DADAAB 1 JUHAN 2012 MESSAGE FROM THE FIELD
DADAAB 1 JUHAN 2012
MESSAGE FROM THE FIELD 12 JUNE 2012 My Message of Greeting and encouragement to the Students Hello Future World Graduates, I am Mohamed Bashir Sheik. One of the world's Refugee camp (Dadaab Camps) residents. I am 22 Years Old Male from Somalia. I left my home country because of Civil war in the year 1992 at the age 2 years. I really grew up in refugee camp, went school, get married and got 2 daughters in the refugee camp. I never had the lucky you have today because you have government, Nationality and also a country where you have the freedom to claim your nationality but for me and more then 200, 000 boyz and girls have no nationality, government and end up there lives in refugee camps. Kindly i ask you to pray and say thanks to God for giving you all this opportunity. God didn't gave you all these because you are better then us or not that we don't have the lucky but God want to know how the human being help or keep praying to each other. My last, Dears, brothers and sisters keep learning, be proud to your countries and don't forget to support, help and work for refugees all over the world. Ask UNHCR to join their projects and be one of their volunteers, missions and Godwill ambassadors so that you can help refugees. thank you everyone. -- Best Regards. . . Webmaster, Mr. Mohamed Bashir Sheik (Africa). Dadab Refugee Camps. Northeastern-Kenya 2 May God Help everyone who stand to support refugees in every where of his world.
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DADAAB 4 Dadaab is approximately 500 kms from Nairobi and 100 kilometers from the Kenya-Somali border.
NEW YORK TIMES Somali Refugees Find Little Relief at Kenya Camp By JANE PERLEZ Published: February 16, 1992 5 “A cease-fire accord signed on Friday at the United Nations offers the first hope that the civil war in Somalia may be ending. But even if the fighting ends soon, relief still seems far away at Liboi, a camp on the Kenyan border where more than 50, 000 Somali refugees are living in dismal conditions.
NEW YORK TIMES Somalis are crossing into Kenya at the rate of almost 1, 000 a day, heading for the camp at Liboi or to another further inland at Ifo. Many have arrived carrying children who are emaciated and sick from the long treks, and many of the children have died. In January, 109 of the refugees died at Liboi, most of them children under five years, the High Commissioner's representative, Larry Hollingworth, said. He said about 100 refugees died in the same period at the camp at Ifo. 6 The poor conditions at the Liboi camp, where there is an acute water shortage, have brought heavy criticism of the High Commissioner's operations in Kenya.
7 IFO 1992
8 PLATT GETTY IMAGES 2009
9 MULKOYS REUTERS 2011
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DADAAB IS NOW THE THIRD-LARGEST CITY IN KENYA, BUT THERE ARE NO KENYANS LIVING THERE. 11
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19 Dadaab has three fully-functioning hospitals, with about 320 inpatient beds and three operating rooms.
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21 OREILLY
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SCHOOLING 23 Primary schooling has been a priority for donor agencies, about 38% of Dadaab’s children are now enrolled in 19 primary and 6 secondary schools within the complex.
24 O REILLY REUTERS 2009
“AFRICA PRESS” Nearly 260, 000 of the population of Dadaab are under 18 years old. 10, 000 of whom are now third-generation refugees, born from parents who were themselves born in the camps. 25 For many, Dadaab is the only home they have ever known, and disbanding this community would perhaps be as traumatic as their parents’ and grandparents’ initial escape from Somalia.
TEACHERS There are only 893 teachers. 200 have had some training. 693 have neither trained as teachers nor possess proper teaching knowledge or skills. The majority are simply graduates of secondary school. 22 Primary schools 26 6 Secondary
2011 In 2011, 161, 388 refugees crossed the border, 103, 300 of these were below 18. Dadaab schools overfull already. Emergency temporary schools set up. Japan donated 36, 000 desks. Many of the children arriving had received little or no education. Need for Accelerated Learning Programmes. 27 Ratio of girls to boys at school: . 34
LOCAL INITIATIVE: ONE BOOK ONE PEN FOUNDATION We are collecting books and pens from all those who can afford and distributing them to those who cannot afford them. So far we have collected 3000 books from Hagadeera alone. We hope to reach out to all the children in the outskirts of the camps who have the passion to learn but have nothing to write on. 28 Dadaabcamps. com
29 PROBLEMS FACED IN THE CAMP
AFP 2006 30 2006 FLOODING
DROUGHT Somalia and the whole of Northeast Kenya including Dadaab has now suffered a severe drought for almost four years. The drought has killed 50% of the local livestock, creating a major economic strain on the region. 31 The long term settlement of refugees has also severely impacted the landscape, as fuel and building materials are in constant demand.
