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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 2009)
GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD Seattle p uts $8 m illion behind grassroots initiatives to stop youth violence on the streets C E L E B R A T IN G a d ec a d e o f r^r Page 8 ' Education ♦ Dialogue ♦ Independence two worlds African refugees battle cultural isolation as they try to adapt to their new home in Portland BY MARA GRUNBAUM C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R ' n a toasty Tuesday afternoon, Suleqa Ismail wears the trademarks of two different continents: her dark, shoulder-length headscarf reflects the tradition of her native Somalia, while the purse she carries’- white with a sequined Minnie Mouse appliqué — is classic American. The split runs through her family, too: The oldest of Ismail’s four, children, 9-year-old ■ daughter Fartun, was born in Africa, but her 17-month-old son, Fuad, is a stateside native. - There’s even some ambivalence to her experience in the United States. Although Ismail and her husband, Salémàn Adan, are infinitely grateful that they were able to leave war-plagued Somalia apd come here as refugees four years ago, the challenges they’ve faced since have made their transition less than smooth. They’re one of many African families in Portland who’ve run across serious housing hurdles since arriving in the U.S. Since January of 2007, Ismail and Adan have lived with their children at the New Columbia, the Housing Authority of Portland’s sprawling low- income housing complex in North Portland. They - pay a third of their income for rent, which was. adjusted down when Adan was laid off from his job with a rental car company in February of last year. This spring, they received a letter stating that the clutter in their yard was in violation of their lease, but because they can’t read English and speak only a Somali dialect called Maay Maay, they didn’t realize the notice was important, and it was forgotten. In July, to their surprise, Ismail and Adan received a final eviction notice. The couple was baffled. “We just never understood what the problem Suleqa Ism ail and daughter Fatheya, 6, havé lived in Portland fo r fo u r years but still fin d lim ited resources or opportunities to fully engage the larger com m unity P H O T O B Y K E N H A W K IN S W W W . K EN H A W K I NS. C O M See WORLDS, page Distici judge green lights lawsuit against city's camping ordinance STA FF REPO RTS for disparate treatment, and prevents the homeless district judge has giyen the green light to a . from traveling to or residing in the city of Portland.” Three of the four plaintiffs have physical group of people experiencing homelessness disabilities that prevent them from securing full to go forward with their class-action lawsuit against the city of Portland’s camping ordinance. time employment, according to their suit Altogether, attorneys with the Oregon Law In a decision reached Friday, District Judge Ann Center argued five reasons why the lawsuit should Aiken ruled against the city in its effort to dismiss go forward. Judge Aiken supported two - that the the grounds for the lawsuit, concluding, in ordinances violated their rights to be free from laymen’s terms, that the suit — which seeks to cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth declare the city’s no-camping ordinance Amendment) aqd their rights to equal treatment unconstitutional - has the muster to go forward. under the law. The judge dismissed their claims to The group of four homeless individuals say that defend their rights to free travel, freedom of the city’s enforcement of no camping and movement, and due process. temporary structures ordinances “criminalize the Monica Goracke with the Oregon Law Cehter status of being homeless, singles out the homeless ■ says that the judge’s ruling allows the case to - proceed. “The next step is to exchange information in the discovery process,” Goracke says, which will mean several.moré months will pass before there is any further decision on the plaintiff’s claims. The city prohibits camping or the construction Of temporary structures on public property. However, those ordinances may be lifted by the city in “extraordinary circumstances.” Street Roots was unable to reach the City Attorney’s office for comment by press time. In a recent report from the federal Department See CAMPING, page 6 The city prohibits camping or the construction of temporary structures on public property.
