- [Voiceover] The following program is a production of Pioneer Public Television.

This program on Pioneer Public Television is funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

Additional support provided by Mark and Margaret Yackel-Juleen in honor of Shalom Hill Farm, a nonprofit rural education retreat center in a beautiful prairie setting near Windom in southwestern Minnesota.

ShalomHillFarm.org The Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center, your ideal choice for Minnesota resorts, offering luxury town homes, 18 holes of golf, Darling Reflections Spa, Big Splash Waterpark, and much more.

Alexandria, Minnesota, a relaxing vacation or great location for an event.

ExploreAlex.com Easy to get to, hard to leave.

- (earnest music) - Welcome to Postcards.

I'm Dana Johnson.

Today we travel to Willmar, Minnesota, and learn about a thriving culture from East Africa.

Let's take a look.

- (blues music) - [Voiceover] I was like 16 years old, and I went to school, and one day, that day, there's nobody came back and picked me up.

I've been looking for family for nine years, and I don't even see anybody at my house, and I see a lot of people killing, all that.

I was so scared.

I asked for the neighborhood to help me, some of my friends, and they told me, "Don't worry about it.

"We're gonna find out where your family is."

And after that, I was here with my friend's house for two years.

♪ I've walked on long and sure ♪ ♪ I know that I've been here before ♪ ♪ There's something that I hardly know ♪ ♪ They all know my name ♪ ♪ My pants are ripped, my boots are bent ♪ ♪ I'm fresh out of cigarettes ♪ ♪ I took them rides and ran and left ♪ ♪ Is this the road back home ♪ - [Voiceover] I walked Mogadishu to Kenya.

Like, more than 1500 miles, walking, and you see lions, tigers, everything, it's attacking people.

And it was 250 people walking, no food, no water and all that, and eventually, they all died.

I was like, 15 people who survived.

Including me it was 16 people.

- He experienced a lot of bad stuff.

♪ And who knows the way back home ♪ ♪ Where the sun burns bright ♪ - (speaking in foreign language) - [Voiceover] I'm originally from Somalia.

I was born in a small town called Qoryoley, two hours northwest of Mogadishu, the capital.

I got here when I was about 14 years old.

My dad was a farmer.

I mostly grow up here, so I didn't, as a young kid, I didn't do nothing other than play soccer.

Around '99, we moved from Qoryoley to the capital, Mogadishu.

And then from the capital, we experienced a very, I could call it a journey, but it's very tough.

It was a tough journey to the camps in Kenya.

A lion had attacked us while on the road, on the journey.

And it took a father and a child.

We never know what happened to them.

We couldn't find their bodies.

As a young kid I remember our cows dying because of gunshots.

I remember seeing blood.

I remember seeing so many things that a 13-year-old should not experience.

All of that was over camped when I arrived here.

My clan is from Sharif, I'm Sharif.

Sharif meaning "respected individual" or "respected clan."

We were never in war with any other clan, so in particular, my family were the center of peace and the center of resolving disputes, you know, engaging people together.

My wife and I were arranged, it was arranged marriage where my family had talked to both families and decided without me and including her, that they were, that we were fit, and that we were good to be a married couple.

Actually, I didn't find out until I was 18 when I had a girlfriend and was thinking of getting married.

I found out that there was this girl who my family had arranged already.

And when I started chatting with her, talking to her, she was kinda like, "You're from America, I mean, "I don't want you, boy."

(laughs) So anyways, and then, after a while, we kinda got together, and we talked over it, we talked about a year before we even decided to have the engagement.

I said "I do" on the phone.

My ring I'm wearing is kinda like a cultural, I'm showing that I'm married, for one thing, but I like the rock.

I bought it in Chicago.

It's hard to find it here, so I bought it in Chicago.

I couldn't find it anywhere else.

I know it should be, in American culture, it should be on the left, but in our culture, the Somali culture, they usually do it on the right.

The community knows that she's married, but there's nothing that she wears or that shows that she's married.

Women and men should always, in our culture, and in Islam religion, are always separate.

- [Voiceover] It's part of our traditional, like, um, women, to stay home and prepare, and take care of the kids, take care of the family, take care of the house.

And then, you know, I'm not saying that they have to stay home all day or all night.

They can come out, but it's not a thing that they come out and stand at the mall or hang out at the mall like guys are.

- We all live in this country.

We all come together as Americans, but at the end of the day we all go out through different cultures and different backgrounds.

