Centre for Study of democracy: International
Community Project
Department of Politics and International Relations
Where are we so far: Centre for Study of Democracy:
Democracy & Education Network (DEN) • International Community
Project (ICP)• Student Forums Project• Momentum Student Research
Four GICP - Research
Groups • Middle East • L. America• East Africa• South Asia
L. America: aims and rationales
• Geographical location • To differentiate between various waves
of LA immigration to London. • 1970s - the Immigration Act 1971. • Refugees in the 1980’s and 1990’s, or
2000’s – economic immigration.
L. America: aims and rationales
• Employment• Education • Language as a barrier to employment • Level of integration, first and second generation • Assimilation, alienation and exclusion• Race and Racism • Political participation in local and general election
L. America: Plan for the future
• Visit community • Language, Spanish, spoken in the team• Interviews
East Africa: aims and rationales
• Sudanese community• Integration, inclusion and exclusion • The role of community • Social issues • Refugee: when they came here • Remittance
East Africa: Plan for the future
• To organise a trip to community • Invite the community leaders • Arranging meeting executive office • Any suggestions? please feel free
South Asia: aims and rationales
Interest: Burma: going through the political transition to democracy• Identify the Burmese community in London • Involvement in British politics• Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka• Ethnic divisions between these communities
and the sub-divisions within them such as Kashmir and the Tamil’s
• Conducting research with the youth• Comparing the cultural differences and fusion of
western values- which individuals who were born here hols compared to those who immigrated here and divisions within generations.
South Asia: Plan for the future
• Visit the community • Interviews
Middle East – Turkey / Kurdish: aims and rationales
• Mainly concentrated in Boroughs of Haringey, Hackney and Enfield.
• Intergenerational issues • Interaction between generations is fractured
over lifestyle choices• Turkish values and identity• Links to Turkey as many community groups
are involved in political issues there• Refugees and remittances • Democracy and civic participation
Middle East – Turkey / Kurdish: Plan
• Visit to community • Link to community • Inviting community leaders
Some examples of what we can do for next meeting:
Somalis • 100,000 - official 2006, • 38,000 Moslems • Late 19th Century, as• Seamen in the British Merchant Navy and
settled in most port cities• A second wave of Somali immigrants
started arriving with the British Navy during the Second World War
When/why did they come to the UK?
• Due to the demand for labour in the steel industry
• Sheffield and South Yorkshire were among the first places the Somalis settled
• Community originally settled on arrival in the 1940s
• The most recent Somali migrants arrived mainly as refugees in the late 1980s
Community today• Heterogeneous group made up of:• long-settled local communities, civil
war refugee families and recent arrivals from Europe
• Somaliland, Southern Somalis
What else?