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

this strong sense of kinship networking, high
mobility and dispersing of investments…. There
is something nomadic about our genes.
(Horst, 2002: 11)
But there is a puzzle here. Whereas many other
ethnic communities have established a lively retail
sector, commercial activity has only recently been
part of the Somali experience in the UK. The older
community of seafarers did not set up shop - even
today there is still only one Somali store in the
Toxteth area of Liverpool, an historic area of Somali
settlement. One deterrent to entrepreneurial
activity has been the commercial context - whereas
at home, as one Somali man said, ‘anyone can
open a shop’, in the UK there are many more
regulations to contend with, besides the problem of
obtaining capital. 86 But more relevant may be the
relationship of different generations to the UK. The
seafaring community always imagined themselves
to be transitory, and their income was sent home
rather than invested in London or Liverpool. Now,
the establishment of Somali services speaks of an
intention to remain. Commercial enterprise may
relate to circumstances of settlement rather than
genes.
But now the Somali community is more familybased,
Somali trading is increasing. In London’s
Wembley, inhabited by Somalis for a decade,
Somalis are launching their own shops, restaurants,
and businesses. Sarah Cox, working in the area,
mentions Wembley to a local Somali woman:
She laughs and says: ‘Yes, all the men, they’re
standing around talking. In Mogadishu there
are the bars where they can sit outside and
talk (because in Somalia it’s hot). Here they do
it in Wembley, and there are the shops. You can
buy all the Somali things, Somali clothes and
everything’. (Cox, 2003: 37)
The same pattern is discernable in selfemployment.
Many refugees were self-employed
in the country in which they were living prior to
seeking asylum, but this pattern has not hitherto
been duplicated in the UK (Bloch and Atfield,
2002: 34; 39). Today, uncertainty about permanent
residence still acts as a deterrent, but for confirmed
refugees, self-employment is now becoming an
option. As their asylum claims are resolved and
transfer of qualifications still remains problematic,
it is likely that more Somalis will become
professional as well as commercial entrepreneurs:
I graduated from Somali National University
as a journalist and I also qualified at the
Department of Commerce, specialising in
Accounting and Management. I started work
in Somali Radio as a broadcaster in the Arabic
and English Department and also worked as a
part-time lecturer in the Institute of Accounting
and Management….
I came to the UK in 1991 and.… I was
unhappy with the way in which my educational
qualifications were evaluated. I wanted to use
my skills and knowledge to do something; I had
never liked to be on the dole but I had to wait
six months before immigration would give me a
work permit.
The authorities who evaluated my qualifications
decided that they were not compatible with
the UK standards and I had to start all over
again to become a chartered accountant. I
have now done an MSc in Accounting and
Finance from a British university. It was hard to
go back over what I had done ten years ago.
I am now practicing accounting and I run an
office for chartered accountants, as well some
[sic] projects for refugees…. I am now training
about 50 refugees who are former qualified
professionals; I give them work experience in
my company and I think this way, they will get
jobs at the end of the day.
(Lukes and Bell, 2002: 107-108)
Entrepreneurial activity, however, is not sufficient
to replace opportunities for employment with
British enterprises or the public sector. The nature
of the Somalis’ insertion into the economy has
repercussions both on British society and on
the refugee community itself. The overwhelming
proportion of Somalis without work increases
the nation’s benefits bill, and encourages popular
perceptions of ‘asylum seeker scroungers’. At a
time when public services such as the NHS and
schools badly need staff, particularly staff who
can deal directly with other members of their
42 The Somali community in the UK