Somalia: Update to Responses to Information Requests SOM19442.E of 12 January 1995 and SOM11392.E of 21 September 1992 on the Shanshi clan
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 March 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SOM28938.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Somalia: Update to Responses to Information Requests SOM19442.E of 12 January 1995 and SOM11392.E of 21 September 1992 on the Shanshi clan, 1 March 1998, SOM28938.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6abff74.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Information on the Shanshi clan could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
However, the only reference to "Shanshi" in Refinfo (SOM19930.E of 13 March 1995 and SOM9725.E of 15 November 1991) is that of a clan called Reer-Hamer Shanshi, which may be another name for the Hamari.
The following information was provided during a 6 March 1998 telephone interview with a professor of political science at the College of Holy Cross in Worchester, Massachussetts. The professor participated in a United States Institute of Peace fact-finding mission to Somalia in May and June of 1997.
The professor was unable to provide information on the Shanshi clan, but stated that generally sub-clans of the Hamari clan do not identify themselves by their clan name. The Hamaris are a settled and urban tribe, and have not formed militias during the on-going civil war. For those Hamaris who still reside in Mogadishu the situation remains "precarious;" their survival has been "pure luck" or has been secured as a result of strong patronage connections with leaders of armed gangs. More than half of the Hamaris have fled to neighbouring Kenya, Yemen, or other Arab countries.
Additional and/or corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
For additional information on the Reer-Hamar and some of its sub-clans, please consult Responses to Information Requests SOM25446.E of 25 November 1996, SOM24663.E of 1 August 1996, SOM19731.E of 13 February 1995 and SOM17637.E of 20 June 1994.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
Reference
Professor of Political Science, College of Holy Cross, Worchester, Mass. 6 March 1998. Telephone interview.
Additional Sources Consulted
Africa Confidential [London]. 1995-1998.
Africa Research Bulletin [Oxford]. 1995-1998.
Horn of Africa Bulletin [Uppsala, Sweden]. 1995-1998.
Electronic sources: IRB Databases, Global News Bank, LEXIS/NEXIS, Internet, REFWORLD (UNHCR database), World News Connection (WNC).