The sambusa underground: How Minneapolis’ Somalis feed community and resistance

A fried snack sustained protesters, and the aid continues amid fear and promises that ICE will leave the city The images coming out of Minneapolis over the past two months have looked like something from a Hollywood dystopian horror film: masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents armed with guns, pepper spray, and tear gas coming to blows with everyday citizens wielding phones, whistles, signs, and, perhaps most surprisingly, food to feed their fellow protesters. For Fatoun Ali and other Somali community members, sambusa was the weapon of choice. Last December, before prejudiced threats turned to bloodshed in the streets, they deployed this tasty East African staple – a fried, flaky, triangular-shaped pastry typically filled with ground meat, vegetables, and spices (similar to South Asian samosas) – to combat the xenophobic rhetoric rapidly spreading across the Twin Cities. She estimates they bought and handed out hundreds of the simple snacks near community hubs, all in hopes of introducing others to the largest Somali diaspora community outside Africa. Continue reading...

By Kate Nelson