On a Thursday afternoon at Hatimy Market on Grant Street, the store bustles with activity. Shoppers banter back and both in several foreign languages and broken English. A dark-skinned woman and her daughter pass a few bills to the cashier for their groceries. Workers in the back prepare large cuts of purplish-red meat.
Markets like Hatimy are not easily started. Refugees must go through a settlement process before even thinking of fulfilling their dreams of owning their own business, said Becky Mischler, volunteer and donations director for Catholic Charities of Buffalo.
People and refugees from many different countries and continents pass through the doors of Hatimy every day, said owner Ali Mohammed.
“Chad people, Kenya people, Malaysia… many people come in here,” he said.
Mohammed, who is from Somalia, can identify with many of the refugees coming to the West Side. He left the East African nation in 1993 the same year as the First Battle of Mogadishu. That conflict drove out many Somali refugees, approximately 1.5 million between 1992 and 1993 according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
“The government left,” said Mohammed. “Other people coming, no sleep at home, at night they coming, people killing…”
Hatimy sells Halal meats, which have been properly slaughtered and prepared in accordance with Islamic law. Goat, beef and chicken halal meat are all very popular with shoppers at the market, Mohammed said.
The market also sells popular Middle Eastern and African staples such as chodi beans, Masoor dal, a preparation of dried kidney beans, and Cow's Ghee, a type of clarified butter.
At Garang International Market on Niagara Street near Virginia Street, Sudanese refugees Paul Guyi and Ben Ohide stock the store’s shelves with more than just the food and staples immigrants remember from their old country.The market provides music CDs and DVDs from African countries such as Sudan, Mali and Ethiopia. The African dresses and cards, used for making long distance telephone calls, the store also sells are very popular with the large African refugee community, Guyi said.
Guyi and Ohide both hail from the Sudan; Guyi arrived in Buffalo in 2004 and Ohide in 1999. Garang opened in December and has seen a steady stream of business, Guyi said.
One of the more popular staples at the Garang Market is Egyptian Fava Beans. When mixed with goat cheese, the beans are a popular breakfast food with African people, Ohide said.
“We have big numbers here in the West Side. East African countries like Sudanese, Somalian, Ethiopian… West African, Liberian, Sierra Leone, Togo. This is an international market,” Guyi said.
Many refugees coming to the West Side are filtered through national organizations such as Church World Service and Episcopal Migration Ministries to many local non-profit organizations such as Journey’s End and Catholic Charities, said Kevin Slattery, a job developer with Journey’s End. (http://www.ccwny.org/)
Refugee entrepreneurs on the West Side use non-profit organizations to help assimilate into the community, he said. Organizations like Journey’s End (http://jerswny.org/) help refugee families secure a home, food, clothing and any other necessities needed to start a new life in a foreign city, he said.
The local non-profit groups also aid families in getting their children integrated in Buffalo schools as well as helping the parents with employment, Slattery said.
Journey’s End offers programs that help refugees learn English as a second language and help teach basic skills needed in an entry-level job or even in their own business, he said.
“Many refugees who come to Buffalo and start their own business have some educational background but they still need help with the language barrier and some basic American business functions that may be different from their home country,” he said.
Refugees have to go through a settlement process before even thinking of starting a business, said Becky Mischler, volunteer and donations director for Catholic Charities of Buffalo.
“The average refugee arrives at the Buffalo airport with one suitcase and no more than $245,” she said.
Some families that arrive in Buffalo have as many as 10 members. Workers help assess the refugee’s language issues as well as education level and work skills, she said.
Refugees can start working after they have been assessed,obtained housing and have been registered for food stamps, Mischler said.
Refugees ages17 to 65 are eligible for employment. Federal standards that many organizations follow state that refugees should be self-sufficient within four months of arrival and employed within six months, she said.
“We have had many refugees go on to start their own businesses but it takes some time for them to get settled and to gain some financial stability before doing so,” she said.
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