Social media usage, Tahriib (migration), and settlement among Somali refugees in France

Abstract

Technologies are omnipresent in our society, from mobile telephone systems to satellite television and Internet broadcasting, which shape the way we live, work, and interact. They have also transformed the experience of international migration, making it possible for migrants to maintain strong ties between the host society and the home country. In this article, we examine the precarious situation lived by Somali refugees in France, and we explore their uses of social media during tahriib or their migratory path and settlement in three French cities. The first section discusses the method on which this fi eld study is based, that of critical and multi-sited ethnography. After describing living conditions experienced by Somali refugees in France in the next section, the last section presents the findings of the field study. In doing so, the present research strives to fill a research gap by contributing to the advancement of knowledge on social media use by refugees.