I'm not sure how much people outside New Zealand and Australia care about the plane hijacking in New Zealand a few days ago. However, I can imagine that the communities further away are also taking about it. Down here it was big news and not only the Somali community was talking about it.
Now, the interest for the whole story has died down a bit. People are not talking about it any more and everybody is back to his or her everyday life. But will this really go away? I doubt it. I believe that this will have repercussions for the wider Somali community. Unfortunately minorities are regularly perceived as represented by people like Casha who clearly stick out. A few people who misbehave can easily result in a bad reputation for the whole community.
Now, it is beyond question that it would be undeserved if the Somali community had to suffer as a result of Casha's actions. It was her who hijacked the plane, not the Somali community. In general a Somali is no more likely to hijack a plane than anyone else. But while the community might not be to blame for immediate involvement, I dare asking the question if it always behaved correctly.

I have to concede first that I have never met Casha. I'm not even Somali. However, I know people who do know Casha and have followed her story for some time. These are friends whose word I trust on these issues. I read in the media that Casha had cut herself off from the community. This seemed to be a statement that the community leaders were very quick to make once she stuffed up. But, from what I heard, I actually doubt that it was all her who cut herself off. My criticism is that the Somali community is incapable of supporting people like Casha. Yes, she had and has mental health issues. Yes, she was and is a possible danger to herself and others. But is it the right way of handling it to just reject her from the community? She has gone through a lot and while others might have handled similar experiences a lot better, she certainly did not make a deliberate decision to go mad. I say this with all due respect and as someone who does consider himself a part of the Somali community despite not being Somali. From my point of view, the community should not reject people like Casha but try hard to care for her. I believe that a community is just as good as its care for the weakest among it.

Let's not forget Casha! After all, she might be a crazy Somali but she is still Somali.