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10081. Mental Health Problems and Healing among Somalis in Sweden

Author:
Johan Wedel
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Refugees are particularly at risk of mental health problems and they often have special needs that must be met if integration into the new country is to succeed. However, there is a lack of research that focuses on the refugees' own perceptions and ideas about mental health. One of the largest refugee populations worldwide is the Somalis. It is estimated that more than a million have fled their country because of the civil war. Many Somalis in the diaspora experience anxiety, marginalization, and mental health problems. At the same time, few make use of biomedical health services when suffering. Moreover, there exists a certain mistrust of the biomedical health sector. In addition, many Somalis turn to non-Western healing practices when suffering from episodes of ill health. Somalis in the diaspora have depression and anxiety related to war, the loss of family members, and afflicting spirits known as jinni or jinn.
Political Geography:
Sweden and Somalia

10082. The Newest African-Americans?: Somali Struggles for Belonging

Author:
Cawo Abdi
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Migration anchors the essence of what it means to be an American. The “imagined community” is made up of individuals, their parents, grandparents or even great-grandparents, who crossed oceans to seek better pastures for their families. In other words, America is synonymous with migration. At its core, it remains characterized by the different waves of immigrants from across the world who, over the last five centuries, sought their fortunes and fates in this beautiful land. However, being an American is also a contested notion, one that over its long history too often failed to measure up to its ideals. The slavery of Africans as well as the brutal treatment and extermination of many Native Americans also anchor the idea of belonging to this nation. From the founding of the nation at the end of the 18th century, cracks and contradictions in its ideals continue to manifest themselves through institutionalized discrimination and the exclusion of certain groups within its diverse population.
Political Geography:
Africa and America

10083. Revival of the Civic Spirit: Contradictions in Somali-American Citizenship

Author:
Louise Dickson
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Throughout history, the notion of citizenship has been full of contradictions. Both as a method of inclusion and exclusion, of privilege and second-class status, citizenship is a cornerstone of one's individual, national, and global identity. Some optimistic scholars have noted an entrance into a “post-national” phase of global citizenship; however, this vision cannot be realized while human rights are being violated. To be sure, citizenship has become a much more universal concept since its inception and has been facilitated by ideas of cosmopolitanism. Yet it has not transcended national boundaries into the global sphere. This claim can be supported by almost any national immigration case study. Whether in South Africa, Norway, or France, immigrant refugees fleeing persecution are rarely granted full human rights in terms of citizenship. The United States is in the midst of a third major wave of immigration: from 1990 to 2008 almost one million new arrivals landed here each year. Since the eruption of civil war in Somalia in 1991, many Somalis have sought refuge in the United States—a symbol of political, religious, and social freedom—and have followed chain migration patterns scattered across the country, with one of the largest populations settling in the Twin Cities area. However, the “Somali Capital of the United States” does not provide asylum or immunity from the international contradictions in citizenship and human rights, which will be an underlying theme throughout the essay.
Topic:
Human Rights
Political Geography:
United States, Norway, France, South Africa, and Somalia

10084. E Pluribus Unum: 21st-Century Citizenship and the Somali-American Experience

Author:
Owen Truesdell
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
This moment in American history represents a confluence of major national and international events almost unparalleled in modern history. The United States faces two major wars, a massive and seemingly intractable recession that has robbed many of its citizens of their livelihoods and savings, and a sclerotic system of American government that seems to have lost its ability to take on and overcome big challenges for the good of the American people. Internationally, the “Arab Spring” in the Middle East has led to the toppling of feckless dictators and a move toward democracy in Egypt. However, it has also led to the deaths of thousands of civilians, further political repression in certain parts of the region, and a civil war in Libya, which also features military action by NATO and the United States and its Arab and Western allies. This chaotic and troubling time presents numerous challenges for the United States and the world.
Topic:
NATO
Political Geography:
United States, America, Middle East, Libya, Arabia, Egypt, and Somalia

