A Somali woman in the Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya.
Credit: Justo Casal |
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In November 2004 the UN Security Council met in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, to discuss the future of Somalia under its recently elected president. In his address, President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya raised a number of issues.
"It must be appreciated that the establishment of a government in Somalia is not only good for the people of Somalia, but also good for us in the region, and the world [...]. There is no way of monitoring the movement of illicit arms, which have infiltrated our borders and are the cause of the rise in the incidence of violent crimes in our cities," he told the audience.
President Kibaki's statement reflected some of the difficulties, and even resentment, felt by Kenya concerning the continued stay of refugees within their borders, and its reluctance to host large numbers of refugees indefinitely.
A reluctant host
According to UN Development Programme figures for 2004, Kenya, with an annual GDP per capita of around US $1000, hosts a quarter of a million refugees from various countries.
From east to west, northern Kenya has common borders with Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan. All three countries have experienced serious political crises and armed conflicts in the past 20 years. Millions of their nationals have fled their homes, and hundreds of thousands have sought refuge in Kenya, their comparatively stable neighbour.
Initially sheltered in camps near the coastal city of Mombassa, the refugees were later moved to two different refugee camps: the Sudanese - among others - were sent to Kakuma camp in the northwestern Rift Valley province near the Sudanese border; Somalis were transported to Daadab camp in the remote North-eastern Province near the border with Somalia.
Both these areas are arid or semi-arid, characterized by low, erratic rainfall. They are desolate and isolated regions - a long way from the authorities in Nairobi.
Kakuma’s sparce market, where refugees conduct what little trade they can with the local Turkana community.
Credit: IRIN |
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According to a recently released report by the Society for International Development, the Rift Valley province is the second poorest in the country; North-eastern Province couldn't be ranked, due to lack of statistical data.
The scarcity of essential resources means the refugee population has to compete with local residents for water, firewood and pasture. Refugees in Kenya are legally confined to the camp limits, but the chronic shortages of food and other necessities compel them to gather goods outside the camps, or to trade with hosting populations, such as the Turkana, the ethnic group living around Kakuma.
Developing countries, often the major recipients of refugee influxes, are already burdened with the task of caring for their own nationals, and therefore reluctant to grant residence and work permits to refugees. However, in rare cases, some governments offer them the chance to establish a semblance of normal life outside the camps.
In central Uganda, during the 1980s and '90s, groups of Sudanese refugees were given land and allowed to settle. They still have refugee status, but are allowed to live and farm in designated areas, as an alternative to the frustrating and unproductive 'warehousing' of long-term refugees in camps.
In Kenya it is illegal for refugees to leave their camp, even to collect essential basics such as firewood. Kenyan law also forbids them to farm, forcing refugees to barter items for food when camp supplies run low.
At Kakuma, competition for scarce resources repeatedly led to armed clashes between refugees and locals, as well as among refugees themselves. In June 2003, the pastoralist 'hosting' Turkana community attacked the camp. Triggered by cattle raiding, the week long fighting between Turkanas and refugees killed thirteen people.
Some refugees have therefore chosen to leave the camp illegally, and try their luck in the capital, Nairobi.
Living on the run
Urban refugee life is hardly a better lot in the cities of Kenya, a country ranked 148th out of 177 by the UN Human Development Index.
Somali and Sudanese refugees are therefore illegal immigrants outside their camps, vulnerable to abuse and virtually unprotected by Kenyan law.
Even the Somali refugees who have been selected as eligible for resettlement in the USA (see A Home Far Away From Home - third country resettlement of refugees) have reportedly been subjected to mistreatment, in some cases by Kenyan authorities. Refugees must come to the offices of UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Nairobi to register for resettlement. Although their reason for coming to the capital is to organise their departure from the country, they are illegal aliens for the duration of their stay.
Refugees are confined by Kenyan law within the limits of Kakuma Camp.
Credit: Justo Casal |
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The UNHCR, caretaker and campaigner
The UN refugee agency's role is not limited to providing material relief to refugees while living in long-stay camps.
Working with refugee-hosting states to protect migrants and resolve the causes of forced migrations are an essential aspect of UNHCR's role. The agency is a major advocate for the integration of treaties concerning refugees - such as the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees, which Kenya signed on 16 May 1966 - into national law.
The UNHCR also strives to sensitise public opinion to the plight of forced migrants but, despite its laudable efforts, refugees around the world are still subjected to discrimination.
This explains why, according to UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers, "[of the three possible solutions to forced migration,] the best is repatriation, the second is local integration, and third is resettlement in countries far abroad."
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