Frequently Asked Questions • How Can You Help? • History of the Somali Bantu
Who are the Somali Bantu?
South Carolina will soon become home to 120 Somali Bantu refugees. The Somali Bantu are now living in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya after fleeing ethnic persecution in Somalia. Because of centuries of persecution, discrimination, and enslavement, the Somali Bantu cannot return to Somalia with any reasonable expectation of a life of freedom and security. Their only hope for a safe and peaceful existence is to be resettled in another country. The United States has agreed to resettle 8,000-12,000 Somali Bantu refugees in 2003-2004. They began arriving in 2003.History of the Somali Bantu
The Somali Bantu are descended from six African tribes originally living
in what are now Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi. In the 1700's and 1800's
Arab slave traders armed with muskets and whips plundered these regions.
They captured untold numbers of men, women, and children to be sold on
the Zanzibar slave market and shipped to the Persian Gulf and the Middle
East. 
The
enslavement of some Somali Bantu continued into the 1930's. Since Muslims
are prohibited from owning Muslims as slaves, many Bantu converted to
Islam to free themselves from slavery. Others also adopted Islam. Many
Bantu Muslims still retain the animist beliefs of their pre-Somali past
such as the use of magic, curses, and possession dances.
In the mid-1800s many Somali Bantu escaped and attempted to return to Tanzania. However, the harsh environment of southern Somalia and the hostility of some Kenyan tribes prevented them from completing the journey. They settled in the Juba River Valley of Somalia where they were able to live as farmers and defend themselves from hostile Somalis. Most of the Somali Bantu approved for resettlement in the United States come from the Juba River Valley.
Slavery was abolished in Somalia during the era of Italian colonization but the plight of the former slaves did not greatly improve. They were forced to work on plantations owned by the Italian colonial administration. These conditions were indistinguishable from slavery. Under the British occupation of Somalia in the 1940's and 1950's conditions improved slightly for the Somali Bantu. However, when Somalia gained independence in 1960 life became more difficult. In spite of the Somali government's declarations that tribalism should be abolished, the Somali Bantu continued to be the victims of overt discrimination in housing, education, and employment. They were forcibly conscripted into the military and sent to fight Somalia's war with Ethiopia.
The
outbreak of Civil War in Somalia in the early 1990's was particularly
devastating for the Somali Bantu living in the Juba River Valley. Bandits
and rogue militias raided Somali Bantu settlements in search of food.
Because the Somali Bantu did not enjoy the protection of being part of
a Somali Clan, they were brutalized and victimized with impunity. They
were regularly robbed, raped, and murdered. They fled by the tens of thousands
across the Somali border into Kenya's and hostile Northeastern Province.
They have recently been relocated for their own safety to the Kakuma refugee
camp in Kenya where they await resettlement in the United States.
The Social Impact of Slavery on the Somali Bantu
The impact of slavery on the Somali Bantu has been devastating. Even after slavery was abolished, the Somali Bantu continued to be treated as second-class citizens. Cultural, linguistic and physical differences set the Bantu apart from ethnic Somalis. There has been no co-mingling or intermarriage between the two groups. The Bantu were discouraged from sending their children to school, denied land tenure, and denied political representation. They were not allowed to become officers in the military or the police. They were restricted to the most menial jobs and were often taunted and ridiculed by ethnic Somalis. Their lives closely paralleled those of former slaves in the United States during the pre-civil rights era. Resettlement will offer the Somali Bantu a fresh start and an opportunity to achieve their full potential as individuals and as a community.
