Should land
owners building new
homes be required
to build sidewalks
and half-street
improvements?
– Page 7
Remembering
Jim Allen as a
gentle clown –
Page 8
SW Corridor
planners consider
light rail tunnel
to PCC Sylvania
– Page 3
The Southwest Portland Post
Volume No. 23 Issue No. 11
www.swportlandpost.com
Portland, Oregon
Complimentary
September 2015
Former Somali refugee finds new home in Southwest Portland
By Erik Vidstrand
The Southwest Portland Post
Saalim Saalim cannot forget the
refugee camp where he lived almost
22 years. He remembers the loud,
curdling screams in the middle of the
night. Someone was most likely being
bit by a poisonous snake or scorpion in
the wilds of the Sahara desert in Kenya.
"The [U.N.] ambulance drivers were
quick to the location of the cries,”
Saalim said while sitting down to speak
to The Post.
He also remembers the good the
United Nations did with donations
of food boxes and care in the refugee
camps.
Born in Somalia, on the Horn of
Africa, Saalim’s father was born in
India. His mother is from Yemen. His
family fled the civil war in 1990 when
he was a teenager. They arrived in
Mombasa, Kenya located on the coast
of the Indian Ocean.
He would leave the camp for whatever
work he could find: construction, truck
driver, or laborer. He also went to
school.
The urban setting was a target for
non-refugees pillaging the United
Nations supplies: water, food rations,
and blankets.
Soon after, the camp was resettled
inland in the Sahara desert. Saalim and
his family went as they had no other
options.
The process to get resettled elsewhere
outside Africa began right away, and
in Saalim’s case, it took decades. A
supporter is needed in the host country.
Some of his family members were
sent to London. Others were waiting
for a U.S. sponsor. When an opportunity
arose for Saalim, now with three boys
and a wife, Southwest Portland was
the place. Some distant relatives were
already here. Church World Service
paid for their flight.
“We also received a loan to get
resettled in the U.S. but I’m still paying
them back,” he said proudly. “They
didn’t charge us interest.”
Arriving in September of 2012, his
family moved into the Markham
neighborhood in Section
8 housing for low-income
individuals.
“The kids enrolled in
Neighborhood House
Head Start programs,” he
continued. “We attended
English classes at IRCO
(Immigrant and Refugee
Community Organization)
and IRCO provided us
with job leads.”
Saalim found temporary
part-time work at
Columbia Sportswear,
then a job at Leatherman,
and then he went back to
Columbia.
After a home visit by
a Neighborhood House
social worker, Saalim felt
ashamed of the stress he
had providing for his
f am i l y w i t h s p o r ad ic
paychecks. He told the
case worker what he really
Saalim Saalim and his children celebrate Eid al-Fitr (Feast
needed: a permanent full-
of Breaking the Fast) at the Oregon Convention Center on
(Continued on Page 6)
July 17. (Photo courtesy of Saalim Saalim)
Wilson students and teachers gear
up for school year
By KC Cowan
The Southwest Portland Post
Wilson students run drills in late August in hopes of making the soccer team.
(Post photo by KC Cowan)
Wilson students Coby Hart, Jonah Hart, Corey Bissonette and Maddy Conkle are all
juniors this year. (Post photo by KC Cowan)
Don’t forget to renew your subscription. Form on Page 3.
The Southwest Portland Post
4207 SE Woodstock Blvd #509
Portland, OR 97206
The pressure to get everything ready
for the 2015/16 school year at Wilson
High School was just a little bit more
intense this year, because the first day
of school came before Labor Day.
So teachers were back in the building
on Aug. 24, and the first day of classes
was Aug. 27.
Things were buzzing at Wilson the
week of Aug. 17, however, as hundreds
of students lined up for registration.
They picked up their schedules,
textbooks, paid any fees, got their locker
assignments, and posed for student
identification cards.
A team of parent volunteers helped
move things along, but none of the
kids seemed to mind waiting in line,
because they were so busy catching up
with friends.
Twin brothers Coby and Jonah Hart
are both juniors this year and say
they’re glad to be back in school, so
they have “something to do” after a
long summer.
Coby Hart looks forward to seeing his
friends, and Jonah Hart is excited about
his classes, which include pre-calculus,
advanced placement chemistry, physics,
and marketing.
Juniors Corey Bissonette and Maddy
Conkle are also taking a strong load of
advanced placement classes and both
are in leadership class as well, which
means serving as a student officer.
“We get to represent the school and
help the student body and share their
voice,” said Conkle.
The four juniors said they will find
time for clubs and sports, with Bissonette
playing baseball and Jonah Hart on the
swim team.
Corey Bissonette’s brother Coby is
playing cello in the orchestra and is
going out for track and cross-country.
Conkle is a varsity cheerleader. All of
them say Wilson is a great school, with
a friendly atmosphere. “Everybody here
is so nice,” said Bissonette.
Enrollment this year at Wilson is
expected to be 1,327, a big jump from
last year’s 1,283 students. Erica Meyers,
business manager, said they have 120
staff members, but they’re hoping to hire
(Continued on Page 6)
Wilson business manager Erica Meyers
assists parent volunteer Laura Joyce with
her computer during fall registration.
(Post photo by KC Cowan)