The Bantu were Africa’s original refugees, settling in diverse parts of the continent up until the 20th century. As fugitive slaves in Somalia, they settled in rural areas in the southern regions and established farms. Many didn’t have electricity or other modern conveniences and couldn’t read or write in any language. They where considered outsiders in Somalia, and some were slaves or indentured servants up to the first quarter of the 20th century.

Cultural differences didn’t insulate them from civil war, however. War lords chased Bantu off their farms as readily as they chased the Somalis from their cities. Many Bantu escaped to the same Kenyan camps as their Somali-speaking neighbors, but clan and language differences kept them separate.

Somalis began emigrating to the United States in 1991, but the Bantu didn’t begin to arrive until May 2003. By May 2006, more than 12,000 are expected to be resettled throughout the United States.

From historical references

For more information on the Somali Bantu, go to: http://www.culturalorientation.net/bantu/sbtoc.html