, and therefore we have failed ourselves as a community.
When I was a student at Augsburg I volunteered at two after school tutoring programs similar to where Ahmed Ali volunteered. I worked firsthand with East African immigrants high school students and personally experienced the oppressive forces working against these courageous, young people. As a good-looking, white, upper class, Midwestern young woman who has had every possible advantage in the system, for the first time I found myself truly frustrated and disempowered as I tried to help these people apply for college, apply for jobs, and work through the medical insurance system, the education
system, and the law system.
I learned for the most part they feel like they have no place in our community. They feel like they have no power to affect change. They feel like they have no ownership of even their own lives. And I think they are correct in feeling these things. Aside from the best efforts of a few non-profit organizations and various churches, our community has not done much to welcome or integrate our immigrant brothers and sisters.
The solution is simple but not easy: it requires a transformation of how we view the world and define community. In a society that compartmentalizes individuals and expects everyone to pick him/herself up by the bootstraps, we live in danger of forgetting the neighbor. Even if it is the fault of a system for disenfranchising certain groups, it is our responsibility to reform those systems and name injustice when we see it. Therefore, I call for a reform of the Star Tribune, asking for a balanced approach that equally includes all voices of the community's members. I also call for an intentional integration of the East African immigrant community into the Midwest. I challenge the Star Tribune's readership to contemplate these things
and act accordingly.

In order to see the disparity in reporting, here are the links to three murders in the last year. Joe Sodd is a white boy, and Abdullah and Ahmet are black.

Joe Sodd: http://www.startribune.com/local/20302819.html?location_refer=Most%20Viewed:Homepage
Abdullahi: http://www.startribune.com/local/17577514.html
Ahmed: http://www.startribune.com/local/29418994.html?elr=KArksUUUU

In defense of the Star Tribune, here's the second article they wrote about Ahmed: http://www.startribune.com/local/29652984.html?page=1&c=y

I admit it - I am crying to think of that stupid, senseless and tragic loss of a bright, young life. What in the world is going on?
So I sit here today, about to go meditate and pray, and I will ponder what community is to me, and who is included. I want everybody included, because we are all connected and the same part of the One. I know that to be true. As I told Kari, I just think we're all in different stages of remembering how much we are loved, and how precious we are. Once we ALL remember that, the world is going to look a LOT different. That's what I think.