Somali Bantu Refugee Resettlement:
From Kakuma to Atlanta
(2003-2005)
From late 2003 to early 2005, metro-Atlanta was one of many areas to welcome the Somali Bantu as refugees to the United States. It was expected that their arrival would present a challenge because they came from extremely rural conditions and did not have an existing community of their own language and culture established in the United States. We had rarely had any group arrive in large numbers with such a gap in understanding but so few resources to turn to. We knew that it would require a lot of preparation and understanding to coordinate a response to their needs.
With this in mind, I was quite fortunate to have the unique opportunity to travel to Kenya in 2003 and visit the refugee camp from which this population was coming before they ever began arriving to our office. This not only gave me insight into the needs that they would have at arrival but was a valuable chance to understand the larger picture of what refugees experience as they wait in camps for their resettlement.
In this photolog, I will show pictures from my visit to the Somali Bantu settlements of Kakuma Refugee Camp along with photos of the resettlement experience of a number of Somali Bantu in Atlanta, Georgia. I hope it serves to give a small glimpse of the differences and challenges the Somali Bantu faced upon arrival and the efforts of agencies to help them.
