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Somali Diaspora and Digital Practices
  • ISSN: 2632-5853
  • E-ISSN: 2632-5861
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Abstract

This article addresses how Somali women from the Netherlands participate in digital diaspora formation. It specifically takes the lens of ‘diasporic mothering’ understood as a site where difference and belonging are negotiated through work of cultural reproduction, collective identity construction and stable homemaking. I first analytically distinguish between two generations of Somali women on the basis of their arrival trajectory and their socio-economic background at the time of their living in Somalia. Second, by foregrounding Somali women’s lived experiences, I show how their participation in diaspora formation is shaped by both mothering practices, and local and national Dutch policy approaches to migration. Last, I argue that the specificities of the local and national Dutch context favours rather physical and neighbourhood-based diaspora encounters, while de-centring the role of digital media in the initial formation of diaspora networks.

Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • The European Research Council (ERC) consolidator grant ‘Digital crossings in Europe: Gender, diaspora and belonging’ (CONNECTINGEUROPE) (Award 647737)
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Intellect Limited
This article is Open Access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-ND), which allows users to copy, distribute and transmit the article as long as the author is attributed, the article is not used for commercial purposes, and the work is not modified or adapted in any way. To view a copy of the licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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2021-06-01
2025-05-24
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): Amsterdam; digital diaspora; migration; mothering; Somali women; the Netherlands

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