It’s Somali vs Somali at TDSB | Opinion

Tarek Fatah on the divisions within the Somali Canadian community over whether special programs or enrichment needed to address the poor educational outcomes of some in the community. Not surprisingly, the community is divided, but this also reflects a maturing to have active and diverse debate and participation. We also had debates within government over whether we should “target” or focus on specific communities with specific issues, and I would make a distinction between specific programs  and separate schools for a community:

Liibaan Moalin, a father of three children in the TDSB system, started an on-line petition addressed to Chris Bolton, Chair of the TDSB and Premier Kathleen Wynne, asking, them to “Stop Ghettoizing Canadian Children of Somali descent.” The petition, which already has over 500 signatories, says:

“We are parents of Canadian children of Somali descent who find the idea of the proposed TDSB-funded “Somali Task Force” extremely offensive and racist. We believe if such a program is implemented, an entire community that is already part of a marginalized group, will further be stigmatized and segregated from the mainstream Canadian community.”

School Superintendent Jim Spyropoulos of TDSB, who is spearheading the “Somali Task Force” proposal acknowledges, “Labelling and stigma are an issue,” but told me, “it’s the Somali-Canadian community that is insisting on having the label ‘Somali’ attached to the taskforce.

“We met with hundreds of Somali-Canadians at meetings held in the Abu-Hurraira Mosque and the IMO Islamic Centre in Rexdale,” he said.

It’s Somali vs Somali at TDSB | Columnists | Opinion | Toronto Sun.