North American vs British Somalis

[Sa_Male]

The two biggest somali diaspora and the two most significant, are the US and UK somalis with at least a hundred thousand somalis each. I feel as if many somalis have neglected to understand and appreciate the significant differences between the diaspora and knowing more about the matter will help us to come closer together as a diaspora, support the same projects, and overall create a more unified and united front to obviously change the abysmal societal, political, and total human climate existing in the somali peninsular today.

My observations will obviously be restricted to the much I've observed of American somalis online, and my more deep understanding of UK somali diaspora having lived in London most of my life.

Firstly,
In my opinion 90% of our differences are obviously the result of our locations. The object of this tiny presentation is to make it clear how profound these differences are in order to make it clear that as we have diffrent mindsets, we must NOT assume our shared ethnicity would be sufficient to unite us enough to create that very important united front that we cannot wait to assemble only when things go to complete shit.

Now, the American climate, as it is well known, is diabolically proficient at removing a culture and unique people from their highly important identity. And it does this through soft power, it allows you to do as you please and exerts no pressure so that by the time you birth children in this cursed land, they, through the unique and powerful programing of the American school system, are more American than say, somali. And in general without looking to schooling, refugees in America do very well compared to other refugees in any other countries, the softer way of living prevents a vacuum from opening whereby a young person would use that vacuum as an opportunity to become closer to their family/culture/ and religion. This is the basis of societal conditioning which relies on soft power which relies on ease, and the opposite of attempting to impose.

 

[Sa_Male]

Having established the understanding as to the American environment of soft power and slow but powerful influencing, we turn to the almost opposite in the UK with an eye on London. Most somalis that arrived in London experienced extremely challenging times for many reasons. Gang culture was just kicking off, racists were appalled by the idea of replacement, and the cesspit London is created depressing overtones to the whole ordeal. Unlike the US, the welfare of the refugees was limited to aid in housing, and the government tried to immerse the community in rough unproductive ways. The ideas of liberty and freedom, non existent in the UK, allowed for a sort of extreme paranoia in most diaspora households for the government and its institutions, British welfare is brutal in that the smallest slip up would have your children forcibly removed. And the suddenly emerging gang culture made it so that 40 50yr old odays such as my father, were ciyaal as suuq and were immersed in gang culture. The brutality and unwelcoming environment of the UK epitomised in the school system. The stories of bullying and harassment pushed many somalis into drugs, alcohol, mental health issues and more and every somali in London can tell you at least a handful of relatives they know who fell off or almost fell off the deep end.

 

[Sa_Male]

The main difference is somalis in London were essentially assaulted from all sides.
American somalis were not. The many effects this has had ill try to mention inshallah.

1. British somalis are many times more religious. In the uk, as a somali female without a hijab, you WILL have experienced some harassment in some type of way by other somalis mainly elders. The amount of non practising Muslims cannot be compared to US somalis and the ones that do exist often take measure to hide away and keep hidden. Islam is a very big deal for most British somalis and again the atheists and feminists are mostly undercover.

2. British somalis are more connected to their identity and qabil, American somalis are more connected to daqan and somalinimo.
Qabil was and still is a serious issue in London and as it may affect mostly the elders. The youth are very much intune with somaliland vs somalia to an unnecessary degree that makes topics relating to somalinimo difficult to discuss for everybody.
In terms of identity, somalis in the UK almost never identify with the label "black". Most somalis in the uk dealt with racism and harassment not only from cadaans, but also from "blacks" that were all Caribbeans and Africans that were very much in tune with their African roots. Somalis in the UK tend to ridicule the idea of pan Africanism and black solidarity. However recently the phenom of somali youth interacting en masse with other ethnicities after the early 2000s has created wannabe madow farahs, and blm halimos but that generation is worthless for the time being. Somalis in America seem in my opinion to be more connected to daqan rather than qabil, and somalinimo rather than somaliland vs somalia. I think you can see if we did switcheroos for the good and got rid off the bad, we as a diaspora would be poised to enter the climate of back home.

