Recollections of War and Displacement from the Somali Global Diaspora
In June 2018, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that there were 68.5 million people displaced worldwide due to wars, violence and persecution; 25.4 million of them were refugees (Edwards 2018). In 1991, Somalia plunged into civil war, causin...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Fondazione Nuto Revelli
2019-11-01
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| Series: | Close Encounters in War Journal |
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| Online Access: | https://closeencountersinwarhome.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/scruggs-recollections-of-war-displacement-from-the-somali-global-diaspora.pdf |
| _version_ | 1819057518816526336 |
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| author | Natoschia Scruggs |
| author_facet | Natoschia Scruggs |
| author_sort | Natoschia Scruggs |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In June 2018, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that there were 68.5 million people displaced worldwide due to wars, violence and persecution; 25.4 million of them were refugees (Edwards 2018). In 1991, Somalia plunged into civil war, causing a mass exodus. Nearly three decades later, there are large Somali diaspora communities around the world. This article highlights the migration narratives and experiences of ten displaced Somalis who fled their homeland in the 1990s –early 2000s and graciously shared their stories with me during semi-structured ethnographic interviews I conducted in Egypt, the UK and the US between 2003-2010. The reflections shared by these migrants illuminate the tension felt by many displaced peoples when they must occupy differing socio-economic and power positions in their receiving societies as well as when they are confronted with external understandings of their identities that often clash with self-perceptions; they also emphasize the need to disaggregate migrant experiences as migrants take different paths, use different strategies depending on context, and live within diverse host societies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T13:40:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-acd255ea19d84de89840a7eeb598550b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2704-8799 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T13:40:35Z |
| publishDate | 2019-11-01 |
| publisher | Fondazione Nuto Revelli |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Close Encounters in War Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-acd255ea19d84de89840a7eeb598550b2022-12-21T19:02:01ZengFondazione Nuto RevelliClose Encounters in War Journal2704-87992019-11-012-83104Recollections of War and Displacement from the Somali Global DiasporaNatoschia Scruggs0Providence CollegeIn June 2018, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that there were 68.5 million people displaced worldwide due to wars, violence and persecution; 25.4 million of them were refugees (Edwards 2018). In 1991, Somalia plunged into civil war, causing a mass exodus. Nearly three decades later, there are large Somali diaspora communities around the world. This article highlights the migration narratives and experiences of ten displaced Somalis who fled their homeland in the 1990s –early 2000s and graciously shared their stories with me during semi-structured ethnographic interviews I conducted in Egypt, the UK and the US between 2003-2010. The reflections shared by these migrants illuminate the tension felt by many displaced peoples when they must occupy differing socio-economic and power positions in their receiving societies as well as when they are confronted with external understandings of their identities that often clash with self-perceptions; they also emphasize the need to disaggregate migrant experiences as migrants take different paths, use different strategies depending on context, and live within diverse host societies.https://closeencountersinwarhome.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/scruggs-recollections-of-war-displacement-from-the-somali-global-diaspora.pdfsomaliarefugeesnarrativesafricadiasporamigration |
| spellingShingle | Natoschia Scruggs Recollections of War and Displacement from the Somali Global Diaspora Close Encounters in War Journal somalia refugees narratives africa diaspora migration |
| title | Recollections of War and Displacement from the Somali Global Diaspora |
| title_full | Recollections of War and Displacement from the Somali Global Diaspora |
| title_fullStr | Recollections of War and Displacement from the Somali Global Diaspora |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recollections of War and Displacement from the Somali Global Diaspora |
| title_short | Recollections of War and Displacement from the Somali Global Diaspora |
| title_sort | recollections of war and displacement from the somali global diaspora |
| topic | somalia refugees narratives africa diaspora migration |
| url | https://closeencountersinwarhome.files.wordpress.com/2019/11/scruggs-recollections-of-war-displacement-from-the-somali-global-diaspora.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT natoschiascruggs recollectionsofwaranddisplacementfromthesomaliglobaldiaspora |