Somalis in European Cities –

Somalis-cover-overview-20150714_Layout 1 2015.07.14. 17:09 Page 1 AT HOME IN EUROPE SOMALIS SOMALIS IN EUROPEAN CITIES – Minority communities – whether Muslim, migrant or Roma – continue to come under intense scrutiny in Europe today. This complex situation presents Europe with one its greatest challenges: how to ensure equal rights in an environment of rapidly expanding diversity. IN EUROPEAN CITIES At Home in Europe, part of the Open Society Initiative for Europe, Open Society Foundations, is a research and advocacy initiative which works to advance equality and social justice for minority and marginalised groups excluded from the mainstream of civil, political, economic, and, cultural life in Western Europe. Muslims in EU Cities was the project’s first comparative research series which examined the position of Muslims in 11 cities in the European Union. Somalis in Overview European cities follows from the findings emerging from the Muslims in EU Cities reports and offers the experiences and challenges faced by Somalis across seven cities in Europe. The research aims to capture the everyday, lived experiences as well as the type and degree of engagement policymakers have initiated with their Somali OVERVIEW and minority constituents. 00somalis-OVERVIEW-publish-20150714_publish.qxd 2015.07.14. 17:12 Page 1 Somalis in European Cities At Home in Europe 00somalis-OVERVIEW-publish-20150716_publish.qxd 2015.07.16. 12:41 Page 2 ©2015 Open Society Foundations This publication is available as a pdf on the Open Society Foundations website under a Creative Commons license that allows copying and distributing the publication, only in its entirety, as long as it is attributed to the Open Society Foundations and used for noncommercial educational or public policy purposes. Photographs may not be used separately from the publication. ISBN: 978-1-940983-4-93 Published by OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS 224 West 57th Street New York NY10019 United States For more information contact: AT HOME IN EUROPE OPEN SOCIETY INITIATIVE FOR EUROPE Millbank Tower, 21-24 Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP, UK Layout by Q.E.D. Publishing Open Society Foundations Mission Statement The Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and tolerant societies whose governments are accountable to their citizens. Working with local communities in more than 100 countries, the Open Society Foundations support justice and human rights, freedom of expression, and access to public health and education. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report is the accumulative effort of many people who have been part of the Somalis in European Cities report series. It brings together the findings from seven cities in western and northern Europe, and within them, specific neighbourhoods: Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Leicester, London, Malmö, and Oslo. Somalis in European Cities has been designed and prepared by At Home in Europe, part of the Open Society Initiative for Europe, Open Society Foundations. The research and analysis was conducted by local/national based experts from each of the countries. We are immensely grateful to Tufyal Choudhury, Lecturer in Law at Durham University and author of this report, for his thoughtful analysis of the seven studies. Moreover, the whole series is indebted to the following that formed the team of researchers in the seven cities: Amsterdam Dr. Gery Nijenhuis, International Development Studies, Department of Human Geography and Planning, Utrecht University Dr. Ilse van Liempt, Assistant Professor, Urban Geography Department, Utrecht University Copenhagen Helle Stenum, PhD, Institute for Culture and Identity, Roskilde University Helsinki Dr. Marja Tiilikainen, Academy Research Fellow, University of Helsinki and Honorary Visiting Fellow, City University, London Abdirashid Ismail, Department of Social Research, University of Helsinki Leicester Dilwar Hussain, Founding Chair of New Horizons in British Islam, Senior Programme Advisor to the Institute of Strategic Dialogue, and Research Fellow at the Lokahi Foundation Jawaahir Dahir, Founder and Managing Director of Somali Development Services, Leciester Ltd London Dr. Anya Ahmed, Senior Lecturer in Social Policy, School of Midwifery, Nursing, Social Work and Social Sciences, University of Salford, Manchester Asha Abdillahi, Project Officer, Account 3, London AT HOME IN EUROPE 5 SOMALIS IN EUROPEAN CITIES – OVERVIEW Malmö Professor Benny Carlson, School of Economics and Management, Department of Economic History, Lund University Oslo Cindy Horst, Research Director, Research Professor, Refugee and Migration Studies, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Oslo Our deepest appreciation is offered to all the local residents from the neighbourhoods in the cities who