Chapter 1: Introduction

Both Sides of the Coin: Remittances and the transnational relationship of Somalis By Diede Sterenborg ii iii Radboud University Human Geography: Conflicts, Territories and Identities Diede Sterenborg s0636010 Both Sides of the Coin: Remittances and the transnational relationship of Somalis Master Thesis Nijmegen, 15/08/12 ii iii Preface Looking back on the process I have gone through both with the master Conflicts, Territories and Identities as well as with this specific research I feel very grateful for the things that have I learned and the people who have helped and supported me throughout the research. I would like to take this opportunity to pay specific attention to the people around me. First of all my gratitude goes to all the respondents that have been so open towards me, (often) discussing freely issues that were important to them and bringing me in contact with others. I want to thank HIRDA, and particularly Fatumo Farah who has helped in the Netherlands and in Kenya, finding my way to respondents and discussing issues to give me more insight in the Somali culture. Mohamed Guled, who arranged a place for me to stay, introducing me to his family, his network and helped me find my way in Nairobi, I would like to thank him here very much for all his help and support. I would sincerely like to thank Lothar Smith, my supervisor, who introduced me to the research topic of remittances and to HIRDA. I want to thank him for the time he took to provide critical input for this research and who made me look at the research through different perspective. The support I needed academically I received from him and I really have to say that this was invaluable. I want to thank my parents for motivating and believing in me when I had trouble doing this myself; they stood by me during the entire process and it would not have been the same without them. I want to thank Stefan, who has helped think academically and critically to the research and has supported me from the beginning to the end with input and motivation, reading with me the entire time; he has been most engaged in the research the entire process and have seen the ups and downs I have gone through believing and supporting me the entire time. Finally, I want to thank everyone else I have met during this period, that I have come across, that have supported me both friends and new encounters and provided input without whom this research would not have been possible, or without whom this research would have been not the same. iv Table of contents Preface iv List of figures vii List of tables vii List of maps vii Explanatory list viii 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Social relevance of the research 4 1.2 Scientific relevance of the research 7 1.3 Research aim and questions 8 2. Theoretical framework 10 2.1 Transnationalism 10 2.1.1 Migrants 11 2.1.2 Urban and rural actors 12 2.1.3 Social networks 13 2.2 Institutions 16 2.3 Remittances 19 2.3.1 Social capital 22 2.3.2 Control and enforcement mechanisms 23 2.3.1 Social pressure 25 2.4 Conceptual framework 27 3. Methodology 29 3.1 Choice of research location 29 3.2 Literature study 30 3.3 Interviews 32 3.4 Observations 35 3.5 Difficulties and challenges 37 4. Setting the stage: Somalis and remittances 43 4.1 Somalia 43 4.1.1 Statelessness 45 4.2 Somalis in Kenya 46 4.3 Somalis in the Netherlands 49 4.3 Somalia, institutions and remittances 52 4.3.1 Clans 53 5. Empirical findings: The senders 57 5.1 Somalis in the Netherlands 57 5.1.1 Local social capital 59 5.2 Profiling the receivers 61 v 5.3 Motivations for sending remittances 63 5.3.1 Enforcement mechanisms 65 5.4 Control mechanisms 67 5.5 Remittance curbing 69 5.6 Transnational intimacy 71 5.7 Gender and sending remittances 73 5.8 Second generation and sending remittance 74 Conclusions 75 6. Empirical findings; receivers and remittances 77 6.1 Somali refugees in Nairobi 77 6.2 Profiling the senders 80 6.3 Approaching migrants 81 6.4 Local social capital 82 6.4.1 Clans 82 6.4.2 Connection with Somalia 84 6.5 Control mechanisms 86 6.6 Relational proximity 87 6.7 Gender 89 6.8 Second generation 91 Conclusions 92 7. Bringing it together 94 8. Conclusion 105 References 111 Annex I 111 Survey on remittances among Somali’s in Kenya 116 Executive summary 122 vi List of figures Figure 1: Conceptual model 28 Figure 2: Somalis in Nairobi 46 Figure 3: Streets in Eastleigh 46 Figure 4: Streets in Eastleigh 4 Figure 5: Dispersion of Somalis in the Netherlands 51 Figure 6: Ethnic groups in Somalia in 2002 54 List of tables Table 1: Immigration and Emigration from Somalia to the Netherlands 49 List of maps Map 1: CIA world factbook, 2002 44 vii Explanatory list Agoon – children with no or only one parent Al-Shabab – Somali militia AMISOM – African Union Mission in Somalia Dahaab Shiil – Money Transfer Organisation Eid- Sugar Fest Haram - Hawala – Money Transfer Organization HIRDA- Himilo Relief and Development Organisation IDP – Internally Displaced Person/People Kaah Express – Money Transfer Organization Miraa – Chewing drug, also known as Qat NGO- Non Governmental Organization Odhia- Offer fest Qat – Chewing drug, also known as Miraa TFG – Transitional Federal Government UK – United Kingdom UNHCR – United Nations High Commissioner Refugees UNDP – United Nations Development Programme US- United States viii ix 1. Introduction If friends make gifts, gifts make friends […] the material flow underwrites social relations. (Sahlins 2004, 187). Sahlins (2004) made the observation that remittances and transnational social relationships are interconnectedness as the citation also underlines. This interconnectedness signifies a broader implication on transnationalism, the transnational relationships and the effect on, particularly the motivation of both receivers and senders with regard to remittances. Sahlins emphasizes the importance of social relationships which, as will be explained in this research, cannot be seen separate from (social) transnational networks. All in all, Shalins’ observation illustrates that we cannot address remittances as a singular phenomenon, rather it should be approached more holistically in the light of transnationalism and social networks. This research will explore the dynamics of a transnational relationship based on remittances. Through interviewing both the senders in the Netherlands, as well as the receivers in Kenya I will scrutinize this relationship. What is deemed interesting here is that the receivers will be interviewed as well which makes up for a more holistic approach to the transnational relationship and transnationalism in general, particularly since there seems to be a certain bias in transnationalism towards migrants in current literature. Transnationalism is mainly viewed from the perspective of the migrant making it seems as if it is the migrant alone who is participating in transnational activities. This dichotomy will be challenged through a multi-sited research whereby interviews will be held with senders of remittances, as well as with receivers of remittances. Instead of interviewing Somalis in Somalia, the choice of the research location is Kenya. This will support my emphasis on hypermobility in transnationalism and remittances; remittances is not only sent from western countries back home in Somalia but also to other Diaspora countries and not only from north to south but also south to south, Somali migrants are sending remittances from and to all over the world (Hamza 2006, Lindley 2007 1 Jureidini 2010). Instead of the traditional one-way flow from country of origin to country of destination, choosing Kenya as the location where I interview the receivers of remittances will approach transnationalism from a different perspective. The dichotomy between north and south as senders and receivers respectively does not hold then. The interchangeable use of these terms illustrates the superfluity of transnationalism in general and confirms that remittances and transnationalism are not static notions. Many Somalis have found refuge in Kenya as a neighboring country of Somalia. According to Castles (2009), in conflict periods the really rich migrants have the means to go to the West, whilst the poorer migrants are forced to migrate to neighboring countries. Although this also seems to be case for a group of Somalis, there is also a substantial group of Somalis in Kenya who have the means to go to the West but prefer to stay in Kenya to do business or have returned to Kenya to do business as was the case for two of the respondents. Although there are no accurate date on how many wealthy Somalis reside here and what their income exactly is, it is known that Somali businessmen have moved to Nairobi where they are, in contrast to urban areas in Somalia, able to generate money in a stable environment and economy with investments of over 1,5 billion dollar and ransoms estimated at 100 million dollar (Chathamhouse 2011, 15). Kenya is thus also very much perceived as a place where many rich Somalis are residing, both by the Somalis themselves as well as by the Kenyans. There are also living many senders in Kenya, people who send remittances through their network to others both in Kenya as well as Somalia. This rejects any generalizations about the senders and receivers of remittances; terms like host country and country of destination in explaining remittances fall short here as Kenya is a host country but a receiving country at the same time. It thus provides a different perspective on transnationalism as it will expose the mobility in transnationalism.

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