THE NEXUS OF RELIGION, LANGUAGE AND RACE/ETHNIC IDENTITY IN THE CONTEXT OF XENOPHOBIA-AFROPHOBIA
6.3 Language as a mark of “Somaliness”
6.3.1 Language barrier
The language dimension is an important factor that affects their vulnerability to the Xenophobia-Afrophobia experiences. Nonetheless, understanding heterogeneity of Somali women cannot be ignored because, they experience the problem of adjusting to the new environment as a result of language barrier and other interconnected social factors, varyingly. The Somalis from Kenya spoke English and Swahili and that enabled them to communicate with the locals and other foreigners who spoke Swahili.
In the Gauteng province, a good number of people speak the Swahili language (Congolese, Tanzanian, Kenyans, Rwandese, and Burundians).Thus, due to the ability to speak English and Swahili, the Kenyan Somalis are better off in terms of integration with other Swahili speaking communities compared to Somalian Somalis because
175
they are able to interrelate with them. Kuresh, a Kenyan Somalia has several friends who speak Swahili in Pretoria. She argues that despite her nationality, her ability to communicate the language gives her confidence to claim her identity as proudly Kenyan. Nonetheless, language alone cannot facilitate this bond because a Somalian is highly attached to religion and culture. A man who agrees to marry a Somalian woman despite sharing the same language, would require the women to compromise her religion if needs be in order for such a union to occur. I posed a question to Kuresh, in Pretoria West about whether she would allow me to marry her daughter if I fell in love with her. She said;
We don’t have any problem with marrying somebody from outside our community. After all, if you ask a hand in marriage for my daughter or sister I have no problem so long as you are a Muslim. We Muslims can marry anyone so long as he is willing to follow our faith.
The migrant’s ability to communicate in the language that the migration officials understand facilitates their ability to navigate through the transnational barriers, like border offices. Amira from Mogadishu recounts her experience at the Mozambique- South Africa boarder where language enabled her to connect with the locals who were friendly with her after establishing that she spoke English unlike most Somalis who used that route. She told them her origin and they were moved by her ability to communicate in English. They were more curious about her background after creating a rapport that was facilitated by the language factor. A fellow Somalian friend who did not speak English experienced lukewarm attention from the border control officials because she could not speak any English. Amira said:
When I arrived at South African border I was so happy after a three months journey of hardships. I was much excited when I saw the soldiers at the border doing the checks. I greeted them in English. I am lucky I could communicate in English. “My sister” from Somalia was not able to speak any single word in English. They didn’t show
176
much concern for her. They asked me several questions, like where I originated from, about my family and so on. They told me that they were amazed to see me speak the language because most Somalis who they met didn’t.
The inability to speak the language was expressed by women as a hindrance to mobility and opportunities that require interaction with the local community. Those Somalis who spoke English were able to support others with interpretation. Also, due to the fear among Somalis to move to some areas that are black dominated, those who knew the language of the people were a huge support to the Somali community. The theory of Social network which talks about ties that make it easier for new migrants to find jobs and gain access to the required resources in their destination countries (Poston & Bouvier, 2010:213) are actualized more, when the community member is able to communicate in the language of the locals or comprehend what they are saying.
The Somalis that can communicate the local language are a huge asset to the Somali community in terms of sourcing information from the local community, about Xenophobia-Afrophobia hints, communication with the customers, interacting with the community leaders and so forth.
During the interviews in Pretoria West, Aisha said that the problem that hampers negotiation of Somali women among the local community was a lack of the common language. There is a possibility that others who do not understand the language being spoken might harbor resentment, especially during Xenophobia-Afrophobia circumstances. Thus, whenever one does not understand the language, there is a possibility of saying that the other person is gossiping about them, which might not be the case. She opines that Somali interaction with South Africans and other nationals will always remain a big challenge due to the language factor. She says: “if you cannot understand the language of the other person talking, he could be saying to you thank you and you hastily judge that he is saying get out of this place. “The main problem
177
is that we do not have the language, and thus we cannot understand what the local nationals are saying. In the townships, lack of the language is even worse because Somalis do not have the community there.”