“I Am a Kenyan Citizen, but my Identity is also Somali&quot;: The Kenyan-Somali Feelings of Citizenship and Belonging in Nairobi.

Somalis have been living in Kenya since the colonial era. They were brought to Nairobi by British administrators in the 1800s to be a part of the labour force. Under colonial rule, Somalis were considered to be perceived as racially ambiguous, and this perception remained after the departure of the British from Kenya. The Kenyan state has historically treated the ethnic Somali group in Kenya as “other” by having Kenyan-Somalis continuously prove their citizenship in the form of mass detainments, or through screening processes. This can have an effect on how Kenyan-Somalis feel in Kenya. This leads to the research question: “What are the feelings of citizenship and belonging in Kenyan-Somali women in Nairobi and how are they expressed?” The researcher recruited three experts in this field and Kenyan-Somali women who reside in Nairobi. Participants were gathered through snowball sampling. Moreover, the date was collected in the form of semi-structured interviews which would then be...Show moreSomalis have been living in Kenya since the colonial era. They were brought to Nairobi by British administrators in the 1800s to be a part of the labour force. Under colonial rule, Somalis were considered to be perceived as racially ambiguous, and this perception remained after the departure of the British from Kenya. The Kenyan state has historically treated the ethnic Somali group in Kenya as “other” by having Kenyan-Somalis continuously prove their citizenship in the form of mass detainments, or through screening processes. This can have an effect on how Kenyan-Somalis feel in Kenya. This leads to the research question: “What are the feelings of citizenship and belonging in Kenyan-Somali women in Nairobi and how are they expressed?” The researcher recruited three experts in this field and Kenyan-Somali women who reside in Nairobi. Participants were gathered through snowball sampling. Moreover, the date was collected in the form of semi-structured interviews which would then be analysed thematically in order to see what their feelings of citizenship and belonging are. The feelings were assessed through three sub-questions. The results indicate that the participants do claim a sense of belonging in Nairobi. This could be associated due to the change in the constitution of 2010 in Kenya. This research also utilised the Allen et al (2021) sense of belonging model, and demonstrated that a sense of belonging has almost been completely achieved. Despite this, perceptions of belonging have not been fully completed. Policies should assess which areas make Kenyan-Somalis feel like they do not belong in Kenya, due to the fact that migration is a recurring theme in society.Show less

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“I Am a Kenyan Citizen, but my Identity is also Somali": The Kenyan-Somali Feelings of Citizenship and Belonging in Nairobi.