With her busy schedule, it is unlikely Hodan Nur has much time to dwell on the past. And for many Somalis who have settled in Eden Prairie, the past is not an easy place to visit. Nur’s childhood home has been a war-torn land for almost 20 years, and as a young woman, she had to transition to a new life in a foreign culture. Nur has not only adapted, but flourished.
She, her husband, Mohamed Hassan, and their two children, Iqra Hassan, 9, and Hamza Hassan, 8, have made their home in Eden Prairie since 2003. She wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Our sweet home is in Eden Prairie,” she said.
Nur was born in Baidoa, Somalia, a large city near the capital city of Mogadishu. The residents of that city speak a different dialect of Somali. She finished high school in Somalia and started university classes while also working as a secretary for the president of Somali Airlines. But the stable life she grew up with came to an end for her and all Somalis when civil war broke out in 1991. Now, an estimated 1.1 million refugees from the country are scattered around the world.
Nur’s mother was killed when their house was bombed. Nur eventually fled to Kenya and then, the United States.
She arrived in Chicago in August of 1998, alone in a loud and strange country. But, western culture was not entirely a shock for Nur, because knew some of Italian language and culture. After moving from Chicago to Virginia, Nur ended up in Minneapolis in 2000 and married Hassan. They lived in Brooklyn Center, then Chaska, and finally moved to Eden Prairie in 2003.
“We have good neighbors and we have good schools in Eden Prairie,” Nur said.
Day in the life
As part of life in Eden Prairie, Nur must navigate different cultures and different duties: She has many jobs – that of a wife, mother, neighbor and teacher. During the interview, her son, Hamza, demonstrated how he could recite verse (read in Arabic) from the Koran. Her children can speak Somali (and her Baidoa dialect) Arabic and English. Hamza herself jumps in and out of the different languages through her job at the Eden Prairie Family Center where she works as a teaching assistant.
Nur finds support from her co-workers. She gushed about working with Early Childhood Family Education Coordinator Marilyn Gitter.
Nur wants to pursue a career in teaching early childhood education.
She really likes her job because, “I love the kids,” she said.
She takes care of her family and her neighbors. During the interview, a neighbor walked in and waited as Nur explained that she typically gives the woman a ride to Koran study and picks her up later in the evening. During the week, you can find Nur at the Family Center, working with preschoolers, guiding them through activities. Evenings, after dinner is cooked and kids are settled, Nur takes classes at Hennepin Technical College.
Fridays, she goes to the mosque, the Islamic Center, which is tucked away in the Golden Triangle of Eden Prairie. Everybody comes together on Friday, she said. They pray; “we talk and we help each other.”
If someone has a problem, someone can solve the problem there. Faith is very much a part of her and her family’s routine.
As long as you have faith, “you can do everything in this world,” she said.
Source: EdenPrairie News
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