Students seek Oromo organization
SCSU University Chronicle, MN - November 12, 2007
SCSU Oromo students are looking to form a student organization on campus to support each other and to share their culture with the community.
The Oromo make up a large portion of the population in the Horn of Africa.
According to the U.S. State Department, in Ethiopia alone, Oromo people constitute more than 40 million of the country's 77 million inhabitants.
Though they are the numerical majority in the country, Oromo people face discrimination and experience dire human rights abuses there.
Minnesota has the largest community of Oromo people in the United States.
According to Minnesota Public Radio, "They have established a base camp of sorts (here) to speak out against abuses in a way they can't in their homeland," especially with the help of local groups like Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights.
Although much of Minnesota's Oromo population resides in Minneapolis, SCSU has, according to estimates by Oromo students themselves, around 20 to 30 Oromo people. This year, they are trying to create an Oromo student group on campus.
"We want to organize ourselves," said SCSU student Yohannis Dalla. "We want to do something helpful in the campus area. We want to have a student advisor, a club, and we want to motivate our students. We want to know what we can do at this school to help our kids" ...