'Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Invention'
Abstract
Somali people have lived continuously in Glasgow since the early 2000s. Having faced
the challenging circumstances of Dispersal, subsequent social inequalities, and a fast
changing political climate, the population is now part of Scotland's multicultural
society. However, despite this success, many Somali people do not feel that the
population 'has voice' in Glasgow. As seventeen-year-old Duniya comments, 'it's like
we're hidden down, under the table, we are seen, but nobody knows what we're about'.
Based on two years' of ethnographic fieldwork with Somali groups and individuals in
Glasgow, this thesis considers the extent to which Somali people (do not) 'have voice' in
Glasgow. It finds that Somali people's communicative experiences are strongly
grounded in practices and infrastructures of community, and often a combined result of
'internal' and 'external' approaches to the concept. First, considering the contribution of
Somali cultures of 'voice' to Somali people's experiences in the city, I argue that, due to
the particular way in which a Somali community has developed in Glasgow, people's
vocal experiences have been characterised by a complex combination of cohesion and
fragmentation. Second, considering the impact of 'external' approaches to 'voice' in
Scotland upon Somali experiences, I identify three areas - 'community development'
infrastructure, the news-media and constructions of public spaces - which place
limitations on Somali people's belonging, citizenship and 'voice' in Scotland. Moreover,
I suggest, the impact of these 'external' approaches to 'voice' on 'internal' vocal practices
serve only to compound existing communicative inequalities. In the context of the
current political climate, in which concern for people's citizenship, belonging and voices
is particularly heightened, I echo Somali people's calls for increased dialogue between communities to consider the communicative inequalities that have so far been
unaddressed