So it's a good thing to sometimes show them where I'm from, who I am, what we do, what we eat, how our daily lives are.

- (singing in foreign language) - [Voiceover] Back home in Somalia, I'm familiar that there was, you wouldn't call it dating, but a night out, I mean.

You would go out with a friend or perhaps a fiancee or someone you were, you'd be engaged with or have already been acknowledged in marrying.

Then you would go out and you would have to have someone with you all the time, basically.

We can't be alone.

You couldn't just go out on your date.

So there's either a sister, a brother, or a friend from the girl's side who'd come with and just be going out.

- [Voiceover] The separation between men and women is not so much culture, it's more of religion, you know.

We cannot be in the same area.

It's not allowed, you know?

But we still love each other and everything, don't get it wrong.

- [Voiceover] That's how we always live, you know?

So it's nothing new.

- And bars and all that other stuff is off limits.

Muslims are not allowed to drink or be in any, in that type of facility whatsoever.

- [Voiceover] So this is what you do, this is where you-- - This is where, yeah, this is what we do.

- When people have their, like, you come here on a Sunday, it's packed.

- (blues music) - This is the Centre Point Mall, this is a clothing store, one of the clothing stores.

- [Voiceover] This is a family store.

We own it, me and my mom and my sister co-own it.

We all invested in it, so, it just starts this March.

These are called hamis.

They wear 'em on a special day, Fridays.

There's no price tags on 'em.

They usually sell, they know, they all memorized it, so they know what they're selling.

And everybody knows what they're buying, so.

These are called hijab, these are, I think these are ten dollars.

- [Voiceover] Hijab is mainly for purity.

So it's optional.

It's not mandatory what kind of hijab you wear.

Mandatory is your, as a female, you should cover yourself.

And what should be covered is not included in the face and hands and the legs.

So, depending on what kind of hijab you wear, it's acceptable in the eyes of God, you know.

People should not be judged because of what they wear, so.

Men would have to cover their bodies.

Up to your knee, you'd have to cover.

They can't wear what women wear.

They can't wear silk, they can't wear gold.

Some do, but it's, it shouldn't be.

♪ This old world is ending fast ♪ ♪ It's time to move along ♪ - [Voiceover] Elderly men wear different clothing, and kinda like, show different hat, kinda with a cane.

Sometimes they have the cane because they wanna show how elderly they are and how, culturally, they should be recognized.

When there is like disputes of land, when there is disputes of issues, family issues, marriage issues, they are the ones that are discussed with.

They are the ones that decide and sit, based on clans.

- [Voiceover] Besides a mosque, this is where most of the Somalis gather.

Shop, chitchat, talk about what's going on, catch up with what's happening in Somalia.

Mostly it happens here.

So when they go and pray to the mosque and come back, they would come back here and just meet and talk to each other and catch up with relatives, friends, and talk about that, so.

- I think when I compare, let's say, like American culture, I don't see, you know, where people gather as many as these people are, like, gather around and talk about and have a nice conversation.

Even if you go to the mall, you can see people shopping, buying stuff, but you may not find them three or four standing and having a good conversation like they are.

- As far as I'm concerned, this is home, you know, this is where all my memories come from, this is where all the culture, experience, and education and everything comes from, you know?

We come here downtown to Somali mall to get our Somali food, to get some cultural experience.

This tea right here that I can't put down.

I have about three or four a day.

You know, it's really good.

Coming here and seeing your people all together and eating together and experiencing everything together is nice, you know?

- (speaking foreign language) - He said, "we try to socialize here, we have fun, "we just have fun."

And he said it in a way, (speaks in foreign language), "we just have fun and communicate and socialize here "on Saturdays and Sundays.

"That's the only time I have off, so."

- Been here, when I come here I feel it's the same as I'm in Somalia, you know.

I see a lot of girls from Somalia, you know, speaking my own language, people here, and yeah, pretty much I feel like I'm in home.

- How do you like Willmar?

- Willmar?

I like, it's good downtown.

- Very nice?

- Yeah.

- You like Willmar?

- It's not big cities.

It's not like violence, no violence.

It's kinda, it's good to be in town.

- You know, my days off, usually, I came here.

You know, I can make a tea or coffee in my home, but I just come here.

Even if I'm not buying anything here, I just come here, and most of them, I don't know their names, you know.

- Bringing our American friends here is not a big deal to me.

You know, I'd like to have them experience what my culture's like as much as I go out to eat with them all the time so I know what they're about.