3.Money and business, in terms of these measurements it doesn't even seem close with most British somalis in a far from ideal place financially. I dont need to talk about the financial pressures of both regions but the difference is very sizeable. We may have as many uni grads in the UK but employment and making the cash in the British Isles is damn near impossible compared to the states. As a result, again connecting to easy vs hard and that pain vacuum that makes you go back to your deep untapped identity of religion/family/and culture. As most 16/17yr old somalis make enough money to get most of what they want in unnecessary luxury products, most 16/17yr old somalis are still begging hoyo for some lunch money and saving it for some new shoes and that has effects on boths psychologies. Did you know that in college(the last 2 years of high school for Americans) if you could drive and had your parents car, you'd have all the friends you want in the school? I.e you'd be famous. In terms of business, having richer somalis in the community and having greater government help, directly impacts the youth and the community in the US compared to the UK.

 

[Sa_Male]

Finally, I want to say that in my opinion the greatest hurdle for the diaspora to effectively cooperate would revolve around religion. And it would need British somalis to let go of religion which would be a catastrophe for both. Hence why any work done today MUST have Islamic undertones otherwise the corrupted US somalis will either change, or upset the more religious British somalis.
Take the somali museum in minnesota for example, a particular rapper by the name of 3one whose actually British had to resort to a concert in the US. I have no doubt in my mind if he attempted a performance in the UK, either nobody would come or else it would recieve too much stigma. And many British somalis have gone to the US I've been told, for the reason that American somalis are less "uptight".

What do you people think?

 

[berberaboy66]

There’s different lives experiences but honestly I feel like the Somali diaspora might be one of the most similar globally. We are pretty much the same everywhere: slightly below average in education, more religious than normal, have our own communities that we keep to and chimp out slightly more than the average immigrant.

 

[Sa_Male]

There’s different lives experiences but honestly I feel like the Somali diaspora might be one of the most similar globally. We are pretty much the same everywhere: slightly below average in education, more religious than normal, have our own communities that we keep to and chimp out slightly more than the average immigrant.

I agree that we have more similarities than diffences by far, but I think in terms of impacting back home, the diaspora is the last hope and we need to work together more closely before being able to really impact things, and that requires understanding out differences, especially when it comes to topics like religion and how that reflects on culture and daqan even.

 

[Kisame]

The main difference is somalis in London were essentially assaulted from all sides.
American somalis were not. The many effects this has had ill try to mention inshallah.

1. British somalis are many times more religious. In the uk, as a somali female without a hijab, you WILL have experienced some harassment in some type of way by other somalis mainly elders. The amount of non practising Muslims cannot be compared to US somalis and the ones that do exist often take measure to hide away and keep hidden. Islam is a very big deal for most British somalis and again the atheists and feminists are mostly undercover.

2. British somalis are more connected to their identity and qabil, American somalis are more connected to daqan and somalinimo.
Qabil was and still is a serious issue in London and as it may affect mostly the elders. The youth are very much intune with somaliland vs somalia to an unnecessary degree that makes topics relating to somalinimo difficult to discuss for everybody.
In terms of identity, somalis in the UK almost never identify with the label "black". Most somalis in the uk dealt with racism and harassment not only from cadaans, but also from "blacks" that were all Caribbeans and Africans that were very much in tune with their African roots. Somalis in the UK tend to ridicule the idea of pan Africanism and black solidarity. However recently the phenom of somali youth interacting en masse with other ethnicities after the early 2000s has created wannabe madow farahs, and blm halimos but that generation is worthless for the time being. Somalis in America seem in my opinion to be more connected to daqan rather than qabil, and somalinimo rather than somaliland vs somalia. I think you can see if we did switcheroos for the good and got rid off the bad, we as a diaspora would be poised to enter the climate of back home.

