The Somali community in the UK: What we know and how we ... - ICAR

Part I: The invisible community?
How we know what we know
about Somalis in the UK
Sources of information about Somalis in
the UK
The received wisdom is that material on Somalis in
the UK matches their public profile - we know very
little. Researchers often comment on the ‘paucity
of information’ on the community and the need
for yet more investigation. In fact there is already
a wealth of knowledge - ICAR has identified 139
substantial items on Somalis in the UK published
since 1990, included in the bibliography appended
to the report. This list does not purport to be
exhaustive. Many locally-produced reports are
never widely circulated, and new material is
emerging all the time. General works on race
and ethnic minorities which mention Somalis are
not included, nor are the internal documents of
Somali organisations. The bibliography also excludes
newspaper articles, websites, and films, and leaves
aside most of the large number of publications on
the historical, political, and economic background
of Somalia.
largely based on accessibility - the report does
not pretend to provide a comprehensive survey of
all the literature available. But one of the aims of
the report was to compile a list of references as
a resource for future researchers and the Somali
community itself. Even though not thoroughly
reviewed, the size of the bibliography nevertheless
indicates the amount of work that already exists
on the Somali community in the UK, and belies the
common assumption of ignorance.
The 139 sources contained in the bibliography
which are concerned with Somalis in the UK can
roughly be classified into the following categories:
In the short timescale of the project, it was not
possible to consult more than half of the sources
available on Somali refugees and settlers in the UK.
Constraints were not only those of time but of
accessibility of material. Many documents are hard
to track down, and some seem to have disappeared
without trace. This especially applies to reports by
voluntary or statutory agencies - academic books
and articles were easier to find, though some
theses proved elusive. The selection was therefore
10 The Somali community in the UK