Idilinaa
VIP
When I look through history and old archival articles, it’s the same story with every immigrant group. They all went through this cycle of being stigmatized, stereotyped, and even internalizing some of that negativity. The only real difference with Somalis is that we’re a more recent community, so we’re still in that stage of re-establishing ourselves. Other groups eventually grew out of it as immigration slowed and their second generations moved up the social ladder.
So I wouldn’t worry too much , it will pass. There isn’t any major new influx of Somalis, and the younger generation is already graduating, entering professional fields, and moving away from deprived areas. Once that shift happens, it becomes harder for people to hold onto the same old perceptions and “stats” that get thrown around today.
