The Somali community in the UK: What we know and how we ... - ICAR
The Somali community in the UK: What we know and how we ... - ICAR
The Somali community in the UK: What we know and how we ... - ICAR
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which “makes it an offence for <strong>the</strong> first time for<br />
<strong>UK</strong> nationals or permanent <strong>UK</strong> residents to<br />
carry out female genital mutilation (FGM) abroad,<br />
or to aid, abet, counsel or procure <strong>the</strong> carry<strong>in</strong>g<br />
out of FGM abroad, even <strong>in</strong> countries where <strong>the</strong><br />
practice is legal. To reflect <strong>the</strong> serious harm that<br />
FGM causes, <strong>the</strong> Act also <strong>in</strong>creases <strong>the</strong> maximum<br />
penalty from 5 to 14 years’ imprisonment”. 145<br />
But still more effective than legislation is <strong>the</strong><br />
hard campaign<strong>in</strong>g that lies beh<strong>in</strong>d both legal <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>community</strong> change. In contrast to some <strong>we</strong>stern<br />
fem<strong>in</strong>ists’ condemnation of this ‘barbaric practice’,<br />
organisations such as <strong>the</strong> Black Women’s Health<br />
<strong>and</strong> Family Support (BWHAFS) take a holistic<br />
approach to <strong>Somali</strong> women’s problems. 146 A<br />
promotional CD-ROM launched <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> summer of<br />
2003 expla<strong>in</strong>ed that “We believe <strong>in</strong> empo<strong>we</strong>r<strong>in</strong>g<br />
women, through education <strong>and</strong> consciousnessrais<strong>in</strong>g,<br />
<strong>and</strong> locat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> issue of FGM with<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
context of black women’s rights”. 147 BWHAFS<br />
offer a range of support services to women,<br />
<strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g advice on FGM. Through contact with<br />
health, education, <strong>and</strong> social work professionals,<br />
toge<strong>the</strong>r with religious leaders, <strong>the</strong>y carry out<br />
an educational programme on <strong>the</strong> topic, <strong>and</strong> by<br />
means of research, literature, conferences, official<br />
representations, <strong>and</strong> outreach work, <strong>the</strong>y aim to<br />
<strong>in</strong>fluence not only a British but also an <strong>in</strong>ternational<br />
audience.<br />
<strong>The</strong> energetic director of BWHAFS, Shamis Dirir,<br />
is but one of a number of women who have<br />
founded <strong>Somali</strong> organisations <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>UK</strong>. She has<br />
reta<strong>in</strong>ed her position - <strong>in</strong> some o<strong>the</strong>r groups, men<br />
have taken over leadership, <strong>and</strong> women have been<br />
relegated to lesser ranks or voluntary workers. But<br />
<strong>in</strong> whatever capacity, women as <strong>we</strong>ll as men have<br />
sought to better <strong>the</strong>ir <strong>community</strong> through <strong>Somali</strong><br />
associations. As a <strong>Somali</strong> proverb says, ‘you can only<br />
quench your thirst by lift<strong>in</strong>g water with your own<br />
h<strong>and</strong>s’.<br />
Self-help <strong>and</strong> fragmentation: RCOs <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> politics of clan 148<br />
<strong>The</strong> role of <strong>Somali</strong> RCOs, as those of o<strong>the</strong>r ethnic<br />
m<strong>in</strong>orities <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> settlement experience has been<br />
<strong>we</strong>ll documented by Griffiths (2000). Associations<br />
such as BWHAFS are <strong>the</strong>refore not conf<strong>in</strong>ed<br />
to service delivery, but encompass research <strong>and</strong><br />
documentation. Tied <strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> local <strong>community</strong>,<br />
<strong>the</strong>y also offer courses <strong>and</strong> social events which<br />
encompass o<strong>the</strong>r ethnic groups. <strong>The</strong>n <strong>the</strong>re are <strong>the</strong><br />
small organisations which may have had as <strong>the</strong>ir<br />
<strong>in</strong>itial impetus <strong>the</strong> employment predicaments of<br />
<strong>the</strong> founder. <strong>Somali</strong> RCOs range from longst<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g,<br />
<strong>we</strong>ll-organised <strong>in</strong>stitutions to <strong>the</strong> ephemeral<br />
<strong>in</strong>spiration of one <strong>in</strong>dividual, with cont<strong>in</strong>ual<br />
<strong>in</strong>auguration <strong>and</strong> demise. <strong>The</strong>re are, for example,<br />
some 100 <strong>Somali</strong> organisations <strong>in</strong> London alone,<br />
with scores more throughout <strong>the</strong> country.<br />
One explanation for <strong>the</strong> lack of official <strong>Somali</strong><br />
representation, expressed both by authorities<br />
<strong>and</strong> by <strong>Somali</strong>s <strong>the</strong>mselves, is that <strong>the</strong> <strong>community</strong><br />
is fragmented <strong>and</strong> divided <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>refore difficult<br />
to <strong>in</strong>volve <strong>in</strong> democratic structures. This has<br />
been particularly marked <strong>in</strong> To<strong>we</strong>r Hamlets<br />
where <strong>the</strong> orig<strong>in</strong>al <strong>community</strong> of seafarers was<br />
swollen by new arrivals <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1980s <strong>and</strong> 1990s.<br />
Griffiths (2000) relates this vacuum <strong>in</strong> unified<br />
organisation to previous political life <strong>in</strong> <strong>Somali</strong>a<br />
- <strong>the</strong> absence of a cohesive <strong>Somali</strong> political project,<br />
<strong>in</strong>experience with bureaucratic structures, <strong>and</strong><br />
<strong>the</strong> lack of <strong>in</strong>dependent participation <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> public<br />
sphere. British voluntary <strong>and</strong> statutory agencies<br />
feel frustrated at <strong>the</strong> proliferation of <strong>Somali</strong><br />
organisations <strong>and</strong> at <strong>the</strong> lack of representative<br />
bodies with a solid base through which to channel<br />
funds <strong>and</strong> assistance. In one of <strong>the</strong> first discussions<br />
of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Somali</strong> Community Meet<strong>in</strong>g (25.02.03) on<br />
<strong>the</strong> formation of a coord<strong>in</strong>at<strong>in</strong>g committee to liaise<br />
with British organisations, <strong>the</strong> awareness of disunity<br />
constantly surfaced: “How can <strong>we</strong> select a steer<strong>in</strong>g<br />
group if <strong>we</strong> don’t work toge<strong>the</strong>r? First <strong>we</strong> must<br />
learn to be more united”.<br />
Beh<strong>in</strong>d this plea lurks a consciousness of what is<br />
said - both by <strong>Somali</strong>s <strong>and</strong> observers - to be at<br />
<strong>the</strong> root of <strong>Somali</strong> discord: clanship, or, <strong>in</strong> more<br />
derogatory term<strong>in</strong>ology, ‘clanism’ or ‘tribalism’.<br />
This is an extremely sensitive subject -<br />
<strong>Somali</strong>s resent question<strong>in</strong>g, assumptions, <strong>and</strong><br />
commentators’ conclusions about this complex<br />
social formation (Griffiths, 2002: 101).<br />
<strong>The</strong>y take exception to published pie charts<br />
calculat<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> numerical strength of each clan<br />
family 149 which could be exploited for political<br />
66 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Somali</strong> <strong>community</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>UK</strong>