I go to school with them, I go to their houses, and they do the same, you know.

We're all friends.

We teach each other about each other's cultures.

- This place brings everybody together at the weekends.

If you were working or you were going to school or, you may not find all the people here, but most of them who are outgoing, you can find them here, this place.

Nice place to have in town.

- [Voiceover] As much as I enjoy doing everything that they do and all the activities and the food and everything, it makes me feel good that they enjoy what I'm about also.

Goes both ways.

- [Voiceover] Goes both ways, yeah.

- [Voiceover] There won't be though so many businesses.

There won't be so many things if there weren't any Somalis.

So everybody is depending on everybody.

It's like a circle.

Somalis are here because of the job.

- [Voiceover] Every person should pray Fridays.

Every Friday there's a Friday prayer.

It's really short, but there's a talk after the prayer that they should listen to.

It's important to listen to that.

So Friday is very important.

It's kind of like the big gathering for all.

- [Voiceover] Is that loud enough?

Okay.

Let's sit and watch her.

- (pop music playing over phone) - [Voiceover] But she, what's she saying?

- I know that I want you.

(laughs) - (pop music in foreign language) - Once again, it comes more to religion than culture.

It depends how religious the person is.

All of Somali culture, most all of 'em will listen to music, but only a few that are more, that know the religion more, won't listen to music, you know?

I'm not saying I'm a bad Muslim, but I listen to music, you know?

Somali music, American music, whatever.

- I don't know if you heard of him or not, Justin Timberlake?

- (laughing) - Okay, just wondering!

(laughs) I love Justin Timberlake.

- Yeah, music is a touchy stuff.

Actually, in our religion it's prohibited.

It's something that if you do, you're sinning, you know, basically.

It's not compared to having unlawful sex, but.

- (singing pop song) - [Voiceover] Music was used as a message, mostly.

And in most cases, Somali musicians used to have a lot of protest songs that they actually used to disguise as love songs, to try and, whatever regime or governments, that were in place at the time.

In order to rebel or to deliver a message to people.

- (playing conclusion of pop song) - (blues music) - [Voiceover] Trying to represent a better view of the Somali community.

I'm trying to tell the world that the Somali community at large is good people.

They're very, they're educated, they know what they're doing.

They're humanitarian.

They will never see you down.

They will never see you down, no matter who you are.

If you're black, white, or anybody.

They will not see you in a bad corner.

They will try to pick you up and help you financially, make you stable so that you could one day remember the favor they have done, you know, from.

- (blues music) - [Voiceover] As we go along, there is past.

We learn new things, we learn each other.

We have community, you know, we grow.

We take care of each other.

That's how we build communities.

We should set up community education centers where we have people just talking and just discussions.

We should have discussions, that's very important.

We should have music, discussions, and food.

Those are the three things, main things, we should have in a community where we all get together and just celebrate, you know.

♪ Anywhere I go it knows I got a home ♪ ♪ Like the river rambles to the sea ♪ - (speaking foreign language) - She asked, "where are the shoes?"

(laughs) He doesn't have shoes.

(mumbles) socks.

- [Voiceover] Before I die, that's actually one of the things I wanna do pretty soon, in the next couple of summers, I'd like to go back and visit.

I've heard that it's getting better under this new government and everything.

- Seeing the family, you know, people that you haven't seen in like, 10, over 10 years or so, and just, being home, what it's like, you know.

- [Voiceover] And the lifestyle.

That's something I wanna experience again.

- [Voiceover] I'm not planning on going back soon.

My family is not planning on going back soon, so actually, I was thinking of, we were thinking of buying a house here, so it's...

I don't mind my son being born in the United States.

What I would not like would be to my son in growing up in a very different culture and missing out his own culture.

So probably once he grows up, he will have both sides.

He will go back and visit home and come back and he would be between the two countries, between the two cities.

- (lively music) - [Voiceover] A lot of memories here.

I've been here for nine years, about nine years here.

I moved away for a year or two, and I came back again.

Ever since I consider this to be my home, and I spent a lot of time bettering it, being involved, trying to set everything straight, picking up garbages, trying to be making my home a real home.

- [Voiceover] I can't wait until when he grows up and starts talking in both languages, Somali and English.

That's gonna be... - We have a rule at home.

Our parents enforce that very well.

They say, "only Somalia at home," you know?

It all depends how much you wanna be in contact, how much you wanna hold on to your culture.

