Migration in sub-Saharan Africa: The Somali refugee and migrant experience

Abstract

Abstract:This forum contributes to debates on migration, displacement, and place-making in contemporary sub-Saharan Africa. We bring together an interdisciplinary group of scholars to move the existing literature beyond the dominant focus on the causes of displacement to a rich and granular exploration of its consequences. The forum focuses on Somali refugees and migrants for two reasons. First, Somalia is one of the largest refugee-producing countries in the world. Second, depending on the host states in which they find themselves, Somali migrants and refugees can encounter many different fates, ranging from living in refugee camps to migrating to other countries in sub-Saharan Africa to a small minority being resettled in countries of the global north. These varied circumstances make it possible to study strategies of place-making among Somali communities from several different perspectives. A central theme of this forum is to highlight the agency of migrants and refugees and to emphasize the fact that these groups are more than mere victims of their circumstances. The articles in this volume will be of interest to scholars of African studies, anthropology, comparative politics, migration studies, peace studies, and Somali studies.

Refugees, Foreign Nationals, andWageni: Comparing African Responses to Somali Migration

“…As noted in the introduction to this forum (Ibrahim, Malik, & Wielenga 2020), the dispersal of the Somali people out of their original homelands occurred in three waves. Of these, the most significant out-migration of refugees from Somalia took place in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when a civil war and the collapse of Siad Barre’s authoritarian regime led to widespread insecurity, with various armed factions competing for power.…”