Ada I. Engebrigtsen

Culture, networks and social capital: Tamil and Somali immigrants in Norway

Abstract This article discusses the use of ‘social capital’ as a methodological approach to the situation of two different minority groups in Norway, the Sri Lankan-Tamil and the Somali. It argues that although there are important differences between the two groups with respect to social networks and, therefore, with respect to social capital, the current conceptualization of this term has weaknesses. In particular there is a need to incorporate the various forms of transnational connections and the different “cultural grammars” underlying the lives of people in exile into our explanatory models.

Kinship, Gender and Adaptation Processes in Exile: The Case of Tamil and Somali Families in Norway

By employing a network approach and discussing certain features of different family network patterns among Tamil and Somali families, this paper argues that cultural scripts governing kinship, marriage and gender relations developed in the country of origin influence adaptation patterns in exile. Cultural scripts influence the process of interaction between migrants and the Norwegian majority society. While Tamil families appear to have densely-knit and joint networks of relatives and friends, Somali spouses have separate social networks with few cross-linkages. These differences are expressions of different systems of marriage and kinship relations, where Tamils have a system of life-long cross-cousin marriages while Somalis follow a system of exogamy and plural marriages. The paper maintains that, while Tamil cultural scripts tend towards centralisation, which is re-enacted in Norway in ways which confirm family unity, joint gender roles and social cohesion, the diversified and diffusive logic of Somali cultural scripts is likewise re-enacted. This tendency is supported by welfare policy that speeds up the dissolution of Somali families in exile. The analysis does not pretend to give a full understanding of adaptation processes for the two groups; it discusses a temporally limited period in the exiled communities and only some aspects of family adaptation; but its aim is to shed light on aspects that are understudied.By employing a network approach and discussing certain features of different family network patterns among Tamil and Somali families, this paper argues that cultural scripts governing kinship, marriage and gender relations developed in the country of origin influence adaptation patterns in exile. Cultural scripts influence the process of interaction between migrants and the Norwegian majority society. While Tamil families appear to have densely-knit and joint networks of relatives and friends, Somali spouses have separate social networks with few cross-linkages. These differences are expressions of different systems of marriage and kinship relations, where Tamils have a system of life-long cross-cousin marriages while Somalis follow a system of exogamy and plural marriages. The paper maintains that, while Tamil cultural scripts tend towards centralisation, which is re-enacted in Norway in ways which confirm family unity, joint gender roles and social cohesion, the diversified and diffusive logic of Somali...

Ali's Disappearance: The Tension of Moving and Dwelling in the Norwegian Welfare Society

In this article I address the tension—experienced by many young migrants—between pursuing individual goals and dreams for the future in Norwegian society, and fulfilling their responsibilities to family, kin and ethnic community. The discussion starts with the story of Ali, a young Somali boy who was sent abroad by his relatives in Norway to look after an aunt in Italy. The discussion centres around three issues. The first concerns the nomadic habitus and its relation to person, space and place; the second is about how space and self are constructed in the Norwegian welfare discourse of integration; and the third explores the overlapping expectations and interests implied in these different ways of structuring individuality and collectivity. The article concludes by emphasising the importance of considering both collective and individual motives, drives and responsibilities in analysing the lives of young migrants.

Key figure of mobility: the nomad

This article discusses the relationship between nomadic people and the figure of the nomad in a European context. Based on a discussion of the presence of the figure of the nomad in European folk imaginary and in the social sciences, from Pierre Clastress (1977. Society against the state. New York: Urizen) work on stateless societies, to Deleuze and Guattaris philosophy of Nomadology (1986. Nomadology. New York: Semiotex(e)) and Braidottis (1994. Nomadic subjects. Embodiment and sexual difference in contemporary feminist theory. New York: Columbia University Press) nomadic feminism, the article employs a ‘nomadic’ perspective on ethnographic work of mobile people. It argues that ideas contrasting the nomadic and the state can be put to use for epistemological purposes.

Lost Between Protective Regimes: Roma in the Norwegian State

In this chapter, I discuss the dilemmas and contradictions between two different protective regimes affecting the Rom (I apply the Oxford Dictionary of English definition: Rom = singular; Roma = plural. These singular/plural forms are also correct usage in Romanes, the Rom language. The adjectival form of the term varies according to whether the noun it describes is singular or plural (i.e. one Rom woman, two Roma women)) population in Norway . Since 1999, the approximately 600–700 Norwegian Roma have been granted the status of National Minority under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. This means they have a right to maintain and develop their mother tongue and minority culture. Since around 2000, the Child Protectionare Services have been strongly involved in these families and have placed a disproportionate number of children in foster families . Foster families are found among majority Norwegians, and siblings are generally split and grow up far away from each other with little contact. Because of fears that parents will attempt to kidnap their children or have a detrimental influence on their well-being, in some cases they are prevented from seeing their children. In this chapter, I discuss the relationship between the interests of the Child Protection Services as authorized in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and in Norwegian law on the one hand, and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and the interests of the Rom population on the other. I argue that the best interests of the affected children and families are lost in between the two different protective regimes .