Monday April 24, 2006
BBC
Almost half of Somali youngsters living in Bristol have experienced racial harassment, according to a report by the children’s charity Barnado’s.
But they were desperate to do well, with high career ambitions and a desire to become part of the community.
A total of 55 children aged between eight and 14 and 33 parents were interviewed for the study.
The charity calls for extra support for the children, whose families fled to the UK to escape civil war and famine.
The youngsters now form one of the largest groups of black & minority ethnic (BME) pupils in the city’s schools.
Research co-ordinator Dr Owen Gill, of Barnardo’s South West, said it was important to realise the wide range of experiences of Bristol’s Somali children.
Acute problems
“Some of the children were born here in the UK, others have only just arrived,” he said.
“Some have spent all their lives with their parents, others have been separated for long periods in refugee camps.
“Some speak English, some only speak Somali and others have arrived here with a main language from other countries where they have lived on their way here.”
Some described incidents of extreme harassment.
A 13-year-old girl said she thought the UK was “paradise” when she first arrived, but two months later she was afraid to go outside.
The report warns that this kind of environment could damage a child’s physical and emotional health.
It calls for safe play opportunities for the children, extra home-based support for school work and immediate action to support children who are new to the UK.
Pat Wiltshire, of Bristol Children’s Fund, said: “Many of these pressures are, of course, experienced by other minority ethnic families in the city but the very recent arrival of the majority of the Somalis makes their problems particularly acute.”
Source: BBC, April 24, 2006
