Minnesota’s Somali community is speaking out as deadly torrential rains and floods continue to impact their home country, leaving millions at risk.
The Somalia Disaster Management Agency said Monday that the heavy rains and floods had reached 2.48 million people, leaving more than 100 dead and displacing more than 1.1 million people from their homes.
“I urge for immediate and unrestricted fellow of humanitarian aid to reach those urgent needs,” said Minnesota State Representative Samakab Hussein (DFL-65A). “Lives are at stake, and every delay of restriction could have devastating consequences.”
Heavy rain has impacted Somalia since October as the country dealt with its worst drought in four decades.
State Representative Hodan Hassan noted that Tuesday’s press conference was not about asking for state aid or for federal partners to step up but also asking fellow Minnesotans to help their neighbors in need.
“This conference is to create awareness and for the good people in Minnesota to support their friends and colleagues and neighbors,” Hassan said. “This is a human catastrophe that we’re witnessing. This is one of the worst things that has happened to Somalia, and Somalia has been through a lot. We’re calling for all Minnesotans to come forward and support their neighbors, their friends, and their colleagues because this is a climate change catastrophe.”
Minnesotans are urged to help humanitarian efforts in Somalia by donating to the Humanitarian African Relief Organization (HARO).
Dr. Abdirashid M. Shire, Director of the Health and Research Institute for Somali Americans, noted that dangers will only increase as the waters begin to recede.
“What comes to mind is the risk of infectious diseases,” Dr. Shire said. “When the flooding is over, and when the water begins to stagnate, it will increase the chance of the mosquito to breed. When that happens, of course, the risk of malaria is higher. I think what we need is a collective effort towards the disaster, towards the disease that can come out as a result of the flooding, as well as the impact that it leaves.”
More than 86,000 Somali Americans live in Minnesota, the most of any state in the country.