Nobody's gonna make you do anything you don't wanna do, you know?

So as far as I'm concerned, I involve myself.

I speak Somali, I read Somali, I hang out with my Somali friends, you know?

'Cos I don't ever wanna forget who I am and where I came from.

- [Voiceover] You hear the word Muslim, they're like related to the bad things, you know.

If wild kid, you know, say American kid, throw rack at me and hit me, I'm not saying, "oh, the Americans are bad "because of that one kid."

So if one bad person did something terrible, that does not mean that everybody's terrible.

- [Voiceover] After 9/11, a lot of things changed.

If you're a Muslim or if you're from a Muslim country, then people look at you differently.

But it's, that's human nature.

I feel like that's human nature.

But we shouldn't accuse anybody of something that they're not even aware of.

- Find out for yourself instead of depriving yourself from a cultural experience and all.

Go out there, see what it's like, and then get to decide whether you like it or not.

Don't just be over there and base your judgment on rumors and all that, you know.

Every nationality's got some bad people, you know, and not everybody's bad.

But there's good people here that you should get to know.

- Yeah I would like to tell the Willmar community that I'm Somalian.

Most of the time when we get outside and they see, you know, like 10 Somali males standing there and talking, you know, most of the time, they scared, they says, you know, "Oh this guys, you know, maybe they making big sounds, "you know, trouble should come any time."

We just tell them, "do not be scared.

"We're not doing, you know, any drugs, anything illegal, "we don't have any weapon, we're not fighting, "we're not against you.

"We just hang out here, just like, you know, everybody do."

- One thing I would tell people that live in Willmar about Willmar people or anyone that lives around the world is that not all people in Willmar are scared to talk, not all people in Willmar are scared to mention who they are and be a voice for the voiceless, in other words.

We do have good people.

(laughs).

- We like to help you.

We ready to share anything that come up with Willmar community because we are part of Willmar community, so...yes, yes, yes, I love Willmar.

And I love people live in Willmar too.

Somalian, un-Somalian, everybody lives here.

I believe we're all family.

As long we live in the same city, you know, we're family.

That's what I believe.

- Willmar has been growing.

The Muslim community has been growing a lot, so they had initially looked so many different places.

I know people started talking about it, and it's not, it's been around, Somali community has been around for a while here, so it's not new.

Whoever pretends it's new to them, it's not new.

I mean, they've been here 20 years at least, or 30 years, and WIllmar has been welcoming for so many diverse communities, and it's been known for that.

- You gotta remember that we were all in their shoes at one time.

When I came here, back in the day, I was a newcomer just like them, didn't know anything.

It all takes time to learn things, and some guidance.

Now that's what we do as more Americanized Somalis, we're here to help.

Whenever we see something that's not traditional here in this country, then we help them and everything.

Yeah, it takes time to get used to and everything.

- I used to have this good friend of mine, Hannah, and she would always, she had a dog, and I'd always go visit, and the dog, she'd always lock it away.

But at the first, she didn't lock it away, 'cos the dogs attacked me, and I'm not used to pets, honestly.

I don't know, it's just a culture thing, not to be close to dogs, not just any pet, but just dogs.

And so, she would lock her dog away, ever since the day that I told her, "hey, you know, I'm not used to dogs, "so therefore, whenever I come visit, out of respect, "just put your dog away."

And she'd always do that.

So that was one thing that she didn't understand at first, but then, once I explained to her and showed her, then she realized and stopped it.

- I've seen some people when I once did a presentation about Somali culture, some guy would sometimes, in the middle of the crowds, stand up and say, "hey, this is my country, go back to your country."

I would say, "Um, no, this is my country too.

"You got here just a little bit earlier than I did, "so, you know, I'm not going anywhere."

- (piano music) - That's all for this week.

For more information, go to our website.

See you again next time on Postcards.

- [Voiceover] This program on Pioneer Public Television is funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4, 2008.

Additional support provided by Mark and Margaret Yackel-Juleen in honor of Shalom Hill Farm, a nonprofit rural education retreat center in a beautiful prairie setting near Windom in southwestern Minnesota.

ShalomHillFarm.org The Arrowwood Resort and Conference Center, your ideal choice for Minnesota resorts.

Offering luxury town homes, 18 holes of golf, Darling Reflections Spa, Big Splash Waterpark, and much more.

Alexandria, Minnesota.

A relaxing vacation or great location for an event.

ExploreAlex.com Easy to get to, hard to leave.

- (earnest music)