The United States Embassy in Stockholm has been very helpful in fostering dialogue and research about the Swedish-Somali community as well as the American-Somali community for quite some time. On Tuesday May 24th, before we flew to Karlskrona, Professor Benny Carlson and I stopped at the embassy around 8:00 a.m. to meet some of the officials who have been extremely supportive and helpful on my trip. I was truly excited to see the Embassy abroad sinceI have not been in one anywhere in the world before. The building is huge and feels like a fortress. As you might have expected, the security was tight, but the officers at the gate were friendly and welcoming. Our host, Susan, who I have been corresponding with for quite a while, let us in. Susan also knew professor Benny Carlson. We went in and met extremely bright and well informed public servants. We met with Christopher G. Dunnett, Ryan John Koch, and Susan Szmania.
We had an open discussion about the condition of the Swedish-Somali community and the role of the Embassy in helping the new communities feeling at home in Sweden and how the Minnesota-Somali experience can be helpful and how we can exchange ideas and find ways to strength the role of the civil society in advancing the well being of all. It was rewarding for me to know that in Sweden we have bright and highly educated public officials representing all of us in the best possible light.
We only had 90 minutes and we could not stay long as we were flying out around 11:00 a.m. We agreed to stay in touch and continue the dialogue. As mentioned in my previous blog, the U.S. Embassy in Stockholm recently sponsored the Nordic Somali Delegation that visited several cities in the Untied States including Minnesota.
Before we left I was able to meet with Ambassador Matthew Barzun and took a picture with him and congratulated him and his team’s work in Sweden.
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As always, if you ever feel I have made a mistake or unintentionally offended anyone, please let me know via hsamatar@adcminnesota.org. Feedback is always appreciated.
Thank you for traveling with me and I do appreciate you reading my blog and interacting with me.
Graciously,
Hussein Samatar
Executive Director
