Durable Solutions: Perspectives of Somali Refugees Living In
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
DURABLE SOLUTIONSDURABLE SOLUTIONS | 1 Perspectives of Somali Refugees Living in Kenyan and Ethiopian Camps and Selected Communities of Return DURABLE SOLUTIONS | 3 The Durable Solutions report is a research project designed by Catherine-Lune Grayson Acknowledgements and carried out in collaboration with research interns Andre Epstein and Emily Coles, and three Somali organisations: the Sean Deveruxe Human Rights Organisation, the Somali Children Welfare and Rights Watch in Baidoa and the Gedo Social Development Organisation. David Guillemois oversaw the compilation and analysis of the data. Durable Solutions research has been conducted with support from the Danish Refugee Council’s Regional Office in Nairobi and its field offices in Dadaab, Kenya, Jijiga and Dolo Ado, Ethiopia, as well as the Norwegian Refugee Council in Kakuma, Kenya. Special thanks to UN agencies, non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations and local authorities who shared their views on durable solutions for Somali refugees, and to all refugees and returnees who shared their time and perspectives with us. Funding for this initiative was generously provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Design and layout: Alexandra Strand Holm | DRC & Jean Bedell Omboke | Willart Cover photos: Alexandra Strand Holm 4 | DURABLE SOLUTIONS ARRA Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (GoE) Acronyms CBO Cross-Border Operation DRA Department of Refugee Affairs (GoK) DRC Danish Refugee Council FGD Focus Group Discussion FSNAU Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit – Somalia GoE Government of Ethiopia GoK Government of Kenya GSDO Gedo Social Development Organisation HH Household HRW Human Rights Watch ICU Islamist Courts Union IDP Internally Displaced Person ITW Interview NGO Non-governmental organisation NRC Norwegian Refugee Council OAU Organisation of African Unity OCHA Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN) PRM American Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration QIPs Quick Impact Projects SCWRW Somali Children Welfare and Rights Watch Sedhuro Sean Deveruxe Human Rights Organisation SNM Somali National Movement TFG Transitional Federal Government UN United Nations UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees US United States USD United States Dollars WASH Water, Sanitation and Hygiene DURABLE SOLUTIONS | 5 Table of contents Executive Summary........................................................................................................7 1 Preliminary remarks and purpose of the research.........................................................12 2 Methodology and structure of the report......................................................................15 3 Somali Displacement...................................................................................................17 4 Repatriation efforts to Somaliland and Puntland from Ethiopia......................................21 a) Repatriation from eastern Ethiopia....................................................................21 b) Observations .............................................................................................22 5 Somali refugees in Kenya and Ethiopia.........................................................................25 a) Overview of legal frameworks and government policies.....................................25 b) Enhanced self-reliance and local integration......................................................25 c) Resettlement....................................................................................................26 6 Refugees in Kenyan and Ethiopian camps....................................................................28 a) Overview of the camps..........................................................................................28 1. Kenya..............................................................................................................28 2. Ethiopia...........................................................................................................29 3. Place of origin and ethnicity..............................................................................29 4. Ethnicity...........................................................................................................30 5. Gender balance............................................................................................... 30 b) Presentation and analysis of the findings..........................................................30 1. Profile of households interviewed.....................................................................30 2. Livelihood activities..........................................................................................31 3. Education and Vocational training.....................................................................33 4. Safety..............................................................................................................35 5. Intentions and pre-conditions for repatriation....................................................35 6. Decision-making and sources of information....................................................38 7. Observations...................................................................................................39 7 Perspectives of selected communities of return............................................................41 a) Overview of the situation in selected districts of return............................................41 1. Afmadow in Lower Juba Region.................................................................41 2. Baidoa in Bay Region.........................................................................................42 3. Belet Xaawo in Gedo Region...............................................................................44 b) Impact of displacement and of an eventual large-scale return of refugees and IDPs............................................................................................45 1. Spontaneous returns of refugees and IDPs............................................................45 2. Impact and pre-conditions for a sustainable large-scale return..........................45 3. Observations .............................................................................................46 8 Concluding remarks.....................................................................................................49 Bibliography....................................................................................................................50 Annex A: Methodology....................................................................................................54 Annex B: Interview planning............................................................................................55 6 | DURABLE SOLUTIONS DURABLE SOLUTIONS | 7 Executive Summary Continued crises of governance in Somalia since the early 1990’s have provoked several episodes of large-scale internal and external displacement (Menkhaus, 2008: 4, 21). More than a quarter of Somalia’s population has been forced to flee. As commonly observed in large-scale displacement situations, the majority has moved to a safer area within the country, but large numbers have also fled to another country. As of August 2012, some 1.36 million people were displaced within Somalia, and more than a million, mostly from south-central Somalia, had claimed asylum in another country (UNHCR Information portal, 13 Sept. 2012; UNDESA, 2011: 31). A significant number of Somali refugees have been living in Kenyan and Ethiopian camps for up to two decades. Encampment policies limiting refugees’ freedom of movement and access to labour markets have undermined the quality of the asylum offered in both countries. Camps, usually considered temporary, have turned into a de facto long-term solution. In Kenya, nearly half a million refugees live in Dadaab and Kakuma camps. In Ethiopia, camps in the Somali region, near Jijiga and Dolo Ado, host some 211,000 refugees (UNHCR Information portal, 13 Sept. 2012). Repatriation, local integration and resettlement prospects are limited for refugees in camps1. Large-scale formal local integration is improb- able for politico-historical reasons and resettlement is only offered to a small proportion of refugees. Repatriation, which is not necessarily the optimal solution for all, is likely to be the only option available to the vast majority. Yet, conditions in Somalia are not currently conducive for a sustainable return. While there has been political change in the situation in south-central Somalia in recent months, notably with presidential elections in August 2012, stability and safety remain uncertain and their lasting character will only be established with time. Previous episodes of repatriation to Somalia and Somaliland from eastern Ethiopia and northern Kenya have shown that lasting security, basic services, and humanitarian access are minimal prerequisites for successful and durable repatriation and reintegration. Careful attention to livelihoods and access to land and their intersection with clan territory and inter-clan relations are essential, as is the participation of clan leaders in planning and mobilization. Experience suggests that smaller and incremental population movements, coupled with assistance and monitoring of returnees can help make return and reintegration sustainable. It also highlights the importance of viewing repatriation as more than simply a logistical movement of people, but rather an