Transnational Somali Families in Cairo

 In this article, I examine how diasporic Somalis in Cairo experience being part of  transnational families. I analyze two practices through which transnational family relations
are maintained, experienced, and negotiated: (1) living arrangements of relatives and management of family affairs and (2) the use of the Internet and videotapes. I argue
that transnational families make collective decisions about which family members live together, where, and what their family obligations should be. However, although
maintaining interdependent transnational families is crucial for the survival of family members, it has its tensions and challenges because of the competing interests and dreams of individual members. I examine these tensions and how they are negotiated by family members who live together in Cairo but share resources and family obligations with relatives living elsewhere. In short, this way of being and living in which individuals and families partake as they are physically separated in different nation- states has its uneven consequences and challenges for
different Somalis depending on their legal statuses, education, gender, and identity claims.