Fartun Abukar

Research has shown that young people who drop out of high school are most likely to use drugs/ alcohol and get involved in criminal activities later. 20 years from now East African community in Minnesota will not be successful if the reasons below are not changed or fixed.

Education
more than 70,000 Somalis live in Minnesota and about 10,000 go to schools from pre-k- 12^th grade and about 3,000 go to colleges, where do others go? Many are drop outs wondering around the streets, look at the malls, starbucks, you will see young adults standing wondering around. They do not have life. 1 drop out = 2 drop outs, 3 drop outs = 9 drop outs, 9 drop outs = 18 drop outs and so on because they will have effect on others.  In 2007 and 2008 Somali youth were killing each other. The drop outs end up killing one another and others as well, commit more violent actions and many of them will end up in jails.  We are the ones who came from our countries and born there but still doing all these stuff. What do you think is going to happen 20 years from now for young generations who born here if they do not get good guidance and see us doing all these?  Thus, the community is doing really bad job on terms of education.

Business
There are small businesses. There are 300 stores with the SAME stuff. You will go to 24 mal, karmel, and other you see the same stuff. In addition, If enter one of the stores you see some stuff, if you go into the next store, there is the same stuff. 20 years from now these businesses will be run out, because no one is going to buy it anymore. Our grandmothers who are wearing baati and diraca will be gone by then. Our restaurants are same issues; do not serve variety of foods, they do not have the ability to make different food. Comparing to other businesses, for Example, look at Holly land, Somali restaurants do not have the same food and costumers. People are lined up in Holly land. Our grandfathers and grand mothers that eat rice or make us eat rice be will gone 20 years from now. Our young generations and their children will go to eat at Subways and McDonalds. Somali businesses including restaurants serve no one other than the Somalis, and in the long run they will run out of businesses.

Institutions
Institutions are broking apart; many of them are not organized and they do not even know their existence.  Many youth and lecturers/sheikhs barely understand one another and many of it is language barriers. If one does not speak the language of their people how can they help their people or at least be part of them.  Knowing language, people and identity is important, if you do not know though, you will be able to go anywhere.  There are big between the organizations. There are some people who are there to make problems and instigations among people and organizations and as long these people are around we will have divisions and disconnections.

Family
there are big problems among families, the divorce rate is very high. Children are without mothers or fathers. Fathers are standing at starbucks doing nothing but arguing something that do not make sense, something that already destroy our homeland.  Mothers are trying to work out things, but they cannot do job that is meant for two people. On the other hands, our older people and even young once have mental illness because back in our country, they used to walk but here they are seeing two walls. Young people or teenagers are disrespectful to our older people; they do not have any respect. Some of our elders are alone here in nurse homes. They do not have anybody to take car off.

In conclusion, I want our youth to be able to do something for themselves and for their people. I want our youth to become an effective leader. According to abdikadir.net site, the article titled past, present, & future of youth to become an effective leaders, one needs to have these elements. First is education, both Islamic and academia. Second, is guidance and role model, third, is involvement and service, and fourth, is affiliation. These are what we need in order to become good and effective leaders who can guide and take care for themselves, their people and humanity as whole. I finished the Quran at Salahudin Islamic School at Dar Al-Hirjah mosque of Islamic Civic Society of America (ICSA) and I am member of Dar Al-Hijrah Youth Council (DYC) which became ICSAYC. I would like to invite my fellow young brothers and sisters to involve the activities of this great organization of ours. I am speaking about experience; it really provides the five above education, guidance, role model and affiliation which we will lead us to what we want in this life and hereafter as well.