Week 11: Somaili Service Field Trip

This week we returned to Bush House, home of the BBC World Service to learn about the Somali diaspora in London and the types of media the BBC produces for them. Though Somalia gained its independence from the British and Italians in 1960, it has experienced great civil unrest for a number of years, and is currently ravaged by an ongoing civil war, which broke out around 1991. Because the political and social climate of the Nation is so volatile, many Somalis have come to the United Kingdom seeking asylum from the violence of their homeland. In addition to refuge, Britain also provides Somalis with employment opportunities, especially in port cities like Cardiff, Liverpool, and London. According to the BBC, It is estimated that over 70,000 Somalis now reside in Britain, though exact numbers can be difficult to gauge (Somalis are nomadic by tradition and don't always settle in one residence, even when immigrating). The British Somali population continues to grow as second and third-generations are born and raised in the UK.

To reach out to members of this diasporic group and help them maintain connections with their home country, the BBC has established the Somali Service, which broadcasts from both London and Somalia in Somali, Swahili, and English. Broadcasting operates predominantly through radio programming, the majority of which consists of news reports from Somalia as a whole as well as the individual regions which make up the country. By attempting to equally represent all regions of Somalia, the BBC Somali Service gives diasporic communities living in the UK a well-rounded and objective view of ongoing issues in their homeland. It is wonderful that a population living so far from a homeland which is plagued by violence and unrest has an organization as credible and well-respected as the BBC as the principal source of news. While outsider perspective is often shunned by members of a given group of people, in the case of Somalia--which is so torn by internal conflict--objective reporting is of utmost importance, especially for those who have left friends, family, and loved ones behind.