The Somali Community in the Port of London

[Adan_1]

East End Somaal Town

Somalis in the London docks

According to an Act passed in 1894 Somalis could only take jobs in the seafaring industry. This meant that many Somalis who became stranded in London worked in the docks.

Some Somali seamen had settled around Cable Street. This is where they established their own boarding houses prior to the First World War. There was more settlement of Somalis in London after the war.

This settlement was mainly of seamen who looked for accommodation in Stepney, Poplar and at East and West Ham.

Life between the World Wars

Aden - A quayside in the port area, showing dhows laid up, refitting or under construction. © NMM
Life for the Somali men in London was often difficult. Few Somalis spoke much English and, like other black and Asian seamen, they were often attacked during the years of recession that followed the First World War.

In 1919 and again in 1930 there were riots and attacks on black and Asian seamen in many British ports. By this time there were probably also some Somali in Canning Town and around Customs House.


Cable Street, Shadwell. © NMM
In London the British Union of Fascists (BUF) under Sir Oswald Mosley were particularly active in the East End. In 1936 a mixed group of East Enders, including the Somali seamen and dockers, took to the streets in opposition to the BUF in an event that became known as the Battle of Cable Street. Though the event did not remove the BUF from the East End, it did limit its influence.

Somalis in the Second World War
Many Somali seamen joined the merchant navy in the Second World War, despite the hostilities they felt in the East End. They served on troop ships in southeast Asia and north Africa.

During the Second World War the British were pushed out of Somaliland by the Italians, who attacked from Italian Somaliland. British military administration was introduced into both the Italian and British areas in 1941, when both areas became a British Protectorate, following the defeat of the enemy.




The Fortune Men

Al-Huda Mosque and Cultural Centre, Bethnal Green. © NMM
The rise in Somali employment in the British merchant navy and the shortage of manpower in post-war Britain encouraged many Somali ex-seamen to work for a few years in Britain. London’s familiar East End attracted many of these men who were known at home as the 'Fortune Men'.

Because they intended to return to Africa, these Somalis were slow to organize themselves. However, a small community did develop around Lemen Steeet, with five restaurants catering to the Somali community.

By the 1950s the Brocklebank Line sailed from England through the Suez Canal and called at Berbera once a month between October and April. There was a weekly service from Berbera to Aden, which was now second only to New York as a world port. Apart from the Somali seamen arriving in London there were also a few students.


http://www.portcities.org.uk/london/ser ... ondon.html

[LANDER-4-LIFE]

walahi i posted that few weeks ago...very interesting read, but im not from london so don't know the areas they are reffering to..