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

I have been here since 1983 and the war
effects [sic] everyone in some way, when I think
about what is happening I can’t sleep or eat,
you feel sick. Your body is here but your brain
is not… When people came here they were
expecting a better life and they have not got it.
(Bullivant et al, 1995: 14)
Understanding these problems from the inside,
much of the work around mental illness is being
undertaken by Somalis themselves. Published
research is still thin on the ground, 118 but several
projects are under way, such as the SOMMER
and Manchester studies mentioned above. Other
reports authored by British researchers rely on
Somali interviewers. 119 Until now, the bias in
Somali health research has been towards areas
such as Tower Hamlets which, although it has a
refugee population, is based on the older settler
communities. It is to be hoped that investigation
will also take place in the area of more recent
arrivals from the Somali diaspora. As we have seen,
needs change with generation and circumstance.
But the East End of London also enjoys an
outstanding base for research in the practical
service provided by Daryeelka Maanka, (‘Support
for the Mind’) a MIND in Tower Hamlets project
which provides drop-in information, a lunch
club, and social activities, besides individual
support work and advocacy for those with
mental problems, so acting as a bridge between
the community and statutory services. 120 The
Manchester team is also taking practical action
to deal with ‘worries’ and promote ‘wellbeing’
- assisting with capacity building, advising on how
to keep warm and healthy in the cold and wet, and
creating links with Cumbrian farmers to provide
halal milk and meat for the Somali community. As
with counselling, with the combination of problem
solving and therapy action research provides an
effective forum for collecting data.
Both projects also provide help with accessing
services. One fact that emerged from Gabriel
and Ritchie’s study in Tower Hamlets is the
overrepresentation of Somalis in psychiatric wards,
with a high incidence of sectioning (2002: 23).
While this could be related to institutional racism
in the mental health sector, it also may reflect the
lack of access to preventative measures and early
treatment. There are several factors that inhibit
contact with the appropriate services. Apart from
patchy provision, Somali refugees may not know
what does exist nor understand its potential
relevance to them. They may not have sufficient
command of English to approach professionals, or
access to an advocate to speak on their behalf. The
cultural factors operating within the community
have been already mentioned - the stigma attached
to mental instability, especially for men, means that
admission of psychological problems may carry a
high social risk. In addition, asylum seekers worry
that a demand on services might affect their claim.
Even more difficult is to ensure that young
Somalis with emotional problems have access to
appropriate help before descending into a spiral of
despair. The most severe cases of trauma are found
in those who have had first hand experience of
violence. The children interviewed in the Minority
Rights Group’s report on the impact of war on
children refers specifically to members of minority
clans, but found that other Somali children in
London similarly suffered nightmares and other
signs of trauma six years after leaving Somalia
(MRG, 1997: 26). Other particularly vulnerable
children are those sent over to the UK alone
by their parents in the hope that they will be
educated. 121 The effects of separation are often
compounded by abuse; this testimony of a Swedish
psychologist working with separated children also
applies to the UK:
115. Over half of the Somali enquiries at the Hillingdon Citizens Advice
Bureau April-September 2002 concerned benefits; nearly a quarter were
about housing. Both categories were higher for Somalis than other clients
(Elmi and Brown, 2002).
116. Interview, 22.7.03.
117. The project staff are campaigning around this issue, which is also
being addressed elsewhere, such as by refugee-run employment projects in
West London. See Lukes and Bell, 2002: 99.
118. E.g. Bullivant et al (1995).
119. E.g. Gabriel and Ritchie (2002).
120. Interview with project workers Muna Ismael and Abdirashid Gulaid,
22.7.03. For details of these services see the evaluation by Gabriel and
Ritchie (2002).
121. See above p. 57
The Somali community in the UK
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