REFUGEES IN POST-CONFLICT RECONSTRUCTION: A COMPARATIVE STUDY BETWEEN KAKUMA AND DADAAB REFUGEES IN KENYA

Abstract

The Horn and Great Lakes Region of Africa is a global hot-spot generating annually thousands of refugees (Ekuru, 2004; UNHCR, 2005). Kenya, unlike other states in the Horn of Africa has had relative peace since 1990, except for the brief political debacle over the December 2007 general elections. Conclusively, Kenya is a safe haven for the influx of refugees from the neighbouring politically unstable and war-torn countries of Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Congo DRC, Rwanda and Burundi (GTZ/UNHCR/GOK, 1999).

Kenya today, hosts over one million refugees in two UNHCR settlement camps namely; Dadaab in the North-eastern part bordering Somalia and Kakuma in the North-western part bordering Southern Sudan and Ethiopia. The two camps are unique in their socio-cultural and demographic profiles that could enrich a comparative analysis of refugee’s contribution to post-conflict reconstruction.

A scrutiny of available literature on refugees portrays largely a rather negative perception on their role in socio-economic development of countries of origin and asylum. Traditionally, refugees are associated with all kinds of societal and environmental evils such as; arms and drug trafficking, violations of human rights, especially women and children, disease epidemics, and environmental degradation among many others (Blondel,2000; Schartz, et al., 2000; Ayiemba and Oucho, 1995; Rogge, 1990). In a nutshell, the positive role of refugees in post-war reconciliation and reconstruction of the countries of origin has been put in the back burner of academic discourse and policy redress. I believe this has been partly due to local and international Aid as a lucrative business targeting refugee crisis in the region.

This study’s main objective is to identify positive roles that refugee communities in Kenya play in post-conflict reconstruction of their home countries. Emphasis will be on how they have addressed insecurity matters in the context of inter and intra-state peace building efforts; the nature and magnitude of remittances to families and relatives left back home; the quality of human capital of “return refugees” whether voluntary or forcefully repatriated; and the nature of their social capital in the context of “networks” formed that positively contribute towards sustainable development of their countries of origin. Research questions for the study are: What is the nature of social organizations/networks among refugees? What activities do such social organizations/networks support in the country of origin and asylum? What are the socio-economic/demographic characteristics of refugees who return home? And what business or socio-economic development activities an individual refugee is promoting.

The study will be confined to library research since the time allocated for writing the paper cannot allow for field-work. Interviews with UNHCR staff in Nairobi as well as other International Aid Agencies will be attempted. The contribution of this study will be its comparative analysis of the two refugee camps and identification of the positive roles of refugeism that scholars and policy-makers should further address for program implementation.

Prof. Elias H.O.Ayiemba

Department of Geography and Environmental Studies,

University of Nairobi,

P.O.Box. 30197 00100,

Nairobi, Kenya

References

Ayiemba, Elias, H.O. and John, O. Oucho: 1995; The Refugee Crisis in Sub-Saharan Africa: What are the Solutions? African Population Paper No.4 April 1995. African Population and Environmental Institute, Nairobi.

Blondel Nicolas: 2000; Firewood survey around Dadaab Refugees Camps. EESS Mission Report UNHCR, Kenya.

Ekuru Aukot: 2004; it is better to be a Refugee than a Turkana in Kakuma: Revisiting the relationship between Hosts and Refugees in Kenya. Refugee Vol. 21 (3) 73-83

GTZ/UNHCR/GOK: 1999; Evaluation of fuel wood availability and the impact of fuel wood harvesting zones. GTZ/UNHCR/GOK Report

UNHCR/UNEP, 2005; Impacts of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons on the Environment in Tanzania, an Assessment Report. Nairobi, Kenya.

Rogge, J.R.; 1990; African Refugees: Causes, Solutions, and Consequences. New York

Schwartz, Daniel, Deligiannis, Tom and Homer-Dixon, Thomas: 2000; the Environment and Violent Conflict. Environmental Change and Security Project Report, Issue 6: 77-93

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