About the Somalis
Around the horn of Africa lies the country of Somalia, a nation with a troubled past and, unfortunately, a troubled present.
Somalis have been around for centuries and Islam was introduced to them by Arabs in the 7th century. Since then, Islam has become the most dominant religion in the country: 99.9% of Somalis identify themselves as Muslim.
In the 19th century, Somalis, like many other African peoples, came under European colonial control. The British took the north and the Italians the south and it remained so until 1960.
The merging of these two former colonies into Somalia brought a unique set of challenges. One of the most important of these was the multiple divisions between clans that led to several government struggles that, combined with failed military operations during the Cold War, contributed to further instability within the state.
Unfortunately, the effects of this are still visible today, as Somalia is an impoverished country with few educational and vocational opportunities. Combine this with a rapidly growing population and you have an increasingly large group of people inheriting a country that has little to offer them.
For this reason, it is easy to understand why Somalia is the 4th largest source of refugees in the world. Many of these refugees come to the Netherlands, where they have become the country's second-largest and fastest-growing African community.
The scars that run through Somalis from generation to generation are deep. And like all deep scars, the only true response to them is the Way to Life presented by Christ Himself. Many of these men and women live next door to us in Rotterdam, so in the love of Christ, let us extend such a merciful hand to these people with whom we are so blessed to live together.