Security on the Move: Everyday security of IDPs in rapidly growing Somali Cities
Lead Research Organisation:
Durham University
Department Name: Government and International Affairs
Abstract
This research project addresses the nexus of poverty, environmental sustainability and conflict in Somalia from the perspective of the most vulnerable in-migrants to cities, people who were internally displaced (IDPs). The interplay between violent conflict and droughts is described as one of the main drivers of internal displacement in Somalia, but rapid in-migration to cities further increases pressures on the urban and rural environment. The research focus is on the capacities of IDPs to cope with the effects of violence and displacement and to mitigate vulnerability. The study is conducted in four cities in Southern Somalia (Mogadishu, Baidoa), Puntland (Bosasso) and Somaliland (Hargeisa), which have quite different histories pertaining to in-migration and violence. While IDPs in Hargeysa and Mogadishu have started to gain attention from international organisations, very little is known about IDPs living in secondary or smaller cities such as Bosasso or Baidoa. This project will conduct interviews and compare IDPs perceptions and practices of security on the move and when settling into the city. The concern with IDPs and cities links the project to the emerging global urban agenda and the need to develop new approaches to urban sustainability, democratic governance and livelihood in cities. With the choice to study this from the viewpoints and experiences of IDPs, people who are most vulnerable are placed at the core of the knowledge production. This informs the choice of research methods, which, in addition to narrative interviews, also includes a photo-voice methodology. Photo-voice is a highly innovative research tool that gives 'voice' to people who are usually not heard or silenced. It does not merely rely on verbal capacities, but uses images to communicate peoples' perceptions of securities and insecurities in Somali cities. Selected IDPs will receive cameras and produce photographs illustrating (in-)security and (in-)secure places and experiences
Planned Impact
Main impact beneficiaries of the research project "Security on the Move" are identified within three broad areas: First, beneficiaries that need updated and differentiated insights on the vulnerabilities of urban populations in Somalia, with a particular emphasis on forcefully displaced populations. These include governance institutions in Somalia and their international partners. In this project UN-Habitat is a partner and main beneficiary who will ensure the communication of results through its networks. Second, 'representatives' of urban IDPs in the four cities will benefit directly from the research, as they will be enabled to communicate their concerns and these will be made visible in the planned exhibition. The third, more indirect beneficiaries, are organisations, researchers, and interest groups focusing on the promotion of urban sustainability and city development in fragile contexts and on wider questions of forced mobility.
The organisation of the photo-voice exhibition is a cornerstone in the impact strategy. The exhibition is a tool to communicate research findings to a broader public, to empower vulnerable populations to express their views and to provide a platform for these populations to interact with city authorities and international organisations. The innovative research design ensures that the project is grounded in the local context in an unusual way. Since this approach transforms informants into researchers, local participants have a strong voice and become co-producers of knowledge. To achieve this result, the research process is organised in close collaboration with a local network organisation that has access and already established trust with mobile and vulnerable populations.
The stakeholder workshop in the initiation phase of the project will bring the main researchers, research partners and key international stakeholders in sustainable city development, state-building and conflict prevention in dialogue with each other.
The organisation of the photo-voice exhibition is a cornerstone in the impact strategy. The exhibition is a tool to communicate research findings to a broader public, to empower vulnerable populations to express their views and to provide a platform for these populations to interact with city authorities and international organisations. The innovative research design ensures that the project is grounded in the local context in an unusual way. Since this approach transforms informants into researchers, local participants have a strong voice and become co-producers of knowledge. To achieve this result, the research process is organised in close collaboration with a local network organisation that has access and already established trust with mobile and vulnerable populations.
The stakeholder workshop in the initiation phase of the project will bring the main researchers, research partners and key international stakeholders in sustainable city development, state-building and conflict prevention in dialogue with each other.
