China; globalization; Kenya; livelihoods; migration; Somalia; trade; Cultural Studies; Anthropology
Abstract :
[en] Research on Somali mobility and migration has predominantly focused on forced migration from Somalia and diaspora communities in Western Europe and North America, neglecting other experiences and destinations. This article traces the journeys of Somali traders from East Africa to China, mapping the growth of a transnational trading economy that has offered a stable career path to a few but a chance to scrape by for many others. Understandings of migration and mobility must encompass these precarious terrains, allowing for a richer examination of how individuals have navigated war, displacement, and political and economic change by investing in transnational livelihoods, not just via ties to the West, but through the myriad connections linking African economies to the Gulf and Asia.
Research center :
Group for Research on Ethnic Relations, Migration and Equality (GERME), Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB)
Disciplines :
Anthropology Sociology & social sciences
Author, co-author :
Lochery, Emma ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences sociales > Labo d'anthropologie sociale et culturelle (LASC)
Language :
English
Title :
Somali Ventures in China: Trade and Mobility in a Transnational Economy
Publication date :
March 2020
Journal title :
African Studies Review
ISSN :
0002-0206
Publisher :
Cambridge University Press
Special issue title :
Migration in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Somali Refugee and Migrant Experience
This research was made possible by those businesspeople who shared their stories with me in Kenya, Somaliland, and China. Thank you especially to those I call here Naima, Ali, and Farah; I remain profoundly grateful. Thanks also to Mohaa, Alvin and Melina Mosioma, Xidig Hassan, Hannah Elliott, and Francesca Meloni. This research was funded by the Wiener-Anspach Foundation (FWA) as part of the project “Border Crossing, Trade and Trust” at the Group for Research on Ethnic Relations, Migration and Equality (GERME) at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). Thanks to FWA and my project colleagues at ULB and Oxford: Martin Rosenfeld, Andrea Rea, Neil Carrier, and Nicholas Van Hear. Finally, thank you to the Forum editors, Ahmed Ibrahim, Aditi Malik, and Cori Wielenga, for bringing together not just the forum articles but their authors in 2016.This research was funded by the Wiener-Anspach Foundation (FWA) as part of the project "Border Crossing, Trade and Trust" at the Group for Research on Ethnic Relations, Migration and Equality (GERME) at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB).
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