Caught between Citizenship, Crime, and Coercion: Somali Deportees and the Challenge of Reintegration
Name of applicant
Ayan Yasin Abdi
Title
Researcher
Institution
Malmö University, Sweden and Utrecht University, Netherlands
Amount
DKK 1,262,388
Year
2024
Type of grant
Internationalisation Fellowships
What?
This ethnographic study compares the forced return of Somali migrants from the UK to their country of citizenship; Sweden, the Netherlands, or Denmark. Migrating voluntarily over a decade ago for a better life, some now return due to their sons' criminal activities. This highlights a paradox of hypermobility: once offering free mobility it now leads to forced return, informing contemporary policy.
Why?
Migration and coercion, often associated with crisis-induced displacement, thus manifest in forced deportation among European citizens. This questions the concept of free mobility, viewing migration as voluntary and citizenship as facilitating free movement. When crime acts as a driver of migration, it constrains these ideals, prompting critical questions about crime, coercion, and citizenship.
How?
Comparative ethnography comprises three stages: 1) a case study of a Somali family in Denmark to examine family dynamics and reintegration, 2) fieldwork in Sweden and the Netherlands with interviews of deported youths, their families, and community leaders to investigate forced return, reintegration, life trajectories, and the impacts of crime, 3) expert interviews to clarify legal implications.