Publications
Bakonyi J
(2021)
Precarious labour - Precarious lives Photographic glimpses from displaced people in Somali cities
in Afrique contemporaine
Bakonyi, Jutta
(2019)
Precarious Labour - Precarious Lives. Photographic glimpses from displaced people in Somali cities
in Afrique contemporaine
Stuvøy K
(2021)
Precarious spaces and violent site effects: experiences from Hargeisa's urban margins
in Conflict, Security & Development
Bakonyi J
(2020)
The Political Economy of Displacement: Rent Seeking, Dispossessions and Precarious Mobility in Somali Cities
in Global Policy
Bakonyi J
(2021)
Precarious technoscapes: forced mobility and mobile connections at the urban margins
in Journal of the British Academy
Bakonyi J
(2019)
War and city-making in Somalia: Property, power and disposable lives
in Political Geography
Chonka P
(2022)
Eyes on the ground and eyes in the sky: Security narratives, participatory visual methods and knowledge production in 'danger zones'
in Security Dialogue
Bakonyi J
(2021)
Modular sovereignty and infrastructural power: The elusive materiality of international statebuilding
in Security Dialogue
Chonka, Peter;
(2023)
Safety and security in Mogadishu
Bakonyi, Jutta
(2019)
Understanding Displacement and Urbanisation in Somali Cities
Bakonyi J
(2018)
The Rhytm of Urbanisation in War: A Perspective from Urban IDPs
Title | Travelling Exhibition |
Description | Internally displaced people in four Somalia city (10 in each city) were provided with cameras and have used them to document their everyday lives. Selected photos and testimonies pertaining to the photos were used to produce an exhibition which was travelling through the cities in Somalia, to Oslo and will continue to travel to London and Nairobi. This is an impact related activity as it is accompanied by presentations of research findings and panel discussion (see engagement with non-academic audiences section). |
Type Of Art | Artistic/Creative Exhibition |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Impact | no impact yet achieved |
URL | https://securityonthemove.co.uk/photo-exhibition/ |
Description | 1) We generated in-depth knowledge on the experiences of war-induced displacement and patterns of in-migration to Somali cities, and have fulfilled the three research-related objectives of the grant. We outlined differentiated experiences of displacement in Somali regions. We further identified how informal, and informal property markets emerged in the settlements for displaced in the four cities, and have shown how layered relations of property develop, how they shape the lives and opportunities of the displaced and the way they contribute to city growth (labelled as camp urbanisation by us). This finding also pertains to global-local links as investors are often from outside Somalia. Another string of findings is pertaining to precarity in camps and newly evolving urban settlements, the forms of casual labour and petty entrepreneurship developed to mitigate the challenges and the support networks internally displaced people rely upon (or not) when they move to and settle in the city. And fourth we have assessed the social and physical infrastructures and services that shape the experiences of displaced people. The government and management of camps and settlements for displaced and effects of re-settlement initiatives (durable solutions) was a further finding. 2) The Somali research partner in the project has developed significant research capacity as evidenced by his 'employment' as a consultant in a Worldbank study on Urbanisation in Somalia, then PRIO Norway in a research project on Education of Marginalised Population Groups. He recently won a PhD scholarship. |
Exploitation Route | We have fulfilled the research related three objectives, but are still in the process to develop impact (fourth objective of the grant). The exhibitions have brought policymakers (municipality level) in communication with internally displaced people, and a number of Practitioners from governmental and nongovernmental organisaitons have expressed interest in our findings. We had discussions with majors in Bosaaso, Mogadishu and Baidoa on durable solutions and the need of urban planning. We have also shown the project at the Hargeisa book fair (in cooperation with other ESRC grant holders). The discussions in Hargeisa also resulted in the contribution of PI Bakonyi to a further ESRC (ES/T008067/1) grant with the University of Sussex with aims at comparatively exploring and supporting Infrastructural Inclusivity. The PI was invited by IOM to conduct training on Durable Solutions for Displacement for the Ethiopian Ministry of Peace. Ethiopia is globally leading displacement statistics, and the Ministry is developing a displacement policy to which the training is supposed to contribute. The Ministry of Planning in Hargeisa (Somaliland) has shown interest in our findings for the development of policies that tackle urban displacement. The Co-I Kirsti Stuvoy has adapted the research design to cities in Russia and won a grant to study urbanization there. The post-doctoral researcher, Pete Chonka, is building on photo-voice methodology and the exhibition to train researchers in the Horn of Africa in visual methods. He has also used findings on mobile telephone use of Internally Displaced People in Somalia (article together with Bakonyi currently under review) to contribute as CI to a successful GCRF-funded network project on 'Datafication and Digital Rights in East Africa' which among others explores media rights. |
