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The largest group case ever processed out of Africa through the
Resettlement infrastructure (12, 000 to 15,000).
One of the world's most vulnerable refugee populations having
experienced two centuries of slavery, persecution and discrimination.
Denied educational opportunities, employment and health care
preliterate generally can not read, write or speak English.
Few ''marketable'' skills, most have never turned on a light switch or flushed a toilet.
Crossed a busy street ridden in a car or an elevator or experienced air conditioning.
No anchor relatives or established support groups to assist them to Adjust to a culture
vastly different from any thing they have known.
Rarely has the cultural gap been as wide as the one the Somali Bantu have had to
cross.
What is Kakuma ?
Kakuma camp in Kenya is one of the oldest and largest refugee camps in the world.
The inhabitants of the camp suffer from poor relations with the local population, a near
total lack of economic opportunity, frequent instances of gender-based violence, crime,
and recurrent food shortages.
Established 12 years ago, Kakuma sprawls over the desert of northern Kenya. Its
86,000 inhabitants come from nine different countries and dozens of different ethnic
groups. Sudanese comprise about 70 percent of the refugees. The local population—
mostly Turkana—is outnumbered by the refugees. A large number of relief agencies
and NGOs provide a broad range of services to refugees, but life in Kakuma is no
picnic. Food, water, firewood, education, medical facilities, and social services are in
perpetual short supply due to cramped budgets and the austerity of the environment.
For example, the food rations for refugees are periodically reduced when supplies from
donors are inadequate—most recently in March 2003.
Residents of Kakuma, speaking to Refugees International, were nearly unanimous in
asserting that the biggest problem of the camp is security. In June this year, a conflict
between Turkanas and the refugees left about a dozen people dead. The Kenyan
government reinforced police forces in the camp with the feared General Service Unit
(GSU), a paramilitary police force, which managed to halt the conflict, but relations
between the locals and the refugees remain strained. Many refugees complained that
Turkanas enter the camp at night to rob and rape. Turkanas, for their part, claim that
refugees compete with them for water, firewood, and other resources and that the
standard of living of the refugees is higher than their own. Within the refugee
community, sexual and domestic violence is common. Security is sufficiently poor that
relief workers are warned to be out of the camp before nightfall.
When asked what could be done to improve security, refugees usually called for an
increase in the number of Kenyan police providing security in the camps, although
many refugees criticized the performance of the regular police forces stationed in the
camp. In addition, refugees, as well as NGO and UN staff, said that a permanent
presence of GSU in the camp would do much to improve security. The GSU, brought in
to quell the conflict in June, was almost universally praised for its effectiveness. There
is presently a contingent of GSU providing security for visiting US government officials
involved in refugee processing, and their presence in the camp is reassuring to the
refugees RI interviewed.
The residents of Kakuma are “warehoused.” They are forbidden to leave the region
without permission from the government. They have little opportunity for any form of
economic activity. One estimate is that only about six percent of refugees have an
income. A few have businesses within the camp; others work for the relief agencies.
Some refugees have tiny gardens, but they have no opportunity to raise crops or keep
livestock. Firewood gathering is dangerous. The local population—poor or poorer than
the refugees—resents refugee encroachment on scarce resources. Few of the
refugees believe that they will be able to return home soon, although recent progress in
peace talks in Sudan has led international agencies to prepare contingency plans for
possible repatriation.
With the exception of providing security for the residents of the camp, the government
of Kenya has not provided much help to the refugees, leaving the management of the
camp to international aid agencies, specifically UNHCR, and NGOs. The government
has not permitted any serious efforts to integrate the refugees into the local economy
and thus most of the refugees have been idle for years. A draft Refugee Bill, however,
is coming before the Kenyan parliament and may be adopted this year. The law, as
presently drafted, provides for the creation of a Refugee Department and foresees a
more active role for the government in the future.
Kakuma camp offers little opportunity for refugees to escape from near-total
dependence on international aid. Until such time as the Kenyan government permits
integration, or conditions in their home countries are conducive to the voluntary
refugee repatriation, there is little alternative to the continuation of aid programs.
However, opportunities can be identified to improve the lot of the refugees and their
hosts, the Turkana people of northern Kenya.
Refugees International, therefore, recommends that:
The government of Kenya reinforce its efforts to provide security in Kakuma camp. This
should include a permanent presence of GSU, as well as an increased number of
Kenyan police inside the camp, and improved human rights and refugee law training for
the police.
Humanitarian and economic aid to the local Turkana population be increased. The
Turkana are poor and the refugees have better access to education and social
services than they do. UNHCR, WFP, and some NGOs have assistance programs for
the local population. These programs should be expanded to improve relations
between refugees and locals, including, whenever possible, joint access to schools and
social and health services.
Donors ensure that adequate food is available to provide full rations to the residents of
Kakuma. There is no excuse for the recurrent food shortages that affect the security of
the camp as well as the well-being of the refugees. The demand for food for Kakuma is
predictable and donors should ensure that WFP has adequate resources to meet the
needs.
Donors, UNHCR, and civil society organizations encourage the efforts of the Kenyan
government to play a more proactive role in refugee management and setting refugee
policy that is consistent with international refugee and humanitarian law. International
agencies, particularly UNHCR, should respond to the need of the government for
training and technical assistance in implementing the Refugee Law, and should provide
support to the fledgling Refugee Department.
Somali Bantu Community Of san Diego
4043 43rd Street Suite # C
San Diego CA 92105
Tell: (619)583-3299
Fax: (619) 280-2299
Postal address
PO Box 151676 San Diego, CA 92175
Electronic mail
General Information: Jan2004@sbantucofsd.org
Copyright © 2004 Somali Bantu Community of San Diego
Last modified: 03/06/05