ACCESS TO RESOURCES Animosity between refugees and local Kenyans has steadily developed, particularly over the management of scarce resources. Access to water and firewood has been a specific source of friction between the two communities, with the growing refugee population utilising the goods in a way that is not sustainable. During times of drought, this tension is exacerbated by aid disbursement to refugees that outweighs assistance to local communities. 32 Unequal access to resources has motivated an estimated 40, 000 Kenyans to register fraudulently as refugees.
“IS THIS ENOUGH TO SUPPORT A HUMAN BEING? ” MSF MAY 2011 On arrival, the refugees – have no money, no food, no water, no shelter. It takes 12 days, on average, to receive a first ration of food and 34 days to receive cooking utensils and blankets from UNHCR, which runs the camps with the international mandate to assist and protect refugees. 33 Until then they must fend for themselves in a hostile semidesert environment. In temperatures of 50 degrees, and fearful of attack by hyenas, the families build makeshift shelters out of whatever materials they can find – sticks, cardboard, polythene – to provide some shelter from the sun, the wind, the choking dust and the rain.
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SECURITY CONCERNS Since the Kenyan incursion into southern Somalia last October, security conditions in Dadaab have deteriorated to a critical level. Al Shabaab appears to have infiltrated the complex and may be using the camps as a platform to extend its operations to other parts of Kenya. Kidnappings and assaults have become more common, and ominously, improvised explosive device (IED) attacks have also begun to appear with some regularity along the roads within the complex. 35 Bombings and killings have increased in frequency.
SECURITY: REFUGEES Refugees who cooperate with Kenyan authorities, however, have been threatened, assaulted, and in some cases killed. 36 At the end of last year, two community leaders in Hagadera and Ifo camps were targeted and killed by al Shabaab sympathizers, because they were perceived as assisting the police.
SECURITY Lack of cooperation by refugees with the Kenyan police has been met with brutality and arrest. Many refugees have been injured in police security operations. IED incidents sometimes result in the rounding up of 200 to 300 refugees, many of whom are brutally beaten. Tensions between the refugees and the Kenyan police have risen to dangerous levels. 37 Community Peace and Safety Teams (CPSTs), created and led by the refugees themselves, have been critical to curtailing violence and gathering information on the perpetrators.
SECURITY: AID WORKERS MSF TAKEN HOSTAGE On October 13, 2011, Montserrat Serra and Blanca Thiebout were last seen leaving the UNHCR’s Ifo Extension camp just outside the Dadaab refugee camp with a driver. The ambush occurred at the end of their shift in broad daylight. The driver, who was shot during the kidnapping, has since recovered and stated the ambush was at the hands of armed bandits. $100, 000 each 38 Pirates, according to the Somalia Report, have since reported the women were purchased from Al-Shahbab for $200, 000 ($100, 000 each) and are being held at sea to avoid capture on land.
CURRENT UNHCR STATISTICS 465, 611 registered 444, 000 Somalis 39 The other 4% are Ethiopians, Sudanese, Ugandans, Congolese and Eritreans.
CURRENT NUMBER OF REFUGEES In a February 23 2012 speech in London, President Mwai Kibaki of Kenya put the number in the Dadaab camps at 630, 000. 40 Because the Kenyan DRA ceased registration of new arrivals in October 2011, the actual number of refugees in Dadaab remains unknown.
UNREGISTERED NEW ARRIVALS The unregistered new arrivals are in a particularly precarious position, because without registration they are not eligible for UNHCR-provided assistance. Because they do not have food ration cards, they depend on other refugees, reducing the food for those families and increasing malnutrition among both registered and unregistered populations. 41 Since the new arrivals are no longer vaccinated, there has been an increase in communicable diseases.