Sectors | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Government Democracy and Justice Other |
URL | http://securityonthemove.co.uk/ |
Description | The PI and CO-Is were regularly invited to provide briefings and trainings for practitioners working in Somalia, focussing on the findings of the project. Among them were USAID staff (2023), the UNICEF head of office for Somalia (2023); two incoming UK ambassadors to Somalia (2021 and 2023), the German Advisor for Economic Cooperation (WZ Referent) in Somalia (seconded by the Foreign Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development to the German Embassy in Kenya and Somalia). IOM invited the PI to conduct a workshop on Peacebuilding and Durable Solutions for the Ministry of Peace in Ethiopia in July 2019. Participants in these workshops and trainings increased their knowledge on the nexus of displacement and urbanisation, the causes of displacement, the challenges of urban land conflicts and engaged with conflict-sensitive approaches to displacement. The Austrian Red Cross has invited the PI to provide a webinar (2022) and a series of in-person workshops (2024) on the current political and security situation in Somalia, focussing particularly on internal displacement and protection available for displaced people and returnees. These workshops were for people working on asylum applications, mostly from the judicial sector (webinar), and for paralegals and social workers providing legal support for asylum seekers (in-person workshops). The webinar was documented, made publicly available and influenced together with other publications two European Asylum Support Office (EASO) Country of Origin Information Reports. These reports are used by judicial staff and other people working on asylum applications to make informed decisions and, so we hope, to support people in distress. Based on the research, the PI was also interviewed by organisations/people working for the European Asylum Support Office and contributed to several reports on the current situation in Somalia, focusing among others on cities and displaced people. Together with the trainings, the research is likely to affect the way the situation of asylum seekers is assessed in Europe. Research outputs from this reward were also cited in a World Bank study on Urbanization in Somalia. The PI and Co-I were invited to present the findings of their book (Precarious Urbanism) to an academic and non-academic audience, among them an informal high-level panel in Somalia (online), a book launch by the East-African Research Group at Oxford University, and a round table in Nairobi co-organised by the Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat (ReDSS) and the Rift Valley Institute in March 2023. The round table panellists engaging with the research included representatives from the World Bank, UK FCDO and GREDO. |
First Year Of Impact | 2021 |
Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Government, Democracy and Justice |
Impact Types | Societal Policy & public services |
Description | BBU Training |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | paralegals gain better understanding of the humanitarian and political situation in Somalia and are better enabled to consult and provide legal advise for refugees from Somalia |
Description | Designed and Provided Training in 'Peacebuilding and Durable Solutions for Displacement' for 25 members of Ministry of Peace in Ethiopia from the National and Federal States |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Description | EASO Reports |
Geographic Reach | Europe |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
URL | https://www.ecoi.net/en/blog/easo-publishes-3-coi-reports-on-somalia |
Description | Information for Judicial Workers and People Dealing with Asyllum Seekers |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Impact | The webinar together with the EASO reports that quoted the webinar documentation as well as several other grants related academic publication form the basis for the assessment of asylum claims from Somalis by judicial staff and other people dealing with asylum in Europe. |
URL | https://www.ecoi.net/en/document/2052555.html |
Description | Mobile Methods Training for Researchers |
Geographic Reach | Africa |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
URL | https://sway.office.com/eAQwfKLdiknQlmPg?ref=Link |
Description | Training of Germans BMZ Representative for Somalia |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
Description | World Bank Urbanisation |
Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
Description | Datafication and Digital Rights in East Africa |
Amount | £128,348 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EP/T030127/1 |
Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 04/2020 |
End | 04/2021 |
Description | ESRC-Impact Acceleration: Precarious Labour Somali Cities |
Amount | £12,125 (GBP) |
Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2021 |
End | 11/2022 |
Description | Towards Trajectories of Inclusion: Making infrastructure work for the most marginalised |
Amount | £1,821,655 (GBP) |
Funding ID | ES/T008067/1 |
Organisation | University of Sussex |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2020 |
End | 09/2023 |
Description | Urban margins, global transitions: Everyday security and mobility in four Russian cities (won by Kirsti Stuvoy, who built on and adapted the research design of Secuirty on the move to Russian case studies) |
