The current situation of refugees in Kenya.

  

Date Posted: 11/5/2012 7:50:51 PM

Posted By: warira  Membership Level: Gold  Total Points: 1095

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Kenyans are known to be very friendly people and are also welcoming. Due to these attributes we are the safe haven for our neighbors when things go haywire in their countries. Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps are the main hosts. A refugee as per the Refugee law of Kenya is a person who owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality membership of a particular group or a political opinion is outside the country of his nationality is unable or unwilling to avail himself to the protection of that country. You could well fit into this definition but there are certain limitations that can deny you the status of a refugee in the country. If you have committed crime against peace, war or crimes against humanity; serious crimes such as drug trafficking and rape; having several nationality and not seeking protection from one of the nationality, your are disqualified to be a refugee in the country. Once you have been fully recognized as a refugee you acquire certain rights and duties: you are subjected to all laws in Kenya; you cannot be returned to a country where your life is threatened and there is confidentiality of your information; you have the right to movement and education.

Unfortunately our kindness may work against us if we do not control the high refugee influx into the country. Serious issues are arising that cannot be overlooked.

1. The influx has led to the increase of crimes in the country. This is because the country cannot afford jobs for these people who have needs and wants. Consequently they turn to crime to sustain themselves as the donations are barely enough. There is a high number people in the camps who are unemployed so they move out of

the camps and move into our towns and cities.

2. There is also increased tension in the North Eastern Province between the refugees and the locals. Cases of armed banditry and cattle rustling are on rise. There are clashes between the refugees and the locals over the few resources, grazing areas, water boreholes and food donations. The locals feel that the refugees are taking what belongs to them while the refugees are of the view that the locals are discriminatory and selfish.

3. There is a clash of cultures leading to the corruption of the morals of the local youth and emergence of immoral activities. This is due to the large number of refugees from different countries and foreign staff working in the camps. We have heard of how young girls hawk their bodies in the towns to get food rations and other basic needs, of how young girls are being married off to foreigners and so many other social vices you can think of. Whenever two cultures come together without the view of accommodating each other conflicts are bound to arise which leads to their erosion as they compete.

4.Environmental damage. If you take a good look at the camps you will realize that there is a lot of pollution in the camps. There are no proper sanitation facilities hence the common outbreaks of communicable diseases. There are no proper waste disposal systems and the camps are sore sight of litter. It is my fear that the place will be more of a desert than it is now due to the depletion of grazing areas, clearing of land for settlement and depletion of water resources.

5. Corruption is prevalent in the camps. We have heard that some of the donations do not reach the refugees as they are usually sold to business people who sell the commodities to the general public. There have also been cases of Kenyan citizens living in the camps so that they can benefit from the donations at the expense of the refugees. There is also the misappropriation of fund meant for the rehabilitation of these camps.

In light of the above it goes without saying that we us a country we need to change how we are dealing with the refugee situation.

- First and foremost the location of the camps should be looked into. This will help in reducing conflicts among the locals and refugees and in ensuring that the natural resources will be able to sustain the population.
- The issue of security should be looked into; there is need to have a strict security system to curb the influx of the refugees at the borders.
- The public should be sensitized on the refugee law so that their rights may be respected by law.
- There is need to come up with new policies on refugees so that we can be in line with the international standards.
- We should not look at refugees as a liability but as a valuable asset. This is because they bring in economic benefits and promote our status to the world as a secure and safe country.

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