Information on the above-mentioned subjects is limited among the sources consulted by the DIRB.

The following information was obtained in a telephone interview on 22 February 1996 with a professor of history specializing in Somalia at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

The professor stated that the Bajuni are a trans-national coastal people found along the Somali and Kenyan coasts. Although some Bajuni may be found as far north as Brava, these sea-going people generally lived in the coastal towns and islands south of Kismayo, where they fished and acted as maritime traders. During the Barre era the Bajuni were encouraged to move to the mainland, but not everyone opted to relocate.

According to the professor, the Bajuni were not very wealthy, although some prospered enough to own a few fishing boats. The Bajuni transported people fleeing Somalia for Kenya during the height of the Somali crisis, but fishing remains their most important economic activity. Economically, the Bajuni were and are dependent on other clans, and this is reflected in the disruption of fish sales to coastal inhabitants. Sometimes their catch is taken away from them when they land in the coastal towns, often with little or no recompense. The professor also stated that the Bajuni were sometimes used by dominant coastal clans as fronts for obtaining aid from humanitarian agencies.

According to the professor, the Bajuni have no means of protecting themselves; for example, they have no militia. During the fighting to drive Barre and his supporters from Somalia, the Bajuni were victimized by local clans and many fled to Kenya.

In a telephone interview on 22 February 1996, an anthropologist at the State University of New York in Binghamton, on leave at the University of Kentucky, corroborated the geographical distribution of the Bajuni described above. The anthropologist identified, in particular the towns of Koday and Kaambooni, as being populated by the Bajuni before the civil war (ibid.). The anthropologist was not aware of current conditions for the Bajuni, and "would not be surprised if they had been targeted by other Somali clans" because of their lack of standing in traditional Somali genealogies (ibid.).

An anthropology professor at Colby College in Waterville, Maine corroborated the geographical distribution of the Bajuni in a telephone interview on 21 February 1996. The professor stated that the Bajuni were very likely victimized and suffered at the hands of stronger Somali clans because of their minority status in the country (ibid.). The professor added that the Bajuni as a group would not have been affiliated with any other Somali clan, but individuals may well have been able to strike an alliance on a personal basis (ibid.).

According to The Price of Peace: Somalia and the United Nations 1991-1994, the Bajuni formed the Somali National Union (SNU), headed by Mohamed Rajis Mohamed, in 1993 (Gilkes, 1994, 150-51). Reportedly, the SNU was backed by Ali Mahdi's Somali Salvation Alliance (SSA) in order to keep General Aideed's supporters in a minority at the 1993 Addis Ababa peace conference (ibid.).

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. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Anthropologist at State University of New York, Binghamton, on leave at University of Kentucky. 22 February 1996. Telephone interview.

Gilkes, Patrick. 1994. The Price of Peace: Somalia and the United Nations 1991-1994. Bedfordshire, UK: Save the Children Fund, UK.

Professor of anthropology specializing in Somalia, Colby College, Waterville, Me. 21 February 1996. Telephone interview.

Professor of history specializing in Somalia, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. 22 February 1996. Telephone interview.

Background Paper on Somali Refugees and Asylum Seekers. 1994.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) daily reports. 1991-1995.

Somalia Faces the Future: Human Rights in a Fragmented Society. 1995.

USAID Situation Reports. 1995.

Victims and Vulnerable Groups in Southern Somalia. 1995

Vulnerable Minorities in Somalia and Somaliland. 1995.

Oral sources.