Born in Kenya to Somali refugees, Ifrah Ahmed found a new home amid the cattle ranches, beef slaughterhouses and pancake-flat fields of western Kansas.
Here in Garden City, Ahmed, 29, has made a community for herself with fellow African and Asian refugees and longtime locals who make up an unusual fabric that they believe represents the best of America: open, inclusive and understanding.
“It’s the people that make home. It’s not the area, not the environment,” says Ahmed. “It’s the people. It’s your neighbors.” In Garden City, population 27,000, residents speak 40 languages, including Burmese, Spanish, Vietnamese, Swahili and Creole. About 23 percent of the population is foreign born, according to the U.S. Census. White, non-Hispanic residents account for 40 percent of the population. On main street, Vietnamese noodle soup is prepared by Hispanic chefs, and hookah stores sit next to taco joints and drive-up hamburger stands. Garden City was always a place for anyone who wanted to work hard.
It got its start as a waypoint on the Santa Fe Trail used by Mexican merchants to access eastern U.S. markets, and later by westbound settlers headed to California. Cowboys, Native Americans and residents of the former Mexican territories of southern Colorado and New Mexico mingled freely in Garden City, giving it a diverse population from the start.
(Read more: Atchison Globe Now)