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

since the late 1980s have come mainly from the
South. This means that their language and culture
cuts them off from mainstream British society, an
decreases their access to education and
employment in their new environment
The numbers involved, and their particular
circumstances, have placed demands on statutory
and voluntary services - and so generated research.
Why is it, then, that there is still said to be so little
information on Somalis? One reason has to do with
the social invisibility of Somalis mentioned above.
Compare this profile with the African-Caribbean
community. Both groups suffer racism, but African-
Caribbeans are perceived to be part of British
society. Their music and mores have permeated
British youth culture, whilst behaviour traditionally
expected of young Somalis conflicts with these
values. It is not the volume of research on African-
Caribbeans (although this is considerable) that
gives them a public presence, but their high visibility
in the wider society. Somalis too are rendered
visible largely through their dress. But the social
distance between Somalis and the indigenous
British culture increases their isolation. There
is therefore a dissonance between the amount
of information which actually exists, and what is
believed to be known.
The assumption of ignorance about Somalis is
also connected to the nature of the material itself.
With a few exceptions, research is contained in
brief, small-scale studies, often undertaken by local
authorities or non-governmental organisations
(NGOs). Many of these remain in duplicated
form, are not widely distributed, and, as already
mentioned, are extraordinarily hard to obtain. All
too often, local authorities, NGOs, and RCOs who
have produced a report have no knowledge of it
a few years later, let alone spare copies. In general,
information is fragmented, poorly catalogued, and
badly circulated.
Given this apparent disregard of much investigation,
it is hard to imagine that ostensibly policy-oriented
reports have always resulted in action. It would
be instructive to follow up individual reports to
see in each case what measures had been taken in
respect of recommendations. Certainly, although
there may be internal assessment documents by
local authorities and NGOs, it is striking that those
that reach the public arena tend to reiterate the
problems which the community experience, rather
than monitor projects and evaluate their progress.
The repetition of findings and duplication of
recommendations have not resulted in consistent
practice based on a shared corpus of research.
A recognised body of good practice would go
towards building a wider understanding of the
Somali community at a local and national level
Associated with the problem of dissemination and
use of information is the perennial problem of the
gulf between academia and commissioned reports.
Although the growth of disciplines such as applied
anthropology and development studies is improving
matters, there has always been a mutual disregard
between policy-oriented investigation and the
academy - between NGOs and the universities.
The most substantial ethnography we have on
Somalis in the UK, David Griffiths’ Somali and
Kurdish refugees in London (2002) makes full use of
reports on Tower Hamlets, his ethnographic field.
But in the extensive bibliography of Rima Berns
McGown’s fascinating Muslims in the diaspora: The
Somali communities of London and Toronto (1999)
such material is absent, and she laments the lack of
‘systematic research’.
The significance of type of research for
knowledge about Somalis in the UK
Although they contain a great deal of essential
information, the fact that much of what is publicly
known about Somalis comes in the form of
reports also has a profound effect on the way the
community is seen and perceives itself. The agenda
of much research is determined from the outset -
to identify difficulties and suggest solutions. In these
policy-based documents, Somalis are presented in
terms of the obstacles they face, as ‘problems’, or
victims of circumstance. Indigenous Somali culture
expects a high degree of self-reliance from both
men and women within the context of accepted
relationships of authority, so this investigative angle
flies in the face of an ideal Somali self-perception
rather than acting as an agent of empowerment.
The Somali community in the UK
13