here comes a great idea to bring together the voices of the somali community before
one of the most important election in the history of the United States in November
2004.
I hope and extend to everyone that they will lend thier support to this leadership
council.
check out the article today at the startribune:
Omar Jamal
Executive Director
Somali Justice Advocacy Center
Somalis will choose leadership councilLourdes Medrano Leslie, Star Tribune April 1,
2004SOMALI0401
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The creation of an interim Somali Community Leadership Council that will tackle issues
important to Somalis across Minnesota will be announced at 3 p.m. today at the State
Capitol.
Fifteen Somalis from the Twin Cities area, Rochester, Owatonna, Willmar and Mankato
will serve on the interim council until permanent representatives are elected,
chairman Dahir Jibreel said Wednesday.
The council was selected after two months of consultations among various Somali
groups, Jibreel said. The interim body must establish guidelines within 100 days by
which the community will elect a permanent leadership council.
The idea for a group that would serve as a bridge between Somalis and mainstream
agencies surfaced about two months ago.
Somali leaders also have alluded to conflicts that stem from clan rivalries rooted in
their homeland in East Africa, which was wracked by civil war in the early 1990s.
Somalis who claim membership in four major clans and several minority clans started
coming to Minnesota early that decade.
Jabreel said the interim council will be key to getting individuals involved in the
democratic process as they vote to elect their leadership.
"We will energize the whole Somali community to become politically active," Jabreel
said.
The council plans to seek help from local government officials to administer the
election, he said. "We want this process to be transparent," he said. "We want this
group to be recognized as being legitimate both in and outside the Somali community."
Although city and county workers oversaw an election for a similar Somali group in
Columbus, Ohio, in 2001, officials in Minnesota said Wednesday that it would be
unusual for local governments to assist in such an election.
"It's not something that we're legally authorized to do," said Joe Manksy, elections
manager for Ramsey County.
Susanne Griffin, director of elections and assistant city clerk in Minneapolis, said
she would have to research the matter further to see if it might be possible to
oversee the Somali election.
Hawa K. Ali, an interim council member, said she thinks that the council can greatly
help Somalis in the areas of housing, jobs and transportation, and that it can serve
as a strong advocate within the greater community.
"Until now, there has not been a unified voice for the common good," she said.
Lourdes Medrano Leslie is at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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