WHAT DO THEY ALL RECEIVE? 42 Once every 15 days, each camp resident can expect to receive 3. 36 kilograms (7. 4 lbs. ) of wheat flour, 3. 36 kilos of cornmeal, 0. 96 kilos of lentils, 0. 48 liters (16 oz. ) of vegetable oil, 0. 72 kilos of porridge and 80 grams of salt.
UNHCR Financial information 43 As the population of concern has grown, so have the overall budget requirements for the Kenya operation, from USD 55 million to estimated USD 236 million for 2012. .
NEW 44 ARRIVALS
45 HAMZA MOHAMED
OBSTACLES The international aid agencies that have run Dadaab for two decades have kept its residents in "care and maintenance" operations throughout. Even long-term residents still receiving food aid. Why? The Kenyan government policy of encampment, which prevents refugees from leaving camps without a permit or taking formal employment. 46 Aid agencies would encourage refugee livelihood opportunities and have wanted to promote refugee staff to more senior positions, but have only been able to pay them "incentives", not salaries.
RESETTLEMENT? Over the past few weeks, Kenyan government ministers have made persistent calls for the country's Somali refugees to be "resettled" inside Somalia. 47 President Mwai Kibaki, said at February's London conference on Somalia: "Kenya can no longer continue carrying the burden. "
HC UNHCR "The number of asylum claims received across all industrialised countries in 2011 is smaller than the population of Dadaab. 48 Kenya's international partners cannot forget the enormous scale of this commitment, and they must acknowledge it. ”
UNHCR Aid workers have been kidnapped, refugees involved in camp security have been killed, and Kenyan police have been targeted in bombings. As a result, aid workers have less access to the camps, leaving refugees without important services like advanced medical care and victim support. 49 But the situation is also forcing agencies to finally hand over more supervisory and management responsibilities to refugees.
EMPOWERMENT This includes: 50 • The engagement of youth in providing informal education to new arrivals. • Refugee reporters publishing their own newspaper. • Women forming groups for livelihood opportunities for mothers.
KENYA CAN TURN THE DADAAB REFUGEE CAMPS INTO AN ASSET. GUARDIAN 18 APRIL 2012 51 Instead of being a burden, the 500, 000 Somalis in the camps should be integrated into Kenya's economy as part of a development plan for the country's north-east.
BIG BUSINESS There approximately 5, 000 refugee-run, camp-based businesses in Dadaab with an annual turnover of around $25 m. It is estimated that local communities make about $1. 8 million a year in livestock sales to Dadaab. 52 In an area as impoverished as Kenya's north-east province, this is big business.
DEVELOPMENT Development for Dadaab should be within a broader development plan for Kenya's north-east province, where the camps are located. So far, it has not been prioritised for development by the Kenyan government. International donors, the World Bank, European development institutions and USAid should work with Kenya on increased long-term development funding for the region. This should be accompanied by changes in Kenya's laws on refugee employment, which benefit the wider community. 53 Melanie Teff is senior advocate and European representative for Refugees International
PROBLEMS Security Health Malnutrition Education Governance GBV FGM 54 Violence
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE IN THE LAST 21 YEARS? Think of the highlights: Birthdays, Holidays, Dances, Sporting Events Opportunities: University, Internships, Jobs Facilities Where can you go on the weekends? How safe is your sibling or your loved one? Communities: 55 Sports teams, clubs, neighborhood, friends
IF YOU SIT DOWN NOW WITH SOMEONE BORN THE SAME DAY AS YOU IN DADAAB: What might you talk about? What might you have in common? What can you do for them? 56 What can they do for you?
THE WAY FORWARD • Ask them • Write to them • Email them • Skype them • Facebook them • Find out 57 • Make both your lives more worthwhile
RESOURCES Youth run webpage and blog in Hagadera with stories from the camps (Webmaster: Mr. Mohamed Bashir Sheik) http: //dadabcamps. com/category/news/ http: //www. facebook. com/dadaab. refugeecamps/photos Camp Newspaper "THE REFUGEE", Editor: Moulid Iftin Hujalehttps: //docs. google. com/open? id=0 B 9 YKm. Iq 1 y. Ihl. Nm. Vi Mjgy. NTUt. ZDcw. ZS 00 NGRi. LWI 5 Nj. Qt. OTU 2 YThh. ODJj. Mjg 5 Many thanks to UNHCR External Relations Officer, Bettina Schulte 58 http: //www. unhcr. org
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