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BOSTON, May 8, 2011 (IPS) -
Deeqo Jibril is always on the
go. Whether she is tending to
her four children or teaching
breast cancer awareness classes
to women in her community, the
Somali-born community organiser
is always up for a new
challenge.
Recently, she gave up her job as
a social worker to focus full
time on the
Boston-based Somali Community &
Cultural Association, a
nonprofit Jibril founded a year
ago to support Somali-American
women.
The organisation is located
inside a 3,000-square-foot
retail building in Dudley
Square, the heart of Boston's
African American community.
Jibril is also a building
co-landlord and currently
subleases space for six
businesses.
"Most of my tenants are from
Africa and the West Indies,"
Jibril said. "I started
subleasing the building two
years ago so other entrepreneurs
could have a chance at the
American dream."
Statistically, Somalis have
struggled more than nearly any
other immigrant group in the
United States. The
American Community Survey
estimated just over 100,000
Somalis lived in the U.S. in
2009, with almost 30,000 living
in Minnesota, although other
sources suggest 60,000.
According to the U.S. Census
Bureau, the median household
income for Somalis is among the
lowest, with 51 percent living
in poverty. But that could be
changing.
Jibril's enterprise is not only
an example of the evolving
multicultural dynamic within the
U.S. workplace, but also the
role of women. According to
Joyce Stanley, head of the
Dudley Square Main Streets
Program, a city initiative to
support business development in
the community, there are nine
businesses that were started up
by African women in the area,
many of them in the last four
years alone.
"In the immigrant community,
anyone who comes here to America
is motivated to achieve,"
Stanley said. "Somalis are one
of the fastest growing immigrant
communities in Boston, but it is
simply amazing to see the Somali
women take charge."
Like many Somalis in Boston,
Jibril immigrated with her
mother and four siblings in 1991
to escape the civil war in
Mogadishu. Entrepreneurship runs
in Jibril's blood, as her
mother, Lul Isak, is also an
entrepreneur who sells women's
scarves from a cart in her
daughter's building.
Down the street is Mabruuk
Fashions, a store specialising
in traditional Islamic apparel
for women, which was started up
by Somali entrepreneur Sapia
Gelle in 2007. Gelle is out of
the country for several weeks,
so her daughter Amenia Wasin is
currently managing the store.
"My mother was always a
businesswoman at heart even
before she came here," Wasin
said. "It's a special thing to
see all these women running
businesses here."
Dudley Square has been a
revolving door of culturally
diverse entrepreneurship for
over a century. Up until the
1940s, the community was
supported by businesses run by
Jewish, Irish and Eastern
European immigrants. The square
evolved after World War II, when
an influx of African Americans
migrated there from the South,
escaping harsh Jim Crow laws.
Most of them were Pullman
Porters, who not only helped
modernise the country's railroad
system, but also contributed to
the rise of the black middle
class. Many of these businessmen
were influenced by Marcus
Garvey's call for black economic
self-reliance.
Today, there are abandoned
buildings reminiscent of Dudley
Square's glory days of African
American entrepreneurship,
ranging from pharmacies,
barbershops and restaurants.
Beginning in the 1990s, some of
those buildings were taken over
by a new wave of entrepreneurs
from South Korea, Jamaica and
Nigeria.
For many of the Somali women,
owning their own businesses here
gives them financial
independence, which is something
they didn't have in their home
countries. In Somalia, men are
generally the breadwinners in
their traditionally Muslim
households, while their wives
kept house and took care of the
children.
However, once these families
come to the United States, the
roles change, and the women are
setting up shop and bringing
home paycheques.
Saido Farah moved to Boston from
Somalia in 1996 and started
Roots Halal Meat Market in the
neighbouring community of
Jamaica Plain in 2004. Farah,
who is five months pregnant,
runs the store seven days a week
with the support of her husband
and one of her 10 children.
Farah says it can be hard at
times, but she does good
business with her predominately
Muslim clientele. She also
believes in giving back to her
community.
While her husband is very
supportive of her venture, she
said many of her male customers
are not sure how to take her.
"They are not used to seeing
women in positions of power,"
Farah said. "However, the men
are generally supportive of me."
Back in Dudley Square, Ismahar
Warfa helps run the Indian Ocean
Grocery and Halal Meat with her
husband. She says that no matter
whether a man or a woman is
running the store, in this
economy, "work is work", and
everyone chips to support the
business.
The male businessmen in Jibril's
building are supportive of her
work.
"I think it's healthy to have
business women since some of the
best world leaders are women,
like Hillary Clinton, Golda Meir,
and Indira Gandhi," said Josiah
Faeduwer, the Sierra Leonean
manager of Bintimani Restaurant
located in the building. "Deeqo
is a powerful woman who has the
character to bring people
together."
Unfortunately, Jibril says she
is not getting that same support
for her ventures from her
husband, who she is currently
divorcing. Despite the tragedy
of a marriage breakup, Jibril
says she has more freedom now to
concentrate on her nonprofit's
work, such as providing English
language training and developing
business skills for other Somali
women.
In fact, she will be honored for
her work in the community May 18
by the
Massachusetts Commission on the
Status of Women as an
"Unsung Hero".
"It is an honour to serve my
community," Jibril said. "Giving
back and empowering other women
only makes our community
stronger."
Source: ipsnews |
