Transnational Active Citizens: Theorizing the Experiences of Young Somali Males in London
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Transnational Active Citizens: Theorizing the experiences of young Somali males in London by Mohamed Aden Hassan A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology Professional and Community Education (PACE) Centre for Urban and Community Research (CUCR) Department of Sociology Goldsmiths, University of London October 2013 1 Declaration I declare the work presented in this thesis is my own. Mohamed Aden Hassan 2 List of tables and figures Figure 6.1 Mahdi Hashi’s Campaign poster ......................................................................... 209 Figure 7.1 Dufoix four modes of structuring collective experiences abroad........................ 220 Figure 7.2 Dufoix four modes of structuring collective experiences abroad refined............ 221 Table 4.1 Relational outcomes of host community and immigrant acculturation orientations: the Interactive Acculturation Model (IAM).....................................................................61 Table 2.1 Somalis in The Netherlands between 1996 and 2007..............................................82 Table 2.2 distribution of Somalis by country...........................................................................85 Table 4.2 language use, ability and fluency among Somali youth ........................................137 Table 4.3 Distribution of generational cohorts and birthplaces of participants.....................145 Table 4.4 Arrival of young Somalis born outside the UK .....................................................145 Table 4.5. Parents of second-generation youth arrival date and length of residence in UK..146 Table 5.1. Percentage self-reference of young Somali males................................................167 Table 5.2. Percentage belonging reference of young Somali males......................................172 Table 5.3. Percentage home reference of young Somali males .............................................176 Table 6.1 measuring active citizenship..................................................................................185 Table 6.2 measuring voting dynamics ...................................................................................188 Table 6.3 measuring educational and employment participation ..........................................193 Table 7.1 measuring active actual transnational engagements ..............................................223 Table 7.2 measuring levels of (return) visits to Somalia/Somaliland....................................224 Figure 6.1 Mahdi Hashi’s Campaign poster ..........................................................................209 Figure 7.1 Dufoix four modes of structuring collective experiences abroad.........................220 Figure 7.2 Dufoix four modes of structuring collective experiences abroad refined ............221 3 Acknowledgements I would like to express my immense appreciation to my supervisors Professor Marjorie Mayo and Professor Caroline Knowles for all their support, supervision and encouragement. I am further indebted to all the young Somali men who gave up their valuable time to participate in this research. I am equally thankful to Assunnah Mosque, London Somali Youth Forum, Somali Youth Development Resource Centre and West London Somaliland Community for their warm welcome and for allowing me to use their centres to conduct my research as well as all the other respondents who where willing to share their thoughts, experiences and data. I am grateful to the financial assistance I received from the ESRC as it gave me peace of mind and allowed me to complete my research. I would also like to thank Dr. Kimberly Keith and Jennifer Mayo-Deman for their valuable comments on the thesis. My gratitude is extended to my colleagues and friends Professor Cindy Horst, Dr Martijn de Koning, Dr Ilse van Liempt, Daniel Rolle and Dr Giulia Liberatore for their valuable discussions and remarks. I would also like to thank Professor JoAnn McGregor and Dr Ben Page for their initial direction and support. I am highly indebted to my wife Hodo for her love, trust, immense patience and support throughout my research and my family and friends who were encouraging me to carry on. I could not have done this research without their full support and understanding. 4 Abstract This thesis focuses on young Somali males in London and their transnational engagements. It offers a critical intervention within the literature on forced migration, diaspora, transnationalism, citizenship, intergenrational acculturation and masculinity and challenges existing definitions, concepts and approaches employed in this work. It further unpacks the dominant narrative of ‘citizen suspects’ associated with young British Somali men: it, thus, addresses a gap generally overlooked by diaspora and transnational theories, which commonly focus on the problematised participation of young migrants. It offers a more nuanced approach to youth migration highlighting various social and structural interactions between host-societies, diaspora communities and generations in the UK. The research seeks to engage with four key questions that have been largely overlooked in the literature: 1) What are young people’s understandings of notions of ‘belonging’ and ‘home’?; 2) How do young people perceive their place in society, deal with the challenges that they face and become active citizens while forging (united) voices?; 3) How do intergenerational matters affect young people? 4) How do young people’s networks function at the local and transnational level and how are these sustained? Through semi-structured interviews, focus groups and participant observation, the research frames young Somali men as active citizens by shedding new light onto how they understand and construct their social, political, civic and religious spaces both locally and transnationally. In so doing, it offers a more balanced account with regards to notions of home and belonging. It contributes to research on Somali diaspora(s) in general, and its youth more specifically, as well as their more grounded transnational engagements. It unravels the complexities of intergenerational issues and reveals how young Somalis manage multiple notions of belonging, whilst negotiating broader diaspora and transnational engagements. It concludes that young people’s broader experiences and adopted social positions are firmly shaped by their historical context, interactions with their immediate social environment and more broadly the host-society and transnational narratives. Such experiences are fluid, varied and interactive usually dictating the delicate balance and outcome of reception and rejection 5 in the host-society. Whilst the focus of the thesis is on young Somali males, there are wider theoretical implications for the study of diaspora, transnationalism and citizenship. 6 Abbreviations British Educational Research Association (BERA) Communities Together Strategic Engagement Team (CTSET) Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Forced Migration Online (FMO) Internally Displaced People (IDP) Kentish Town Community Organisation (KTCO) London Somali Youth Forum (LSYF) Preventing Violent Extremism (PVE) Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) United Nations Operation in Somalia I (UNOSOM I) United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) Unified Task Force (UNITAF) Somali Relief Development Forum (SRDF) Somali Youth Development Resource Centre (SYDRC) Transitional Federal Government (TFG) West London Somaliland Association (WLSA) 7 Table of contents DECLARATION .....................................................................................................................2 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES.......................................................................................3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................................4 ABSTRACT ...........................................................................................................................5 ABBREVIATIONS..................................................................................................................7 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................13 THEORETICAL APPROACHES AND KEY RESEARCH FOCUS.......................................................14 OUTLINE OF CHAPTERS .........................................................................................................17 CONTRIBUTION .....................................................................................................................21 CLARIFICATION.....................................................................................................................23 CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........24 INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................24 FORCED MIGRATION..............................................................................................................24 Brief historical context.....................................................................................................25 Host countries and adaptation dynamics.........................................................................28 Categories and definitions of forced migration...............................................................33