122 Descendants of slaves are settling in Columbus, Ohio.

The Bantu of Somalia were stolen from the shores of Mozambique, Malawi and Tanzania and carried on Arab slave ships to Somalia two centuries ago. They were enslaved and persecuted until Somalia's civil war scattered them to refugee camps in the 1990's. Now many have been resettled in Columbus, Ohio.

In Somalia, the lighter-skinned majority rejected the Bantu, for their slave origins and dark skin and wide features. Even after they were freed from bondage, the Bantu were denied meaningful political representation and rights to land ownership. During the Somali civil war, they were disproportionately victims of rapes and killings. The discrimination and violence continued in the refugee camps, where the Bantu were often attacked and dismissed as Mushungulis, which means slave people. Health Beat of the Columbus Health Department explains some of the problems the new immigrants have.

Of all groups resettled in the United States in the last 25 years, this group faces the greatest challenges and will need the most assistance. And as with refugees and immigrants of earlier generations, it is the churches and synagogues that the government turns to for help.