Somalia

Debate between Seema Malhotra and Robert Buckland

Thursday 9th February 2012 Commons Chamber

[Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this important debate, and I add my congratulations to the Foreign Secretary and his team on their leadership on Somalia. It is excellent that he visited Somalia to see first hand the challenges in rebuilding the country. The Secretary of State said last week:

“For the security of the UK, it matters a lot for Somalia to become a more stable place”.

I echo that, and I am pleased that the UK is hosting the Somalia conference.

Feltham and Heston has a small but significant Somali population. My experience is of a hard-working community looking to develop a life for their families, and of parents encouraging their children to do well at school and take up the opportunity of education that was denied to so many. Many make a positive contribution to the local community through voluntary and other work.

The leaders of the Darussalam Masjid and Cultural Centre in Heston have also shown a lead in helping fellow Somalis who have settled here to deal with the consequences of experiencing two decades of conflict and famine. I should like to build on what my hon. Friend the Member for Bethnal Green and Bow (Rushanara Ali) said about the aspiration of so many in the Somali community. The conference in two weeks’ time is an opportunity to highlight that other side of the story of Somalia and to keep it centre stage as a symbol of hope.

In my short contribution I shall deal with three matters: the engagement of the Somali diaspora, the situation of Somaliland, and developing systems and livelihoods, which is a theme of the conference. First, on the engagement of the Somali diaspora, I wanted to mention the helpful comments by the Secretary of State during the Chatham House event, which other Members have referred to, and the pledge that members of civil society and the Somali diaspora will have the opportunity to contribute positively to the conference outcomes. Will the Minister say more about that in his winding-up speech? Will members of the Somali diaspora in this country, including those from my constituency, be engaged in future activity? The conference will be the start of a new phase of work and its legacy is important. It would be a lost opportunity indeed not to build on some of the relationships and engagement that develop in the run-up to the conference.

[Mr Robert Buckland (South Swindon) (Con)]

The hon. Lady makes a powerful case for the diaspora community in her constituency. I have a diaspora community in Swindon, and I should like to reinforce to the Minister the hon. Lady’s point about the need for the mechanisms of engagement to be made clear so that my constituents, like the hon. Lady’s, can make a positive contribution to, for example, the future of Somaliland.

[Seema Malhotra]

I totally support the hon. Gentleman’s comment.