‘We are here’: In St. Cloud, Somali community pushes back against Trump’s ‘garbage’ comments
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More than 100 people gathered in St. Cloud on Wednesday for an event aimed at showing community solidarity, following President Donald Trump’s disparaging remarks about Somalis.
Somali residents and other community members said they felt compelled to speak out against what they call the president’s unfair and divisive rhetoric, in which he called Somalis “garbage” and said they contribute nothing. A sign on the podium read, “An attack on one is an attack on all.”
“We are not here tonight because we are afraid,” said Abdikadir Bashir, executive director of the Center for African Immigrants and Refugees Organization, a St. Cloud nonprofit. “We are here because we refuse to be silent.”
Bashir said Trump’s words don't define the Somali people, who are known for their resilience.
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“Here is our message to your hate, Mr. President: You cannot defeat people who have already survived wars,” Bashir said. “We will outlast your trash talk.”
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the United States, with an estimated 80,000 Somali American residents. Most live in Minneapolis and St. Paul, but other cities have sizable Somali communities. In St. Cloud, about 4,400 residents claim Somali heritage, according to census data.
Most of the Somalis in Minnesota are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. But some at the event said reports of an immigration crackdown targeting the state’s Somali community are still creating fear and anxiety.
“The reality is that there are some of your neighbors who are afraid to go shopping,” said Hassan Yusuf, who runs a tax preparation business in St. Cloud. “There are some of your neighbors who are afraid to send their children to school. There are some of your neighbors who are afraid to go to the shopping mall or to the mosque or to the church.”
Farhiya Iman, a behavioral health professional, said it’s important for people to know there’s more to the Somali community than the negative news stories.
“We’re just as American as anybody else,” she said. “We're trying to raise children. We want them to be productive members of society. We want to be successful. There’s a lot that goes into being Somali than just what the headline says.”
Mohamoud Mohamed was one of the first Somalis to come to St. Cloud in 1999, after fleeing Somalia’s civil war.
“We came from a (country) destroyed ... by war,” Mohamed said. “It’s not a choice. It's necessity.”
Mohamed voted for Trump, but says he now regrets it. He said the president is unfairly disparaging Somalis when the vast majority are hard-working and law-abiding.
Several local elected officials attended and spoke at Wednesday’s event. Natalie Copeland, a St. Cloud school board member, said she takes the president’s disparaging remarks about her neighbors personally.
“I welcome anyone to come to our community and see how beautiful it really is,” Copeland said. “My kids go to school with the world, and that is the reason they're going to be more prepared than I was when they graduate.”
St. Cloud Mayor Jake Anderson read a statement saying Somali Americans do not pose any threat to Minnesota, but play an essential role in the community.
“When hatred seeks to divide us, we come together,” Anderson said. “When fear threatens one community, all communities rise up as one to speak up.”
