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Collective Memory and Collective Forgetting: A Comparative Analysis of Second-Generation Somali and Tamil Immigrants and Their Stance on Homeland Politics and Conflict

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Abstract

The concept of collective memory derived from Maurice Halbwachs’ (1925) seminal work can serve as an excellent analytical tool to understand the integration processes of diaspora groups. In this article, we examine how a diaspora’s social standing vis-à-vis the “host country” combines with relationships to the “home country” and their stance towards their respective “homeland conflict” to develop collective memory. Based on 118 in-depth qualitative interviews with 1.5 and second-generation Somali immigrants, and 50 in-depth interviews with 1.5 and second-generation Tamil immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Canada, we examine how contemporaneous features of diasporas and home countries shape, and are shaped by, processes of collective memory formation and collective forgetting. In so doing, we argue that active “remembering” that is predominately present in the Tamil diaspora contributes to the facilitation of community cohesion, whereas the process of collective “forgetting,” which shapes much of the memory work in the Somali diaspora, has contributed to a slower development of community cohesion therein.

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Notes

  1. Some have explored the diaspora’s influence on the economic development of their home country, especially with respect to trade, investment, poverty reduction, and the transfer of knowledge and skills (e.g., Newland and Plaza 2013; Van Hear et al. 2004). Others have examined the political influence diaspora groups take on homeland politics and on politics in the host country (Hockenos 2003).

  2. The clan system, comprised of pastoral-nomadic power relations dispersing political authority throughout the community, represents the most important socio-political unit in Somalia (Issa-Salwe 1996; Lewis 1961) and includes the ‘dia-paying’ (Jilib/Bah) group and affiliated sub-clans. Clans have informal contractual obligations to settle disagreements and join forces during conflicts and emergencies (Ahmed and Green 1999). While clans and sub-clans have loose, informal obligations to assist each other when in need, allegiances are continuously in flux according to new issues and conflicts (Harper 2012). Put simply, Somali clan structures consist of shifting decentralized forms of authority and represent the continuous potential for inter/intra group conflict.

  3. We found no differences in terms of their perceptions when comparing our 1.5 and second-generation participants.

  4. The influence of religious institutions goes beyond our analysis, but this might be an area for future studies.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Somali and Tamil Canadian youth and young adults who shared their stories with us. We also thank our research assistants on this project.

Funding

Kanishka Project, Public Safety Canada and SSHRC.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology Centre for Criminological Research, University of Alberta, 5-21 HM Tory Building, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H4, Canada

    Sandra M. Bucerius

  2. Department of Criminal Justice, Ryerson University, 350 Victoria Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 2K3, Canada

    Sara K. Thompson

  3. Alberta Justice and Solicitor General, Edmonton, Canada

    David T. Dunford

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  1. Sandra M. Bucerius
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Correspondence to Sandra M. Bucerius.

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Bucerius, S.M., Thompson, S.K. & Dunford, D.T. Collective Memory and Collective Forgetting: A Comparative Analysis of Second-Generation Somali and Tamil Immigrants and Their Stance on Homeland Politics and Conflict. Qual Sociol 45, 533–556 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-022-09508-4

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