Somali TV

Somali Channel TV ~ April 13, 2014

This link brings you to my brief Somali TV  interview on Farshaxanka Soomaaliyeed (Somali Weaving) at the Somali Artifact and Cultural Museum, in Minneapolis, MN. The news that day was that the Minneapolis City Council and mayor presented the document announcing July 1st in Minneapolis as "Somali-American Day" to the Somali Artifact and Cultural Museum http://somalimuseum.com/ for safe-keeping. Several leaders in the Somali community spoke, including our new city councilman, Abdi Warsame, and Osman Ali, founder of the Somali Museum. I am honored to be included in the evening.

Weaving is a huge part of Somali tradition among the women, as you see in this youtube video:
Farshaxanka Soomaaliyeed

In Somalia, nomadic women wove their mats to pray on, sleep on, as rugs, and to cover the aqal Soomaali (nomadic hut), wove vessels to carry milk and water in, and they even wove their own rope. They wove a mat to place between the camel and the haan, or milk container, to protect the wood of the haan from scratching the camel. And there were other woven objects, including a sort of apron they'd put on the rams for birth control, because 'the rams had no season, like the other animals', in other words they were trying to procreate all the time, according to a man named Omar, who I met at an early unveiling of the Somali Museum. So the women must have been always weaving..... when they weren't busy milking goats or camels, cooking, cleaning, taking care of children, chasing the rams off the ewes, or putting up and taking down the hut.

Early in my clinical work in the Somali community in Minneapolis, I saw a young girl as a patient. Her mother thought she wasn't eating well, as sent her to see me, the dietitian at a community clinic. I interviewed the girl, and coming from a public health background I asked her, "What is the first thing you usually eat or drink after you wake up?" And, she said, "Well, my mom makes this thing like a pancake, and then she puts tea on it, and I eat some of that." And, I said, "So, how much cangeero do you eat at breakfast?" And, she turned her head to look at me and her eyes got really big. . . and, she said, "How do you know cangeero?!"

I learn from my clients - bar ama baro, meaning "learn or teach" - certainly sums up the past seven years in which I've worked exclusively in Somali-owned businesses, clinics, and non-profits serving our fabulous community of mostly Somali elders living in Minneapolis. I feel privileged to work with these elders.

I've learned about biriise iyo basto, soor, ambuula, malawax, muufo, roti, cangeero, buur, timur, halwa, iyo molub. My favorite Somali food word is 'qaxwa', a kind of coffee made from hulls.

Pamela Gaard - Portrait of Osman on Somali TV

Minnehaha Falls - Minneapolis

I have a Somali co-worker who, one time, when we were walking somewhere, asked me, "Pam, do you go to church?" And, I said, "No, I'm Jewish." (The name Gaard always throws them off, but, the curly hair never lies.) And, then he looked at me and said, "Oh. . . Shalom!"

Somali Elders at Minnehaha Falls, Minneapolis, MN ~ Spring, 2011

This picture was taken on one of our field trips. After a record snowfall in winter of 2010-11 (76"), Minnehaha Falls was quite extraordinary. These women had never seen the falls before, even though some of them live nearby - they had not known about it. One of our (Somali) drivers told me that he had driven by the signs to the park often, not realizing that there was so much there of interest.  He had been picking up his mother, who lives on Minnehaha Avenue only about 1 mile from the falls, to take her to Lake Calhoun to walk, not knowing that the park had so much to offer - walking trails, picnic area, and, of course, the main attraction - the waterfalls.

Minnehaha Falls, ink on paper

Peace Garden

Part of my job as Health Educator is getting people who are often sedentary up and moving. Most of my clients are Somali and Oromo elders, who live in Minneapolis.  I take my people on field trips to beautiful and fun places to get a little exercise, usually places they've not yet seen. A few days ago, we went to Lake Harriet -- starting at the Rose Garden, and on to the Wildflower Garden and Japanese Peace Garden.

Somali Woman in Garden

I told the drivers the route and led the caravan. When we got there we piled out of the vans and cars. A few people spoke a little English. One woman had a radio and was listening to the BBC in Somali language. Things are really bad in Mogadishu now, we all knew, due to the drought. 

We walked through the Rose Garden, then everybody wanted to see the lake. We crossed over to Lake Harriet, everyone heeding my warnings about the bike path (but, some bikes still going way too fast and thinking they have right of way, which they do, but still). We are a slow moving group of about 30 people, mostly women, very colorful.

We lingered by Lake Harriet and the mood of the group became quiet and introspective. I suspect some of the people were praying for water, by the water, for those back home. At the Peace Garden, some of the women walked barefoot in the fountain and appeared refreshed.

Later, we sat in the shade and one woman brought out a Qu'ran. Most of them just talked together in their own language, and laughed. Those of us in the shade did a little stretching. Some women walked around and around the park in groups of three or four. A few women sat alone on the 'peace stones', in the sun, and looked out at the park quietly. The few men in our group including two drivers and maybe two elders, went off to walk alone and sit under their own trees.

I amused a few women with my small knowledge of Somali language, trying to count to 20 as we sat in the shade. The drivers passed out water and we walked a little more. I took some photos with someone's camera at her request ~ and got two thumbs up from my fearless interpreter ~ so I knew the trip was a success.

I led the caravan back to 38th Street and waved them goodbye. In Af-Soomaali (Somali language) ~ nabad gelyo means 'goodbye', or literally, 'go in peace'.

No Sane Man Will Dance

"Clothianidin", acrylic on gramophone record (78 rpm), 10" d,

The insecticide clothianidin has been known since 2003 (the same year it gained EPA approval) to be toxic to honeybees. It was banned in several European countries years ago. Other concerns with the chemical include possible immunotoxicity in humans. Studies have linked it to decreased thymus weights in rats, which correlates to this concern as the thymus controls our immune function (through T-lymphocytes or T-cells).

The insecticide is listed on the EPA site as most often used as a seed treatment on corn and canola, to protect against boring insects -- grubs and worms. It presents known toxicity if the seeds are eaten (by songbirds), or if it reaches our ground water.

Corn and canola are two of the most widely grown and most widely consumed crops in the US, especially in Hispanic/Latino, African, Native American, and African American homes. Additionally, these crops are opportunistic class-wise, as they are often cheaper than other oils or grain products. Of course, as Michael Pollan points out in "The Omnivore's Dilemma", we are all full of corn knowingly or not from the additives we use -- HFCS in virtually everything, and cornstarch, also, found in many foods from yogurt to baked goods to condiments. Baking powder, you'd think would just be an acid salt and an alkaline component (usually baking soda) that get together to create air pockets in your muffins while they bake, which cause them to rise (NaHCO₃ + H⁺ → Na⁺ + CO₂ + H₂O).  But, no, the acid and base salt are mixed into an inert starch, which is usually cornstarch. So, -- it's everywhere.

Besides corn and canola, on a CA Pesticide Info Site, the main food crops that clothianidin is used on include: table and raisin grapes, wine grapes, and pears.

_{From the EPA report:}

Clothianidin is highly toxic to honey bees on an acute contact basis (LD_{50 > 0.0439 μg/bee). It has the potential for toxic chronic exposure to honey bees, as well as other nontarget pollinators, through the translocation of clothianidin residues in nectar and pollen. In honey bees, the effects of this toxic chronic exposure may include lethal and/or sub-lethal effects in the larvae and reproductive effects in the queen.
Clothianidin as a likely rationale for colony collapse disorder.}

Also, for more info from EPA's on the insecticide, look here:

http://www.epa.gov/opprd001/factsheets/clothianidin.pdf

"No sane man will dance." - Cicero (106-43 B.C.)