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In 2004, a small group of Somali Bantu refugees settled in Columbia and Alan Wieder, education, recorded their new lives in photographs. An exhibit of that work, “Somali Bantu in Columbia,” will be on display at McKissick Museum Oct. 2–Dec. 1.
Generally oppressed in Somalia, the Somali Bantu fled during the Civil War of the early 1990s and migrated to refugee camps in Kenya.
“Life in the refugee camps was difficult and dangerous. Food and water were in short supply and violence was ever present,” Weider said. “In 2003 the Somali Bantu began immigrating to the United States. Lutheran Family Services is the refugee resettlement agency in Columbia and various sponsoring faith groups, community organizations, local businesses and individuals have helped the Somali Bantu build lives in our community.”
A free lecture to mark the opening of the exhibit will take place Oct. 7 at McKissick. Ken Menkhaus, Davidson University, will speak on “From Slavery to War to America: The Journey of the Somali Bantu,” beginning at 7 p.m.
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Photographs from "Somali Bantu in Columbia," an exhibit of photographs taken by Alan Wieder, education
