In this article we analyse the socio-economic participation of Somali refugees in the Netherlands. Unemployment is higher among Somalis than any other refugee or immigrant group in the Netherlands and they face many obstacles when it comes to social and economic participation. At the same time, they are known for having a strong transnational orientation. We were interested to learn whether and, if so, how Somalis use their transnational networks to overcome obstacles on the Dutch labour market and how boundaries around formal labour markets are negotiated in order to access employment and to participate. We did so by focusing on two strategies employed to participate, namely through Somali organizations in the Netherlands and elsewhere, and by Somalis moving to the UK. In doing so, we looked at Somalis’ ability to span boundaries to create opportunities. The concept of transnational networks is helpful in understanding Somalis’ daily realities, but conceptually it does not seem to fit entirely as these networks usually only refer to connections with the ‘homeland.’ We argue that Somalis’ boundary-spanning activities move beyond national levels and involve various scales, sites, and settings. The data we refer to are derived from focus group discussions with 66 Somali people in Amsterdam and 20 interviews with experts who work with the Somali community in the Netherlands. These discussions and interviews were held in 2013–14. We also draw on 20 interviews with Somali organizations in the Netherlands about their transnational orientation, which were conducted between 2010 and 2013 in the context of another research project.

中文翻译：

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荷兰索马里难民的社会经济参与，跨国网络和边界跨越

在本文中，我们分析了荷兰索马里难民的社会经济参与。索马里人的失业率高于荷兰的任何其他难民或移民群体，他们在社会和经济参与方面面临许多障碍。同时，他们以强大的跨国定位而闻名。我们有兴趣了解索马里人是否以及是否（如果有的话）如何利用其跨国网络克服荷兰劳动力市场上的障碍，以及如何就正式劳动力市场的边界进行谈判以获取就业和参与。为此，我们着重研究了两种参与策略，即通过荷兰和其他地方的索马里组织，以及通过索马里移居英国。在这样做，我们研究了索马里人跨越界限创造机会的能力。跨国网络的概念有助于理解索马里人的日常现实，但从概念上讲，它似乎并不完全适合，因为这些网络通常仅指与“家园”的联系。我们认为，索马里人的跨境活动超出了国家层面，涉及各种规模，地点和环境。我们引用的数据来自与阿姆斯特丹的66位索马里人进行的焦点小组讨论以及与在荷兰的索马里社区工作的专家进行的20次访谈。这些讨论和访谈在2013-14年度举行。我们还借鉴了荷兰的索马里组织关于跨国取向的20次访谈，这些访谈是在2010年至2013年之间根据另一个研究项目进行的。