Images of torture: ‘affective solidarity’ and the search for ransom in the global Somali community
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Images of torture : ‘affective solidarity’ and the search for ransom in the global Somali community. / Simonsen, Anja; Tarabi, Mohamed S.
In: Journal of Eastern African Studies, Vol. 18, No. 1, 2024, p. 117-134.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Images of torture
T2 - ‘affective solidarity’ and the search for ransom in the global Somali community
AU - Simonsen, Anja
AU - Tarabi, Mohamed S.
PY - 2024
Y1 - 2024
N2 - Recent migration trends among the Somali youth and the rise of the migrant smuggling network, in Somali known as Magafe, have rendered traditional practices of solidarity ambiguous. Somali notions of solidarity have historically been a mechanism of care within the clan system. In this article, we argue that traditional practices of solidarity are challenged through the intensification of ransom collection in the Somali community. In recent years, increasing numbers of young Somali migrants have been taken captive in the deserts of Sudan and Libya. Appealing to affective responses, the Magafe network use images and sound recordings of beatings and torture to convince family members, and the wider Somali community, to pay extortionate ransoms. Based on fieldwork conducted in Somaliland in 2013, 2015 and 2021 among Somali families affected by irregular youth migration, the article finds that the willingness and ability of clan members to pay the ever-increasing sums are dwindling. Consequently, mass and social media are widely used by family members and the Magafe network alike to spread the images, sound bites and the phone numbers for money transfer. They thereby appeal to what the article conceptualizes as the ‘affective solidarity’ of the global Somali community.
AB - Recent migration trends among the Somali youth and the rise of the migrant smuggling network, in Somali known as Magafe, have rendered traditional practices of solidarity ambiguous. Somali notions of solidarity have historically been a mechanism of care within the clan system. In this article, we argue that traditional practices of solidarity are challenged through the intensification of ransom collection in the Somali community. In recent years, increasing numbers of young Somali migrants have been taken captive in the deserts of Sudan and Libya. Appealing to affective responses, the Magafe network use images and sound recordings of beatings and torture to convince family members, and the wider Somali community, to pay extortionate ransoms. Based on fieldwork conducted in Somaliland in 2013, 2015 and 2021 among Somali families affected by irregular youth migration, the article finds that the willingness and ability of clan members to pay the ever-increasing sums are dwindling. Consequently, mass and social media are widely used by family members and the Magafe network alike to spread the images, sound bites and the phone numbers for money transfer. They thereby appeal to what the article conceptualizes as the ‘affective solidarity’ of the global Somali community.
U2 - 10.1080/17531055.2024.2332041
DO - 10.1080/17531055.2024.2332041
M3 - Journal article
VL - 18
SP - 117
EP - 134
JO - Journal of Eastern African Studies
JF - Journal of Eastern African Studies
SN - 1753-1055
IS - 1
ER -
ID: 387111154