Amount | kr 5,000,000 (NOK) |
Organisation | Research Council of Norway |
Sector | Public |
Country | Norway |
Start | 04/2018 |
End | 04/2022 |
Description | Hargeysa Bookfair |
Organisation | School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London) |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Funded by the ESRC Impact Initiative, three grant holders got the funds for organising a joint exhibition showcasing their research findings at the Hargeysa Book Fair. They participated at a plenary discussion togehter with the Director General of Ministry of Planning and National Development (respjonsible for urban planning) and discussed their findings in a plenary and later with the mayor of Hargeysa. |
Collaborator Contribution | Joint development of an exhibition, development of flyers showcasing research findings with support of the Impact Initiative |
Impact | Flyer |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Hargeysa Bookfair |
Organisation | University of Essex |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Funded by the ESRC Impact Initiative, three grant holders got the funds for organising a joint exhibition showcasing their research findings at the Hargeysa Book Fair. They participated at a plenary discussion togehter with the Director General of Ministry of Planning and National Development (respjonsible for urban planning) and discussed their findings in a plenary and later with the mayor of Hargeysa. |
Collaborator Contribution | Joint development of an exhibition, development of flyers showcasing research findings with support of the Impact Initiative |
Impact | Flyer |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Hargeysa Bookfair |
Organisation | University of Sussex |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Funded by the ESRC Impact Initiative, three grant holders got the funds for organising a joint exhibition showcasing their research findings at the Hargeysa Book Fair. They participated at a plenary discussion togehter with the Director General of Ministry of Planning and National Development (respjonsible for urban planning) and discussed their findings in a plenary and later with the mayor of Hargeysa. |
Collaborator Contribution | Joint development of an exhibition, development of flyers showcasing research findings with support of the Impact Initiative |
Impact | Flyer |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | 'Research dissemination to policy makers' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Peter Chonka delivered an online presentation and facilitated an interactive discussion as part of research-methods training workshop for Puntland State University on 19 November 2020. The session was 3 hours long and had approximately 40 participants. This presentation focused on different forms of policy-orientated research dissemination, using the main example of the photovoice methodology from the Security on the Move research project. It generated discussion amongst the participants, mostly early career researchers in Somalia, about the value of photography, personal testimonies and exhibitions as innovative methods to engage policymakers. Participants were made aware that photovoice had been used in Somali contexts and learned about some of the potentials of this to engage research participants and policymakers. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | BBC Interview |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Interview with BBC Digital Planet on Findings of Project related to article Chonka P./Bakonyi J. (2021): Precarious technoscapes: forced mobility and mobile connections at the urban margins; in Journal of the British Academy |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct1lt2 |
Description | Briefing for High-Level staff |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Invitation to undertake one to one briefings with the UNICEF head of office (Somalia) on mobility/urbanisation research findings, and earlier work on social media and political communications, Invitation to undertake one to one briefing with incoming UK Ambassador to Somalia on current political, humanitarian and communications dynamics. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Displacement, precarity and mobile communications in Somali cities |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
Results and Impact | Online presentation to members of Datafication and Digital Rights in East Africa network. This talk was held under the auspices of GCRF-funded network Digital Innovation and Development in Africa: The seminar included network partners (researchers, civil society actors and tech sector practitioners). Presented findings from the Security on the Move project and how displaced people's use mobile phones and mobile money. These findings are currently informing subsequent GCRF proposals (DIDA2 - 3 year research project) for further research on displaced people's digital and data rights. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://datarightsafrica.org/ |
