ABSTRACT
Throughout the 1990s, Somalia made international headlines due to oppressive military rule and interdan fighting. In January 1991, tensions escalated, the East African country’s central government officially collapsed, and anarchy reigned. Armed clan militia and warlords filled the power vacuum left behind, raping, plundering and killing out of vengeance. Violence, unspeakable human rights atrocities, and fear of starvation either claimed the lives or prompted the flight of thousands of Somalis. Forty-five percent of the population was either displaced internally or fled Somalia (Putnam & Noor, 1993). Today, there is a huge Diaspora, with large Somali communities throughout Africa, Europe, Oceania, the Middle East, and North America. Cultural values and social norms are challenged as Somalis strive to assimilate in their host countries while simultaneously retaining what it is that defines them as Somalis.