took part in the focus groups and without whom this research would not have been possible. Thanks are also extended to various city officials, community activists, members of various grass roots and civil society organisations, and relevant experts. At Home in Europe has final responsibility for the content of the report, including any errors or misrepresentations. Open Society Initiative for Europe Team (At Home in Europe) Nazia Hussain Director Ana Macouzet Program Coordinator Hélène Irving Program Coordinator Andrea Gurubi Watterson Program Officer Klaus Dik Nielsen Advocacy Officer Csilla Tóth Program Assistant Tufyal Choudhury Sen. Policy Consultant Szilvia Szekeres Finance Coordinator 6 OPEN SOCIETY FOUNDATIONS 2015 PREFACE PREFACE A central belief of the Open Society Foundations is that all people in an open society count equally and should enjoy equal opportunities. The Open Society Foundations work day-to-day with civil society organizations across Europe to respond to discrimination, prejudice and injustice; to understand the emergence of new and sometimes worrying political phenomena; to inform better practices in policing and security; to connect those seeking justice and equality with policymakers and institutions; to promote inclusion for Europe’s minorities; to support a critical and informed discourse among nongovernmental actors; and to empower grassroots organizations to seek change for themselves, unique to their own local context. At Home in Europe, part of the Open Society Initiative for Europe, Open Society Foundations, is a research and advocacy initiative which works to advance equality and social justice for groups excluded from the mainstream of civil, political, economic, and, cultural life in Western Europe. It places a high priority on local community and city level practices that mitigate discrimination and seek to ensure access to equal opportunities for all. At Home in Europe engages with policymakers, civil society organisations, and communities at the local, national and international level to improve the social inclusion of Europe’s diverse minority and marginalised communities in different ways. Minority communities – whether Muslim, migrant or Roma – continue to come under intense scrutiny in Europe today. This complex situation presents Europe with one its greatest challenges: how to ensure equal rights in an environment of rapidly expanding diversity. The Somali community is one such emerging minority group on whom a lack of precise data hampers the possibility of achieving meaningful integration. People of Somali origin have lived in parts of Europe for many generations but in the past 15 years their numbers have increased. There are no accurate figures for the number of Somalis in Europe but on the whole, whilst small in absolute numbers, they are among one of the continent’s largest refugee groups and a growing minority population. Europe’s Somalis can be divided into three broad categories: people of Somali origin born in Europe, Somali refugees and asylum seekers (who came directly from Somalia or neighbouring countries largely as a result of conflict) and Somalis who migrated to a country in Europe from elsewhere in Europe, such as from Sweden to the UK for example. They are a diverse and vibrant community who suffer from negative and biased media representation and stereotyping. There is a limited understanding on the specific needs of this community and they are in the category of groups that experience significant inequalities in accessing education, employment, health, and housing with resulting poor outcomes. Somali community groups are very present in certain countries in Europe but their engagement with policymakers and in local and national bodies can be relatively limited. AT HOME IN EUROPE 7 SOMALIS IN EUROPEAN CITIES – OVERVIEW The comparative research series ‘Somalis in European Cities’ examines city and municipal policies that have actively sought to understand Somali origin communities and their specific needs. The research aims to capture the everyday, lived experiences as well as the type and degree of engagement policymakers have initiated with their Somali and minority constituents. An underlying theme is how Somali communities have themselves actively participated in tackling discrimination and whether the needs of specific groups warrant individual policy approaches in overcoming barriers to equal opportunities. The ‘Somalis in European Cities’ series contains seven individual city reports and an overview. The cities selected take into account the population size, diversity, and the local political context. They are: Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Leicester, London, Malmö, and Oslo. All seven city reports were prepared by teams of local experts on the basis of the same methodology

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