Who are these Somalis?

That vile old racist who is polluting the Presidency let his freak flag fly in a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday:

via Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)

My friend Shelley Sherman posted this heartfelt riposte to Donald Trump's vilification of the Somali community in Minnesota on Facebook. Somalis are not faceless to her and they certainly are not "garbage."

I am angered and appalled at the remarks by the President with the backing of his administration, insulting Somalis in general and Rep Ilhan Omar in particular. 

I had the privilege of working with Ilhan Omar before she was elected to public office, at the University of Minnesota Extension. I know her history and her character. She is an amazing person, intelligent, brave, thoughtful and funny, someone who came to the US as a child and knows how to build bridges between cultures. 

I also worked with other Somalis, and heard their stories of having to leave their country due to war, about life in refugee camps, losing family, and finally being able to come to the US, and to Minnesota, which welcomed them.

The Somalis, like the Hmong from Laos, the Oromo, the Sudanese, the Mexicans, the Central and South Americans, the Cambodians and Vietnamese, came to Minnesota as refugees and have built lives there, attended school, learned English, worked hard and have become an important part of the fabric of the state. 

We benefit from their presence. They are found in many different professions, in private and public spaces. The majority of them are US citizens, through naturalization or birthright, and the President’s racist attack on them is an outrage; as is his use of ICE to threaten and abuse people, largely based on the color of their skin.

All over the country, organized people are learning how to push back against abuse of our neighbors. That work has become a measure of good citizenship for us all.