In the aftermath of the late-September attack on Nairobi’s Westgate mall by Islamist militants linked to the Somali terrorist group al-Shabab, Kenyan authorities reportedly stepped up arrests of Somalis living in Kenya. In an email interview, Anna Lindley, a lecturer in migration, mobility and development at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, explained where Somali refugees live and the likelihood of their return.
WPR: What are the main concentrations of Somali refugees outside the country, and how long have they been there?
Anna Lindley: Nearly 1 million Somalis are registered as refugees in the region of origin, concentrated in Kenya (471,906), Ethiopia (245,068) and Yemen (230,855). While Somalis have always lived and migrated across borders in the Horn of Africa, a large refugee presence was established after civil war began in Somalia in 1988. Regional refugee numbers subsequently declined, then skyrocketed in 2007 following the ousting of the popular Islamic Courts Union in Somalia, because of violence between the internationally supported transitional government and the radical movement al-Shabab, and related aid blockages to drought-stricken areas. Overseas, the oldest communities of Somalis were established by oil boom labor migrants in the Middle East and colonial seamen in the U.K. People displaced by the civil war settled in diverse destinations across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.