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PP RUEHDE RUEHROV RUEHTRO
DE RUEHLO #2188/01 2390841
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 260841Z AUG 08
FM AMEMBASSY LONDON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9582
INFO RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI PRIORITY 0397
RUCNSOM/SOMALIA COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LONDON 002188 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ATFN SOCI EAID SO UK
SUBJECT: SOMALIA: UK-BASED DIASPORA AND ITS ECONOMIC IMPACT 
IN SOMALIA 
 
REF: LONDON 2084 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Known as the "invisible community," the 
UK's Somali Diaspora has historic roots in Britain but has 
surged significantly in the last twenty years to an estimated 
250,000 to 380,000.  With recent immigration increases 
attributed to family reunification and re-location of other 
EU-based Somalians to the UK, the UK's Diaspora community has 
settled largely along clan lines, with local communities 
generally dominated by one individual clan.  There are no 
nationally recognized leaders in the Somali Diaspora, and 
individual communities tend to use intra-community dispute 
resolution (rather than British police and courts) and to 
forgo engagement with HMG.  With one of the lowest rates of 
unemployment amongst British immigrants, the Somali Diaspora 
remits several hundred million USD to Somalia.  Dahabshiil, 
the UK-based and world's largest Somali money transfer 
company, transfers roughly USD 230 million per annum. 
UK-based Somalians see these remittances as vital for the 
survival of their families, but also as a means to improve 
the Somalian economy.  HMG has termed these remittances as a 
"boost against the fight against poverty in Somalia" and 
started programs to increase transparency and competition 
among money transfer companies.  End summary. 
 
------------------------- 
Size - 250,000 to 380,000 
------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Termed the UK's "invisible community" for lack of 
engagement with the national government and mainstream 
British culture, the UK has had a Somali Diaspora community 
from the time of the British Protectorate.  However, the 
Diaspora's population has surged in the past twenty years to 
an estimated 250,000 to 380,000, according to Department for 
International Development (DFID) contractor and academic 
Mohamed Aden Hasan, who has recently completed a survey of 
the UK's Somali population for HMG.  In recent years, 
Somalian immigration has changed from being based on asylum 
claims - Somalia was once one of the UK's top ten asylum 
applicant producing countries, according to Home Office 
statistics.  In increasing numbers, Somalians new to the UK 
now arrive through family re-unification or immigration from 
other EU countries with less well established Somalian 
communities (mainly from the Netherlands and Scandinavia). 
Since 2001, over 50,000 Somalians have become British 
subjects, and 60 percent report having immediate family 
members still in Somalia or in refugee camps. 
 
---------------------------------- 
Location - Living Along Clan Lines 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Seen as a meeting point by many EU-based Somalians, 
the UK hosts significant communities in Cardiff, Sheffield, 
Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Leicester Manchester, and the 
Eastern and Western suburbs of London. Hasan reports that the 
Diaspora has largely settled based on clan affiliation, with 
one clan generally dominating an area and limited interaction 
between the communities.  This clan-based settlement has 
produced some localized conflicts, with young Somalians 
forming gangs along tribal lines and involved in inter-tribe 
ethnic violence.  These communities tend to use inter- and 
intra-community mediation processes rather than formal UK 
justice systems, such as the police or courts, to resolve 
disputes. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Civil society and non-governmental organizations 
started by Somalians tend to serve only their individual 
communities.  Local mosques and imams remain highly 
influential, but have no national affiliations or networks. 
According to Hasan's extensive survey, there are no national 
recognized leaders in the Somalia Diaspora or universally 
influential social groups.  Other than a few Welsh MPs active 
in HMG on Somali issues (reftel), the Diaspora has extremely 
limited engagement with the central government and in 
national politics.  The widely popular BBC Somali radio 
station, along with three other UK-based Somali language 
radio stations, one television station, and five weekly or 
monthly print publications, is the main source of information 
and principle social unifier for the community. 
 
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LONDON 00002188  002 OF 002 
 
 
Remittances - Several Hundred Million 
in USD Per Annum 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) With one of the lowest rates of unemployment amongst 
Britain's immigrant communities, the Somali Diaspora provides 
several hundred million USD in remittances per annum.  There 
are 11 UK-based money transfer companies serving Somalia. 
Dahabshiil is the world's largest, according to Managing 
Director Dr. Saad Shire.  Dahabshiil has been in operation 
over twenty years and transfers roughly USD 230 million per 
annum among Somali communities, with 90 percent of 
transactions returning cash to Somalia.  The company has over 
170 agents based in the UK, and it has branch offices and 
agents throughout Somalia and in other countries with large 
Diaspora communities.  Transfer fees range between two and 
five percent, based on the sum transferred. 
 
¶6. (SBU) According to Hasan, UK-based Somalians see these 
remittances as vital for the survival of their families, but 
also as a means to improve the Somalian economy.  The 
Diaspora is primarily engaged in small private enterprises 
(like small grocery and goods shops and internet cafes) and 
the blue-collar service sector, largely due to lack of work 
experience, English language skills, and education. 
 
----------- 
HMG Support 
----------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) With the March 2008 launch of its Somali-language 
consumer advice leaflets about the DFID-backed 'Send Money 
Home' independent money transfer price comparison website 
(www.sendmoneyhome.org), DFID Minister for Africa Gillian 
Merron said remittances from UK-based Somalians are a "boost 
against the fight against poverty in Somalia." The research 
DFID contracted Hasan to complete on the Somalia Diaspora is 
meant to help DFID find ways to get the UK Diaspora more 
involved in Somalia's development. 
 
 
Visit London's Classified Website: 
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Unit ed_Kingdom 
 
LEBARON