Sending Remittance as Transnational Kinship Practices: A Case Study of Somali Refugees in London

This thesis explores the meanings migrants attach to the practice of remitting. Building on previousresearchfindingsonSomaliremittancepractices,it considersthedynamicsofmanaging life in transnational times. We ask what influences can turn Somali refugees in London into ‘Sending Remittance Social Agents’. To examine, we recruited volunteers from twenty households and sought the help of three Money Transfer Business agents [Hawaladers] to serve as gatekeepers and expert guides in the business. We used ethnographic case study to gather evidence in the fieldwork as the participants receive phone calls, analyse information about their family' needs and negotiate with their spouses the amount of money to send. We followed participants as they send remittances, congregate, network and socialise with others in cafés, mosques and community centres. Using Tönnies’ theory of community as the global framework of the study and Interactionist with a ‘Social Field' approaches, we analysed the evidence, investigating how several dynamics influence senders' decisions. These factors include their social structure, culture, Islamic traditions, migration experiences, and subsequent settlement processes in London.

Examining how the refugees managed transnational life across nation states, we further studied the participants’ biography, history and changes in their lives. The finding revealed the meanings refugees attach to the practices of remitting are providing much-needed lifeline support, but it also acts as a transnational kinship practices. It is in response to their ‘natural will’ in the context of ‘rational will’.