3. 8.2 Male participants Ali
3.13 Self reflexivity
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The researcher had anticipated that he would use Swahili for those who could not express themselves in English. To my disappointment, most Somalis that originated from Somalia could neither speak Swahili nor English. Those that spoke Swahili and English came from Kenya (Coast, North Eastern provinces and Nairobi provinces) or were Somalis (from Somalia) that had interacted with Kenyans through trade, relatives and education, in Kakuma and Daadab refugee camps and so forth. Nevertheless, those that could speak Swahili had difficulties in understanding some terminologies that were asked by the researcher in Swahili because it was not easy to reformulate the question in Swahili, due to the fact that English terms have no Swahili equivalent, apparently or if they have, Somalis could not comprehend them. One of the interpreters, Osman, is an official in the Somali Community Board of South Africa (SACOB) office based in Mayfair and the rest of the two, Suleiman and Abdulrahman, were from Pretoria. With regards to their education background, the three of them are graduates from the University of Johannesburg, University of South Africa and Fort Hare, respectively.
Lastly, the study intended to conduct focus groups whereby, twenty research participants were to be interviewed. However this was not possible due to the targeted participant’s nature of work which could not allow their availability. Therefore, the twenty people that were to be interviewed through focus groups were interviewed in- depth.
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report writing and thereafter, the recommendations (Hill, 2012; Jomeen & McSherry, 2010; Lambert, Mruck & Breuer, 2003; Roller, 2012). According to Hill (2012), any knowledge generated from the research cannot be absolutely objective due to researcher’s bias. Therefore, dealing with such a shortfall demands the researcher to acknowledge and deal with the effects. The self-reflexivity aims at an honest inquiry and talking about one’s self in relation to the research. It is a difficult process as it is not easy to reflect and discuss oneself. Thus, in order to have an honest research outcome devoid of researcher’s prejudices and biases, I considered introspecting on how those social locations (language, gender, nationality, education and so forth) could affect data collection, and the thesis writing.
Being a Kenyan and a Swahili speaker was advantageous to me because most Somalis from Kenya could speak the Swahili language, our national and official language.
Those that had migrated from Somali considered Kenya significant for their lives due to the bilateral trade relations between the two countries, remittances, intermarriage with Kenyan Somalis, and importantly a country of refuge. More recently they have been the key player in the Somali peace process, through anti-Al-Shabaab combat missions undertaken by the Kenyan defense forces (KDF). This was part of the African Mission in Somali (AMISON). The Somalis from Kenya preferred to speak to me in Swahili whenever they wanted to talk about sensitive issues about their bodies or other aspects that would make them victimized (that is, if the Somalis (from Somalia) heard the information they were giving me). This strategy was applied only when they realized that the interpreter and the people around us were non-Swahili speakers from Somalia.
I was a fellow foreigner, from East Africa, this seemed to make them feel secure and develop trust with me on matters pertaining to Xenophobia/Afrophobia realities that they would otherwise be hesitatant to share with people whom they may not share any commonalities with. A Somali leader said it best when he revealed to me that Kenyans and Sudanese are knowledgeable in several social, political and international affairs
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and therefore they call them to advise the Somali community whenever they face crises within the country.
Due to the fact that the female experiences were of a sexual nature, which they sometimes were diffident unveil, I interviewed men as well who seemed to express such incidences with more ease. The information that emerged from them revealed sexually related abuses that women could hardly speak of, simply because of my gender and their fear of victimization in case I revealed this information which ought to be confidential. On the other hand, I had to constantly reassure them that confidentiality would be maintained at all times especially to the rest of the community as they risked victimization should the society know that they were rape survivors.
After numerous correspondences with the Action Support Centre and South Africa Somali women’s network, I was introduced to the South African Somali board chairperson, and the head of SASOWNET who were anticipating my arrival however this was not possible due to the ethical clearance delay. As soon as the ethical clearance was granted, I left for my residence Pretoria. The actual place of residence was Mamelodi East Township, Pretoria, where I used to commute to the study site daily. In Pretoria, I was accommodated by a priest at Waverly Catholic Parish, where I resided for some time and later moved to Saint Peter Clever Catholic Parish, Mamelodi, where I would stay until I completed my interviews. Travelling every day to the ‘Somali Place’ in Pretoria and Johannesburg was an expensive venture because, each of those journeys required me to use more than one vehicle (one way) –from Mamelodi to Pretoria, then to Somali place and back to Mamelodi. I would board 6 vehicles, and from Mamelodi to Mayfair (Johannesburg) I would board 3 vehicles + Metro-train (Gautrain), one-way.
Despite the constraints that I experienced throughout the data collection in the Gauteng province, and the anxiety prior to the field work, I was able to gradually
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access the Somali community, thanks to the four informants/interpreters, that enabled me to build a good rapport with the Somalis. This established relationship with the community members, and the link with my fellow countrymen and women who spoke Swahili, made me feel part of the community and I was naturally absorbed into it. Due to the trust that I built with them coupled with the realization that I was a foreigner like them, who originated from the territory they fled, East Africa, they unveiled their traumatic experiences more easily and that was sentimental to me. This experience of women narrating their past experiences in Somalia, and thereafter, stories about problems related to Xenophobia/Afrophobia, exposed deep seeded wounds which presented as an emotional phenomenon for me. I solicited support from my research aides who helped them deal with those traumatic experiences. Although I was following the research guide in detail, I allowed the research participants to narrate their past life, a phenomenon that provoked much information for the study. I was overwhelmed with their emotional expressions that caused them to cry, especially the women. For this reason I allowed them adequate time after interviews to recuperate from that emotive experience.
One of my informants, Abdurahman, made sure that I ate and was always safe. In Marabastad (Pretoria West), next to Home affairs, one of the most dangerous places in South Africa, he would walk me through the place and escort me to the bus terminal where he would leave me until he was sure that I boarded the minibus. In Johannesburg, Suleiman and J.Che were always ready and available for contacting the research participants who were residing in different parts of Mayfair.