3.Money and business, in terms of these measurements it doesn't even seem close with most British somalis in a far from ideal place financially. I dont need to talk about the financial pressures of both regions but the difference is very sizeable. We may have as many uni grads in the UK but employment and making the cash in the British Isles is damn near impossible compared to the states. As a result, again connecting to easy vs hard and that pain vacuum that makes you go back to your deep untapped identity of religion/family/and culture. As most 16/17yr old somalis make enough money to get most of what they want in unnecessary luxury products, most 16/17yr old somalis are still begging hoyo for some lunch money and saving it for some new shoes and that has effects on boths psychologies. Did you know that in college(the last 2 years of high school for Americans) if you could drive and had your parents car, you'd have all the friends you want in the school? I.e you'd be famous. In terms of business, having richer somalis in the community and having greater government help, directly impacts the youth and the community in the US compared to the UK.

"Did you know that in college(the last 2 years of high school for Americans) if you could drive and had your parents car, you'd have all the friends you want in the school? I.e you'd be famous. "

Lool I wasn't famous but my social life definitely changed during my last year of high school when I got my driver's license and my mom's old car.

A lot of us don't live in walkable cities.if you live in the suburbs your pretty much fucked without a car.I was stuck with hanging out with only kids in my neighborhood after school for most of high school. Once I got my license I got to attend football games, basketball games, attend school clubs, and got to hang out with classmates outside of school way more often.

"As most 16/17yr old somalis make enough money to get most of what they want in unnecessary luxury products, most 16/17yr old somalis are still begging hoyo for some lunch money and saving it for some new shoes and that has effects on boths psychologies."

I didn't start working until after high school but I did know a lot of Somali guys that had jobs at 16 years old. Having lacag at 16 is definitely a game changer for a lot of teenagers. My friends were always able to afford the nicest clothes they wanted since they worked 2-3 days a week during the school year. Their whole pay check use to go to shoes .

Having established the understanding as to the American environment of soft power and slow but powerful influencing, we turn to the almost opposite in the UK with an eye on London. Most somalis that arrived in London experienced extremely challenging times for many reasons. Gang culture was just kicking off, racists were appalled by the idea of replacement, and the cesspit London is created depressing overtones to the whole ordeal. Unlike the US, the welfare of the refugees was limited to aid in housing, and the government tried to immerse the community in rough unproductive ways. The ideas of liberty and freedom, non existent in the UK, allowed for a sort of extreme paranoia in most diaspora households for the government and its institutions, British welfare is brutal in that the smallest slip up would have your children forcibly removed. And the suddenly emerging gang culture made it so that 40 50yr old odays such as my father, were ciyaal as suuq and were immersed in gang culture. The brutality and unwelcoming environment of the UK epitomised in the school system. The stories of bullying and harassment pushed many somalis into drugs, alcohol, mental health issues and more and every somali in London can tell you at least a handful of relatives they know who fell off or almost fell off the deep end.

"The brutality and unwelcoming environment of the UK epitomised in the school system. The stories of bullying and harassment pushed many somalis into drugs, alcohol, mental health issues and more and every somali in London can tell you at least a handful of relatives they know who fell off or almost fell off the deep end."

I will honestly say I don't really know that many somalis that dealt with harassment for being somali. Most somalis here live in hotspots packed with thousands of somalis. Our gangs might have issues with local non Somali gangs but for the most part most of our people aren't dealing with bs from ajnabis outside of islamophobia online and sometimes irl.

I only know one Somali kid that dealt with severe bullying and he was a skinny miskeen kid going to school in an area with no somalis. He was pretty much an easy target. His parents didn't know how to stop the bullying so they just ended up moving him away to different school and state with a lot more somalis.


"Somalis in America seem in my opinion to be more connected to daqan rather than qabil, and somalinimo rather than somaliland vs somalia."

I literally didn't know my qabil or none of my friends qabils until I was 18 years old. I didn't even know Somaliland was a real place until I was 19 years old wallahi that was a funny ass day. I first thought these niggas were talking about an amusement park when I first heard about Somaliland.


"The ideas of liberty and freedom, non existent in the UK, allowed for a sort of extreme paranoia in most diaspora households for the government and its institutions"

America is big AF. As a Somali person you can literally just disappear once your 18 if you wanted too. Most somalis live in 3 states. Minnesota, Ohio, and Washington. The rest of us our scattered in little pockets across America.

Besides my childhood friends I rarely come across somalis irl these days unless I visit my old neighborhood, visit my cousins, or drive/fly to a city with a big Somali population.

