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

industries. But here, too, even given the average
lower educational levels of women, they are often
underemployed. In their study of twenty Somali
women in Waltham Forest, east London, Sales and
Gregory (1998) found that only one was
in secure employment. Others had casual work as
interpreters, cleaners, or other low paid
service workers. None of those with professional
qualifications - including teachers, health workers,
a doctor, and a chemist - had been able to pursue
their career in the UK.
The loss of self esteem is hard to accept, and
is echoed by some of the 50 women in Tower
Hamlets, Hackney, and Islington interviewed by
Emua Ali (2001: 166). Many who had skilled jobs
in Somalia were hindered by the non-recognition
of their qualifications and lack of British work
experience in finding similar employment in the UK.
The majority were living off benefits, supplemented
by cleaning, factory, and sweatshop work and other
casual unskilled labour (the kind of work that most
men refuse to do). For both men and women,
even when it seemed that a previous profession
would be a passport to present employment, the
problem of qualifications gained outside the UK
constitutes a serious problem. These are often not
recognised - teachers, doctors, and lawyers find
that they are unable to practise, while courses to
retrain or to adapt their experience to the UK
remain insufficient. Apart from the frustration this
causes, the British economy and public services are
deprived of valuable contributions.
Several of the reasons for downgrading
overlap with those for high Somali rates of
unemployment in general. Some are attributed to
what is euphemistically called ‘the host society’
- institutional racism and discrimination by
employers. Then there are standard requirements
of employment which may be hard to meet - the
demand for a National Insurance number, for
example. Young people who have not yet claimed
benefits on their own behalf, or have not yet held
a job, may not be able to obtain this, while papers
such as recommendations by previous employers
may well have been left behind when travelling.
Other factors concern the refugee community
itself. One is length of residence; the longer the
residence in the UK, the higher the likelihood of
being in work. A critical issue here is asylum status.
Legally, those with leave to remain (i.e. refugees
and those with exceptional or indefinite leave
to remain) have permission to work. Since July
2002 those awaiting the decision on their asylum
claim (including those on appeal) can no longer
work while they wait and may only seek voluntary
work. But for all those without full refugee status,
uncertainty about the future both discourages
employers and deters asylum seekers from planning
a career in the UK.
Another critical issue is language. Studies show that
the higher Somali refugees’ educational level is, the
better their command of English is likely to be, and
the more likely they are to be in work (Bloch, 2002;
2003). But, for many, inadequate language skills put
them at a disadvantage in a competitive job market.
Somalis also mention their lack of references and
contacts, and their unfamiliarity with interview
techniques and the whole culture of employment
in the UK.
It also may be that skills acquired at home - such
as herding or farming - may not be relevant in a
British context. Even commercial experience may
not weather diaspora conditions. Travel and trade
have always been part of Somali life, and in the UK
today both men and women go on international
expeditions to buy gold, cloth, and other items
for resale in the Somali community. A US Somali
economist recently wrote to a researcher
supporting her theory of ubiquitous Somali
commercial activity and Somalis’ ability to establish
businesses wherever they find themselves:
The Somali is inherently a trader.… [with]
strong entrepreneurial skills: livestock is
primarily used for trading in the nomadic
Somali society. Unlike other recent ethnic
immigrants, the Somalis in Minnesota, many
of whom come from the [Kenyan] Dadaab
refugee camps, have managed to establish
their own child care centres, laundry facilities,
tax preparers, restaurants, department and
grocery stores, sewing, mini shopping malls
etc…. This must be unique to Somalis…. The
Somali nomadic background primarily explains
The Somali community in the UK
41