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

On the one hand, the bias is both understandable
and necessary - there are real problems to be
overcome, on which reports produce painstaking
analysis and recommendations. But on the other
hand, the predominance of problem-oriented
research reinforces the image of Somalis as passive
supplicants of the welfare state.
This type of document therefore cannot fully
reflect the strength, initiative, and determination
of many Somalis who have made the best of a
traumatic past and difficult present, retaining
humour and a sense of dignity. Some report
authors are careful to stress Somali resourcefulness
- for example, the Camden LEA report on Somali
children in Camden schools by Emua Ali and
Crispin Jones (2000) counters the findings of failure
with teachers’ positive comments on their pupils.
But reports rarely deal with community-based
initiatives and self-help projects. It is the form
as much as the content of much research that
problematises Somalis.
It has to be said, however, that this representation
of the Somali community does not come from
British agencies alone. There have been two
attempts to set up a national Somali forum to
address community problems. The account of
the first, Somali conference report (Evelyn Oldfield
Unit, 1997), and the circulated submissions to
the ongoing Somali Community Meeting (2003)
hosted by Jeremy Corbyn MP both analyse Somali
experience in terms of hardship, racism, or
community dysfunction.
The standard format of reports can also have a
dehumanising effect. Despite quotations and case
histories, most reports are not a sparkling read.
Longer documents such as articles and theses,
which do not necessarily bear a policy burden,
provide more opportunity to place problems
in a theoretical context, and include qualitative
material. The opportunity is not always taken. Janie
Robertson takes an interesting look at Somali takeup
of early years educational provision in Enfield
in her MA thesis, but quotes from secondary
sources rather than her informants. On the other
hand, Sarah Cox’s dissertation on Somali children
in a Harlesden nursery (2002) contains lively
ethnography full of comment from parent and child.
Kahin’s useful study on Educating Somali children in
Britain (1997), besides readable background on the
main issues, includes autobiographical stories.
Somalis have recently become a popular subject
for academic dissertations, 12 but although Cox
has summarised her findings in an article in the
Journal of the Anglo-Somali Society (2003), most
theses on Somalis in the UK remain unpublished.
One exception is David Griffiths’ publication
of his comparative study of Kurdish and Somali
refugees in Tower Hamlets (2002) with preliminary
articles (1997; 2000). Griffiths deals with one of the
older Somali settlements rather than the newer
communities formed by recent arrivals, but in its
focus on identity and the renegotiation of clanship,
gender relations, and generation it is an invaluable
baseline for future ethnography. Clanship is a
central topic to El-Solh, also researching in Tower
Hamlets, in her article ‘Somalis in London’s East
End: A community striving for recognition’ (1991).
This type of ethnographic research also analyses
obstacles, but can include more of the community’s
own perspective than some questionnaire-based
reports have the space to do. Monographs and
ethnographic articles can also present a fuller
picture of refugees as agents rather than as targets
of policies and programmes.
The search for the ‘Somali voice’
The ideal form for the expression of a proactive
agent is the autobiography, or personal story, such
as the women’s voices in Breaking the silence and
the two collections of women’s stories told in their
own words (Somali Women’s Association, 1987/88
Our strength comes with us: Somali women’s voices,
and Hassan, 2002, From Somalia to Liverpool: The
experiences of seven women). When understood in
the light of background drawn from other sources,
these are powerful testimonies.
Two other books rely entirely on (auto)biography.
Nuruddin Farah’s Yesterday, tomorrow: Voices from the
12. E.g. Ali (2001); Bloch (1997); Cox (2002); Harper Bulman (1997);
Hassan (1988); Polese (2001); Robertson (2002); Saleh (1995); Xifaras
(1996).
14 The Somali community in the UK