Remittance sending among Somalis in London : experiences, motivations, and practices

An estimated 1 billion people globally (200 million of whom were senders) were involved in the process of remittance sending and receiving between family members (UN International Day of Family Remittances: 2019). While much of the discourse around remittances particularly within Development Studies focuses on the impact on receiving communities and local economies, this research considers remittance-senders. More specifically it focuses on the example of London’s Somali community. It reflects on their lived experience as senders of financial assistance. It also attempts to understand what their perceptions are of their own present-day sending practices and what they expect to take place in the future for both senders and their ‘traditional’ remittance-receiving networks.The research involves two cohorts, Somalis born abroad, and UK born Somalis living in London. The born abroad group includes those born in Somalia and in neighbouring countries. Somali migration to the UK increased in the late 1980s and early 1990s as war broke out it is for this reason, UK born respondents can represent a younger population group and those born elsewhere a slightly older demographic.This qualitative study considers themes around duty, caring, kinship, visits home, transnationalism, diaspora, family practice and legacy. The findings demonstrate the importance of familial bonds and normative values and reveal that actors far beyond 1 sender and 1 recipient are participants and vital to these human support networks. Through active and passive remittance sending it demonstrates how negotiated commitments function in practice. It reveals the strength of feeling about familial duty and in equal measure the fears about the future of the practice of remittance sending