Youth in so many ways are vulnerable. They struggle to belong, deal with peer pressure, lack judgment and encounter numerous academic and social stresses.

Now add to all of that being part of a refugee community that faces yet another series of challenges, including cultural adaption, economic barriers and striving for acceptance.

In the Minneapolis Somali community, all of those pressures on youth are a perfect storm for terrorist recruiters. About 22 men have left the state since 2007 to join al-Shabab in Somalia, and another dozen people have left in recent years to join jihadist groups in Syria, according to The Associated Press.

To combat the terror recruiting, a federal program has been introduced in Minneapolis to help mentor Somali youth to prevent them from being susceptible to recruiters. Last week program leaders announced additions to the program that emphasize mentorship, job outreach and youth leadership training. The approach is a solid one that will likely have more success because leaders in the Somali community were involved in developing the plan.

The funding for the program comes the federal and state government as well as private sources, including the Mall of America. That buy-in from multiple sources is also important to make this a community effort, not just one dictated by the federal government.

Mankato has a large Somali community and law enforcement authorities have previously said terror recruiting has not been an issue here. Mankato leaders work hard at bridging connections between people of diverse backgrounds. Mankato police make efforts to connect with at-risk youth through recreation, the schools work hard to get them involved in extracurricular activities, and the English language learners program is top-notch for both children and adults.

Even with all of our progress here, some of the tactics that are part of this prevention program are beneficial for any community that has a large, and in some ways vulnerable, refugee population. There’s no guarantee terrorist recruiters won’t attempt to expand their reach. But beyond that concern, giving youth skills to cope better and make good decisions is beneficial no matter what the circumstances.

A key to the success of this program will be its flexibility. Boston and Los Angeles also have introduced anti-terrorism programs, and it would be worthwhile for Minnesota to keep track of those cities’ failures and successes and tweak its program accordingly.

 

— Mankato Free Press, Sept. 13