Somali Bantus in Pittsburgh: An Experience of Resettlement

Refugees resettled in the U. S. have received little attention from the academic community. This research study seeks to address this gap by looking at an especially vulnerable refugee group, the Somali Bantus, recently resettled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and the public health significance of their long-term integration in the wider American culture. Oppressed for centuries, treated as third-class citizens, forced to flee their homes and condemned to live in refugee camps for ten to twelve years because of international events, Somali Bantus qualify as a uniquely disadvantaged refugee population. For this study, interviews were conducted with Somali Bantus and service providers in Pittsburgh to assess their experiences of resettlement. Somali Bantus have a history of being oppressed and discriminated against. Using the qualitative grounded theory approach the exploratory research here shows, the history of discrimination the Somali Bantus have experienced has long-term impacts on individual Somali Bantu's sense of personal agency. Additionally, the enormous need of the Somali Bantu community created conditions in which service providers competed with one another, rather than collaborating. This lack of cooperation among providers and the system of resettlement in the U. S. that encourages refugees to work as soon as possible, regardless of language ability, further hindered the ability of the Somali Bantus to exercise personal agency after arriving in the U. S