Liverpool Communities - Somali

 

Somali crew men on HMS Venus

 

The United Kingdom has historically been tied closely to Somalia through its involvement in the British Somaliland protectorate which has given rise to a long tradition of Somali migration to the United Kingdom. Mobility has played an important part in Somali culture and we find the first Somali immigrants to be seamen and merchants who settled in port cities in the late 19th century, like the Yemen migrants, mainly in Cardiff, Liverpool and London. Many of these early sailors came from British Somaliland and worked in the thriving docks but found they were attacked and not wanted, especially in Cardiff. While many Somalis arrived in Liverpool seeking asylum after the outbreak of the Somali Civil war in 1991, there has been a presence of Somalis in the city since the 19th century, when many came to Liverpool to work for the British Navy, often by way of the former British Somaliland protectorate.

Somalis now number in the thousands in Liverpool, being one of the city's longest established ethnic minority groups. According to the 2001 census, 678 Somali-born individuals were living in Liverpool, but unofficial estimates place the figure between 4,000–9,000 inhabitants. The majority of Liverpool's Somali community reside in Toxteth, where there are numerous Somali-run businesses and community groups. In 2004, a local social worker, Mohamed 'Jimmy' Ali, became the UK's first Somali councillor, although he has since lost his seat.

The Liverpool Somali Community Association (LSCA) was established in 1957 and registered as a charity in 1989. It is based at a Centre at 57 Granby Street, Liverpool L8 2TU. The Granby Somali Women’s Group (GSWG) was established in 1994 following the committed effort of several Somali women's groups due to the raising influx of refugees from Somalia. The organisation's main objective has been to provide a safe environment for Somali women and children who have been forced to flee their own country due to the Civil War and the Famine. However, due to the large influx of BME Communities in Liverpool, the centre has now adapted its ethos with its open door policy and provides services to all women, children and families residing in the Princes Park Ward. 

Amani Bakri with daughter Ayah, three, at the Building Links celebration of International Women's Day

 

Also Liverpool City Council and local services offer information and help in the Somali language, alongside information in English and 15 other common languages in Liverpool. Building Links in Granby Street in Toxteth is an  organisation created by Merseyside Somali Community Association (MSCA) to provide a multi-cultural community centre at the heart of Liverpool 8. The aim is to develop community cohesion through the provision of recreation, social, welfare and learning activities and services, attempting to get women - and men - from the Somalian, Sudanese and Eritrean communities together. They hope  to break the barriers between communities, enabling them to learn and feel comfortable together. Sudanese Insaf Hagelsafi, the co-ordinator of Building Links, came to Britain in 1986 with her doctor husband. She said, "Before it was just the Somali Community, we want to establish links to bring all communities together. It can be hard, when women come over to the UK and face a host of different problems, not least the language barrier. Some women have come from small villages and never lived in a city and that can be overwhelming. That’s where I feel happy, when I see a young woman from a rural area in Sudan in the city centre, confident with her child."

see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2022/04/liverpool-communities-west-indian.html