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 wartorn 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
1
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 SubSaharan 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
2