I have total freedom to do whatever I want without worrying about judgmental somalis. I've run into a random Mali at a club like 2-3 times and they usually dapped me up and kept it pushing

 

[berberaboy66]

1. British somalis are many times more religious. In the uk, as a somali female without a hijab, you WILL have experienced some harassment in some type of way by other somalis mainly elders. The amount of non practising Muslims cannot be compared to US somalis and the ones that do exist often take measure to hide away and keep hidden. Islam is a very big deal for most British somalis and again the atheists and feminists are mostly undercover.

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[Sa_Male]

"Did you know that in college(the last 2 years of high school for Americans) if you could drive and had your parents car, you'd have all the friends you want in the school? I.e you'd be famous. "

Lool I wasn't famous but my social life definitely changed during my last year of high school when I got my driver's license and my mom's old car.

A lot of us don't live in walkable cities.if you live in the suburbs your pretty much fucked without a car.I was stuck with hanging out with only kids in my neighborhood after school for most of high school. Once I got my license I got to attend football games, basketball games, attend school clubs, and got to hang out with classmates outside of school way more often.

"As most 16/17yr old somalis make enough money to get most of what they want in unnecessary luxury products, most 16/17yr old somalis are still begging hoyo for some lunch money and saving it for some new shoes and that has effects on boths psychologies."

I didn't start working until after high school but I did know a lot of Somali guys that had jobs at 16 years old. Having lacag at 16 is definitely a game changer for a lot of teenagers. My friends were always able to afford the nicest clothes they wanted since they worked 2-3 days a week during the school year. Their whole pay check use to go to shoes .







"The brutality and unwelcoming environment of the UK epitomised in the school system. The stories of bullying and harassment pushed many somalis into drugs, alcohol, mental health issues and more and every somali in London can tell you at least a handful of relatives they know who fell off or almost fell off the deep end."

I will honestly say I don't really know that many somalis that dealt with harassment for being somali. Most somalis here live in hotspots packed with thousands of somalis. Our gangs might have issues with local non Somali gangs but for the most part most of our people aren't dealing with bs from ajnabis outside of islamophobia online and sometimes irl.

I only know one Somali kid that dealt with severe bullying and he was a skinny miskeen kid going to school in an area with no somalis. He was pretty much an easy target. His parents didn't know how to stop the bullying so they just ended up moving him away to different school and state with a lot more somalis.


"Somalis in America seem in my opinion to be more connected to daqan rather than qabil, and somalinimo rather than somaliland vs somalia."

I literally didn't know my qabil or none of my friends qabils until I was 18 years old. I didn't even know Somaliland was a real place until I was 19 years old wallahi that was a funny ass day. I first thought these niggas were talking about an amusement park when I first heard about Somaliland.


"The ideas of liberty and freedom, non existent in the UK, allowed for a sort of extreme paranoia in most diaspora households for the government and its institutions"

America is big AF. As a Somali person you can literally just disappear once your 18 if you wanted too. Most somalis live in 3 states. Minnesota, Ohio, and Washington. The rest of us our scattered in little pockets across America.

Besides my childhood friends I rarely come across somalis irl these days unless I visit my old neighborhood, visit my cousins, or drive/fly to a city with a big Somali population.

I have total freedom to do whatever I want without worrying about judgmental somalis. I've run into a random Mali at a club like 2-3 times and they usually dapped me up and kept it pushing

So basically America is jannah is what your saying

 

[Kisame]

So basically America is jannah is what your saying

Yes for non practicing somalis.

 

[The truth seeker]

Yes for non practicing somalis.

America is to big in general for Somalis and Muslims to have any real influence they only make up 0.50 percent of the population .

I could go to Chicago , los angles , New York ,or Miami spend a year there and never see a Somali can’t say the same about London or Toronto

 

[LilBang]

America is to big in general for Somalis and Muslims to have any real influence they only make up 0.50 percent of the population .

I could go to Chicago , los angles , New York ,or Miami spend a year there and never see a Somali can’t say the same about London or Toronto

They at least have influence up in the app lol