Migration of a nation

Ten years ago, a large number of Dutch-Somalis decided to leave the Netherlands for the UK. Soon they established a large Dutch-Somali community in Leicester, where they form 80% of all Somalis, an estimated 8,000 people.

Especially the high-educated segment had difficulties in The Netherlands to find a job, as their degrees and work experience were not acknowledged.

Also, the Dutch bureaucratic require- ments for starting a business pre- vented them from being able to do so.

These were the main reasons for the mass move to Leicester, mainly the St. Matthews and Highfields districts, in the hope of a more promising future.