10085. The Ohio State University K–12 Teacher Somali Workshop Project

Author:
Leslie Moore and Laura Joseph
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
In July 2009, the Ohio State University held its first weeklong intensive teacher workshop on Somali history, language, and culture. The workshop was the heart of a larger project to create resources for educators who work with Somali children, youth, and families. Over the course of a year the authors developed the workshop in collaboration with sponsoring agencies; Somali Studies scholars; local school district teachers and administrators; and local Somali artists, educators, students, and community organizers. The workshop was designed to provide an overview of Somali history, language, and culture while focusing on topics that were identified by stakeholders and by the authors as particularly relevant to educational practice.
Political Geography:
Somalia

10086. Charter Schools: Choice of Somali-American Parents?

Author:
Farhan Hussein
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Most of the Somali community in the United Stated came here after civil war broke out in Somalia in 1991. During the war, hundreds of thousands of people fled to neighboring countries where many received resettlement aid from yet other countries, including the United States. The largest Somali community in the United States lives in Minnesota, mainly in the Minneapolis area.
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Somalia

10087. Somali Parent-Child Conflict in the Western World: Some Brief Reflections

Author:
Amin Mohamed and Ahmed Yusuf
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
According to UNICEF, there are about 14.5 million refugees, of whom 41 percent are believed to be children under age 18. It is also estimated that 1.5 billion children (two-thirds of the world's child population) live in 42 countries that are affected by violent and high intensity conflict. Among these is Somalia, a country without a central government since 1991, and suffering a never-ending cycle of hostilities. As a result, Somali parents, along with their children, are scattered all over the world for safety reasons and for a better future for their children.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
Somalia

10088. The Correlation Between Non-State Actors and Weapons of Mass Destruction

Author:
Reshmi Kazi
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
The probability of non-state actors acquiring and using weapons of mass destruction against vulnerable non-combatants has remained a worrisome threat since the turn of the century. How- ever, the watershed event of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. on 11 September 2001 has significantly raised concerns regarding the availability of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) weapons and their probable usage. The reasons for increased concerns are varied. They include: Widespread perceptions that the events of 9/11 marked the crossing of a threshold in terrorist constraint and lethality . Open source accounts of interest in WMD technology by non-state actors . Increased availability of WMD technology . Greater media attention . Persistent Western military presence in global affairs and an upsurge of anti-Western sentiments The vital role played by Internet technology for Al Qaida in propagating its ideology and integrating its loose networks of affiliates and sympathizers.
Topic:
Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:
New York and Washington

10089. Global Warming and Security: The Security Implications for NATO and the EU of a Melting Polar Ice Cap in the High North.

Author:
Udo Michel
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
Environmental changes will have an impact on global and regional security communities.This article will examine the security challenges posed by the melting of the polar ice cap in the High North. Many NATO and EU members have manifest interests in this region, and parts of the Arctic belong to the NATO treaty area. Offi cial documents, political statements, and actions already taken show that the most of the Nordic countries address the effects of climate change on their region's security in specifi c policies and national security concepts. Moscow has sparked concerns in the West with displays of its will and capabilities-for example, fl ying strategic bomber patrols over the Arctic, or the hoisting the Russian fl ag on the sea bed below the North Pole. Despite a high degree of media awareness and intensive public discussions about spheres of infl uence and a possible return to classical geopolitics, both NATO and the EU try to avoid sending signals that would indicate that they regard regional security questions in the Arctic as a matter of deep concern or urgency. The motivation behind this article is to investigate this disconnect, to explain it, and todraw conclusions that argue for or against changes in the present posture. If their affected members states do not securitize the threats and vulnerabilities related to themelting polar ice cap in the High North within the organizations, NATO and the EUwill lack the incentive and legitimacy to adapt their security policies and strategies inorder to address the evolving situation.
Topic:
Security and NATO

10090. The Emergence of Organized Criminal Networks as Extralegal Authorities

Author:
Priscilla Bittencourt Ribeiro de Oliveira and Plamen P. Penev
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Connections
Institution:
Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes
Abstract:
Globalization and the contemporary global order have facilitated the emergence ofnew aspects of governance within, between, and across the state scale. The re-articulation and re-scaling of the state involves the devolution of specifi c aspects of governance capacities to supra- and sub-state scales, constituting a vast transglobal arena where a bewildering array of private, non-state actors, networks and polities take on roles previously performed by the state. This reconfi guration of the position of the nation-state transcends the Westphalian "territorial trap,"1 when it comes to produce new sites of power, new forms of authority and regulation through a reshuffl ing of traditional sociopolitical relationships.