FBI, Somalis meet to foster dialogue with youth

The event was to promote understanding with a group recently thrust into spotlight.

FBI agents showed up in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis on Saturday afternoon to talk with Somali youth, but they weren't behaving like investigators. What unfolded for a few hours inside the Brian Coyle Center was groundbreaking. The agents, young Somali men and women and Somali elders sat on folding chairs and got acquainted with one another without an immediate crime or crisis hanging over their heads. The event marked another step toward mutual understanding in a tense year that has brought federal indictments against 14 local Somali men accused of providing support to terrorists. A key figure at Saturday's meeting was Ralph Boelter, the agent in charge of the FBI's Minneapolis office who has presided over one of the nation's largest counterterrorism investigations since 9/11. It was the first time Boelter had met with a large group of Somali young people. Those who attended "are going to be the leaders of the Somali community in the future," Boelter said in an interview before the meeting. He said he intended to listen to them and to explain "how we operate and what we are all about." Saturday's dialogue, attended by 50 to 60 people, was organized by the FBI and the Confederation of Somali Community in Minnesota, an organization that offers youth, social service and other programs. Gone missing The FBI and the Somali community were thrust into the national spotlight after about 20 local men, nearly all of Somali descent, disappeared. Six were killed in Somalia. FBI officials have said they think the Minnesotans were recruited by terrorists to return to Somalia to fight in the country's civil war. Saeed Fahia, executive director of the Confederation of Somali Community, said the FBI's investigation into the recruitment of young men in Minneapolis was "not the central issue" Saturday. Instead, he said that he and Boelter wanted to convene the event to promote "relationship building." Saturday's event included presentations by the young people. "The kids did a skit and did some poetry for us to demonstrate some of their cultural traditions," FBI agent E.K. Wilson said. After the session, he termed the event a "big success." Wilson said he facilitated one of the four small-group discussions, and in his group, the young people posed "hard questions" and their comments were "honest" and "frank." The event was closed to the news media. But Boelter and Fahia talked to the Star Tribune outside the meeting. Boelter said he's been "very deliberate" in telling his staff that they'll resolve the issue of the men traveling to Somalia. "But we don't want to lose the Somali community in the process of resolving it," he said. "In fact, I want to do just the opposite. I want to draw ourselves closer to the Somali community while we resolve it." Fahia said, "I do have open communications with the FBI. I'm at ease with calling them." He even took part in six days of classes through the FBI Citizens Academy, but Fahia said he wants Somali youth to gain a greater understanding of the FBI as well as give federal agents a chance to talk directly to the FBI. Before Saturday's session began in the Coyle center's gymnasium, Boelter said, "I will tell them that they are members of two great cultures -- the Somali culture is one and the American culture is another." Boelter said Saturday's event is one of many ways he's tried to reach out to Somalis. "I have had a great deal of interaction with Somali elders," Boelter said. He's appeared on Somali television and radio shows "to reach a broader audience to try to dispel some of the myths of how the FBI operates and what our mission is." Boelter, who described Fahia as a friend, said the FBI's relationship with the entire Somali community is "evolving." On Saturday night, he said he was pleased with the "honest dialogue" that occurred. Boelter said, "Nothing but good can come from that." Fahia said the meeting gave youth a chance to talk about "their challenges, their successes in America" and their expectations for the future.
Liz Fedor • 612-673-7709
Next page