Socio-cultural problems of migration and adaptation (Somalian migrants case)

Abstract

The article deals with the phenomenon of nomadism characterizing numerous movements we are witnessing today on a global scale and in Africa in particular. The most obvious and the most characteristic for the African states nationals form of social movement manifestation is the migration from the conflict or disaster-stricken regions, where famine and terror have become a daily routine. Their mobility is the result of the economic, social, or environmental instability and, in particular, the weakness of the state power. A significant number of the refugees, displaced persons or migrants come from Somalia, which has been continuously torn by violent conflicts since 1991. In exile the problems of identity and lost roots loomed large for these people. Plenty of the migrants failed to integrate into the new society. Only very few of them, the educated people, the intellectuals, the artists and the academics managed to fulfill their potential abroad, mainly in professional careers. The migrants move from place to place without staying anywhere for long and positioning themselves as the “citizen of the world”. The multiplicity of identifications helps such groups of nomads in internalization, and in this way enrichment, of all aspects of their life. However the lack of strong roots is a marker of a social and cultural crisis resulting in the formation of a split, patched-up and fragmented identity. The study of the migration flows and diasporas plays an important role in the understanding of the fundamental nature of a person's experience in an alien country, and helps building the good neighborly relations with the numerous “reluctant nomads”.