Description | Engagement Africa Council Norway |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited to present the research project and finding to the Norwegian Africa Council's Working Group on Migration. The presentation and findings were discussed also with respect to further research questions. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | Exhibition at KCL |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Exhibition Security on the Move was displayed in Great Hall of King's College London Africa Week (November 2019). Presented the findings of the research in a public panel (November 15th 2019) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Hargeisa Bookfair |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | We displayed the exhibition and presented the findings of the research during a panel on Urban Marginat the Hargeisa Bookfair in Somaliland. The Bookfair gets good media attention in Somaliland and the wider region. On the panel was General Director of the Ministry of National Planning, who is currently engaged in developing an urban development plan for Somaliland. We engaged hin in discussion on our findings and further cooperations. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Informal High Level Donor Group Somalia |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Provided input on displacement in Somalia and discussions on durable solutions to an informal high level donor meeting. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Presentation/Talk to Somali Student Society |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Presented findings at the King' College London for the Somali Students Society 'Security on the Move: 'Picturing and presenting displacement and urbanisation in Somali cities.' It informed Somali students and students interested in African Studies on the situation of displacement and urbanisation in Somalia and discussed ways to improve security of displaced people in urban settlements |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
Description | Training BBU |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Training on Humanitarian and Political Situation in Somalia for legal staff from the BBU, the Austrian Federal Agency for REception and Support Services. The BBU, among others, provides legal advise to refugees, Workshop organised by ACCORD - the Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | Training USAID |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Present findings from research project to USAID staff at 3 day training event |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Training of FCDO |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Lecture and Discussion on Urbanisation and Displacement with Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (online/on teams); organized by Rift Valley Institute (16/03/21) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Travelling Exhibition |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | In January 2019 we organised a travelling exhibition. The exhibitions displayed photos and testimonies of displaced people in settlements in four Somali cities (Hargeysa, Mogadishu, Baidoa and Bosasso). The exhibition travelled through the four cities and was also shown in Oslo in February 2019. Two exhibitions in London and Nairobi will follow in March and April respectively. The exhibitions were used to present the approach and findings of the research to policymakers, among them members of the municipalities in the four cities, and to international organisations working on urbanisation and urban planning in the four cities. The photographers (displaced people) from each city participated and got the opportunity to talk about their challenges to the public. Together with the researchers, the photographers also guided the public through the exhibition. The guided tour was followed by a panel discussion in which experts commented on the photos and research findings and provided recommendations for policy. The exhibitions received significant media attention from Somali TV in radio: In Hargeysa • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWP28nYiNWg&feature=share • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=me8bj97V15I • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW0FolSsihs&feature=share In Bosaaso • https://horseedmedia.net/2019/01/23/cilmi-baaris-ka-hadlaysa-nolosha-dadka-barakacayaasha-ah-oo-lagu-soo-bandhigay-boosaso-sawiro/ • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQmg8D37k1g In Mogadishu • https://www.facebook.com/133856583339708/posts/2161963270529019/ • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9x1THl1BIc • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUxPvoT0E4o • https://radiokulmiye.net/2019/01/27/dhageyso-warka-habeen-ee-radio-kulmiye-800pm-27012019/ In Baidoa • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuPkAEa8W6c |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | http://securityonthemove.co.uk/events/ |
Description | book launch |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Book launch/policy workshop for Precarious Urbanism monograph. High level attendees from humanitarian sector and international embassies. Panelists engaging with the research included representatives from World Bank, UK FCDO and GREDO. Co-organised with the Regional Durable Solutions Secretariat (ReDSS), held at the Rift Valley Institute, |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | book launch |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Launch and discussion of 'Precarious Urbanism' at Northeast Africa Forum, University of Oxford (hybrid event); mainly but not only academics |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://talks.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/1f62530d-64d0-4524-a2bd-7eb4170b9f51/ |