Somalia: Information on whether the Hawiye and the Darod clans captured the Bravans and took them into forced labour in 1991 and 1992
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 May 1997 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SOM26760.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Somalia: Information on whether the Hawiye and the Darod clans captured the Bravans and took them into forced labour in 1991 and 1992, 1 May 1997, SOM26760.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6acba6c.html [accessed 4 June 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 whether the Hawiye and the Darod captured the Bravans and took them into forced labour could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB.
However, according to a representative of the Benadir Somali Association based in Toronto, who has done extensive research on the cultural history of the Benadir coast, the Barawans (sometimes spelt Bravans) have "suffered a lot" in the Somali conflict (13 May. 1997). This source explained that the Barawans are vulnerable because they do not belong to the major Somali clan families, do not possess a militia of their own, and because they tend to be light skinned and to speak Swahili, other Somalis perceive them as foreigners (ibid.). He further stated that Barawans have been victims of the Siad Barre regime and the warring factions of Ali Mahdi and Aideed. He said that Barre's retreating army "killed many Barawans and their town Baraawe as well as their properties were targeted by both the Ali Mahdi and Aydeed forces" (ibid.). Consequently, he stated, about 90 per cent of Barawans have left Somalia and are now found in refugee camps in Mombasa, Kenya (ibid.).
The above information is corroborated by any article written by Berhard Helander in Supplement to Information Session on Country Conditions on Somalia, which is available at Regional Documentation Centres. This source states the following:
The light-skinned coastal groups have suffered severely. A number of atrocities directed specifically against these groups have [been] reported from both Mogadishu, Merka, and Baraawe. In Baraawe today, not many of the original Barawaanis remain but most have fled en masse to the Swahili Coastal communities along the Kenyan coast (15 Feb. 1996).
For additional information on the Barawans, please consult the following Responses to Information Requests: KEN25141.E of 6 November 1996; SOM20113.E of 11 April 1995; SOM20114.E of 13 April 1995, and SOM11847 of 7 October 1992, all of which are available at Regional Documentation Centres.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB 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.
References
Benadir Somali Association, Toronto. 13 May 1997. Telephone interview with representative.
Helander, Bernhard. "Vulnerable Minorities in Somalia and Somaliland," Supplement to Information Session on Country Conditions on Somalia. 15 February 1996. Toronto Front.
