Stories from the pandemic

Through a partnership with the Sahan Journal, a nonprofit digital newsroom dedicated to providing authentic news reporting for and about immigrants and refugees in Minnesota, the Immigration History Research Center is creating digital stories documenting the experiences of immigrants and refugees during the pandemic and post them here.

Sahan Journal examines the immigrant experience with coronavirus in new video series.Oballa Oballa, an Ethiopian-born city council candidate in Austin, Minnesota, talks about running for office—without door-knocking—in a new series with the Immigration History Research Center at the University of Minnesota.

Abdulkadir Mohamed Mursal, 67, helped create modern Somali journalismEverywhere Abdulkadir Mohamed Mursal went—from Mogadishu to Nairobi to Minneapolis—he created radio stations and mentored Somali journalists. He died from COVID-19 this fall.

Minneapolis teacher describes year of ‘struggle’ for students during pandemic.Mariam Mohamed, Minneapolis middle-school teacher and author of children’s books, shares her experience teaching immigrant students in the age of COVID-19.

The pandemic compelled one Somali American educator to become something else: an artist.Mohammed Hajji Ahmed acted in “A Crack in the Sky,” based on the life story of author Ahmed Ismail Yusuf. Now he’s working on a documentary, a children’s story series in Somali and English, and a mural project.

Meet the Somali American nurse who’s become an ‘unsung hero’ of the COVID-19 pandemicHani Jacobson, community health nurse, is fighting for health equity and better COVID-19 care in St. Cloud’s Somali community

Addressing the needs of the pandemic starts with understanding the Black immigrant communities in the Twin Cities suburbs.Housing? Career training? Food aid? Vaccine outreach? African Career, Education, and Resource, Inc. has found new ways to deliver social services in the immigrant neighborhoods of Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, and the northwest suburbs of the Twin Cities.

Pandemic worsened addiction problems in Minnesota's East African communityAlliance Wellness Center founder Yussuf Shafie says it's easier for those struggling with alcohol or drugs to seek treatment when the staff speaks their language and knows their culture.

Free muffins, a fancy cappucino machine, and a $1,000 signing bonus: A Minnesota school-bus-company CEO talks about the struggle to hire drivers amid the pandemic worker shortage.

Sacad Guled owns and operates a fleet of 50 yellow buses and minivans across the Twin Cities, largely serving charter schools. These days, he says, he’s also driving a school bus route himself. Sacad told Sahan Journal what he’s doing to hire and retain drivers—and why $25 an hour often can’t compete with job offers from Amazon.

Bayan Research Center aims to define problems facing Somali Americans, provide data, and recommend solutions.

Somali Americans have a lot of pressing questions about family problems, substance abuse, mental illness, homelessness, and other issues. At Mohamed Shuyab's St. Anthony-based nonprofit, academics and experst try to provide answers.

During the pandemic, employers asked immigrant workers in Minnesota to risk their health, safety and status. In a new study, workers say they often got nothing in return.

Minnesota’s immigrants and refugees fill “essential” jobs in construction, agriculture, manufacturing, and more. In a new report, they shared their stories about working on the front lines of the outbreak, while finding themselves excluded from many federal and state relief funds. “You put yourself at risk for your family and the community,” one nursing assistant told researchers. “I was expecting something, but they didn’t give me anything.”