TORONTO'S SOMALI COMMUNITY REMAINS CLOSE TO HOMELAND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TORONTO 000200

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

STATE FOR AF/E, S/CT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PTER SCUL SMIG KISL KPAO SO CA
SUBJECT: TORONTO'S SOMALI COMMUNITY REMAINS CLOSE TO HOMELAND

REF: Ottawa 636

TORONTO 00000200 001.3 OF 002


Sensitive but Unclassified - protect accordingly.


1. (U) Summary: Nearly 80% of Canada's Somali population resides in
Ontario, with the largest community in the Toronto area. The
community, which consists mostly of recent immigrants, has had
difficulty integrating into mainstream Canadian society due to
problems with discrimination, both perceived and real, and few
economic opportunities. At the same time, the community maintains
strong political and social ties to Somalia. The perception of USG
policies towards Somalia depends upon the clan affiliations of the
individual. However, in general, there is an overwhelmingly
positive perception of President Obama and his policies towards
Africa and the Muslim world. End Summary.

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Somalis in GTA: Facing Challenges to Integration
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2. (U) Official figures from the 2006 Canadian Census put the Somali
Canadian community at 29,700 in Ontario, nearly 80% of the official
national total. However, community organizations claim that the
population is over 40,000 in the Toronto area alone. While a small
number of Somalis migrated to Canada and other western countries in
the mid 1980s, the majority of Somali refugees in Canada arrived in
the early 1990s. Prior to 1989, the small number of Somalis in
Canada consisted of immigrants, students and political exiles. This
changed between 1991 and 1993, when Somalis were then the second
largest group of refugee claimants in Canada.


3. (U) Directors and members of Somali community service
organizations told PolOff that, to date, cultural and language
barriers have made Somali integration into mainstream Canadian
society difficult. Ontario's complicated professional certification
process has also kept many well-educated Somalis in low-wage jobs.
They added that the community faces discrimination based on their
Muslim beliefs, as well as race.


4. (SBU) Perhaps the most serious problem facing the Somali-Canadian
community is youth crime and gang violence. Some local Somali
contacts expressed their fear that the youth engaged in these
activities are in danger of being radicalized because they feel
marginalized in Canadian society. These contacts tell us that they
have seen a number of youths who idolize the Somali Islamist group
Al-Shabab, and Al Qaeda. One Somali leader, Osman Ali, president of
the Somali Canadian Association of Etobicoke, asserted that he has
heard of some young Somali-Canadians traveling to the United Arab
Emirates to join Al-Shabab, and then continue to Somalia. Ali said
that he has talked to the Canadian Security Intelligence Services
about his concerns but has not seen any agency of the Canadian
government act on his recommendation to reach out to these
disenfranchised youths.

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Somali-Canadians Follow Closely Events Back Home
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5. (U) The Somali-Canadian community maintains strong ties to
Somalia through family and business connections. They follow
closely events within Somalia, with a special focus on how those
events affect their respective clans. One recent example is the
reaction to Secretary Clinton's meeting with Somali President Sheik
Sharif Sheik Ahmed on August 6. According to our contacts, those
Somali-Canadians who hail from Mogadishu, and are members of the
ruling clan, saw the trip very favorably and were excited about what
they perceived as the USG's new focus on Somalia. However,
immigrants belonging to rival clans were unhappy at what they viewed
as the USG's support of another clan over theirs. Despite this,
there seems to be overwhelming support for the United States and
President Obama's policies towards Africa and the Muslim world in
the GTA's Somali diaspora.


6. (U) All Consulate contacts agree that the majority of the
Somali-Canadian community is against Somali piracy. However, some
sympathize with the acts out of concern for the poverty under which
most people in Somalia live. In addition, many consider that some
of the pirates are actually protecting their local fisheries from
foreign ships that have exploited the Gulf of Aden in the past.
There was also particular sympathy for Abduhl Wal-i-Musi, brought to
New York in April 2009 to face charges connected with the taking of
the Maersk Alabama, who many see as a gullible youth.


TORONTO 00000200 002.3 OF 002


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Involvement in Somali Politics
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7. (U) In January 2009, Adam Esse, a Canadian citizen and resident
of Mississauga, Ontario, lost his bid for president of the Puntland
region of Somalia. Esse ran against 10 other candidates, including
incumbent, and fellow Canadian, Mohamed Musa Hersi. Esse ran on a
platform of ending piracy in the Gulf of Aden and creating jobs.
Esse, who was born in Puntland and educated in Saudi Arabia, the
U.S. and Canada, told PolOff that he plans to continue travelling to
Somalia to assist the government in any capacity. Another contact
told us that Esse's loss was not a surprise, as he is not a popular
figure in the Somali-Canadian community in general and was not
considered a strong candidate in this race. (Note: Esse recently
founded a breakaway mosque, Darul Hijra Islamic Centre, which was
the cause for some of his unpopularity. End note.)


8. (U) The previously-mentioned president of the Somali Canadian
Association of Etobicoke, Osman Ali, is also involved in politics,
both Canadian and Somali. He proudly showed PolOff his credentials
as a special Envoy to Canada from the Somali state of Puntland. As
the head of one of the larger Somali community organizations in the
GTA, Ali has standing in the local community. Ali plans to run for
federal MP of his riding, Etobicoke North, within a few years.
However, he says that if he is not successful in Canadian elections,
he plans to run for the presidency of Puntland.


9. (U) Comment: Only establishing itself in Canada two decades ago,
the Somali-Canadian community has a number of challenges to overcome
in order to integrate successfully into Canadian society. The
failure to completely integrate here may be the reason the Somali
diaspora in Canada has kept such strong ties to its homeland, as
evidenced by their active participation in Somali politics. While
clan divisions exist, even in Canada, there are some signs that they
are starting to dissipate as the Somali youth born in Canada move
past clan associations, according to our contact. The emergence of
Somali community organizations that serve the entire community, not
just specific Somali clans, is also evidence of this social shift.
As the clans continue to meld together, the Somali diaspora's
influence may increase, both locally and abroad. In general, the
community seems to view the U.S. positively and there is an
eagerness to work with us to improve conditions in Somalia.

JOHNSON