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The Magazine DADAAB EDITION Issue #3 | November 2014 HER PAST IS ONE TALE SHE HAS NEVER GAINED THE COURAGE TO TELL EVEN HER CLOSEST FRIENDS ABOUT, BUT SHE FEELS PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW THE TRUTH. ALSO INSIDE: PAKISTANI REFUGEE LIVING EDUCATION IN SOMALI WOMEN IN DADAAB SPEAKS OF HIS DADAAB BOOSTED BY SHINING DESPITE EXPERIENCE OF THE CAMP TECHNOLOGY CULTURAL HURDLES CONTENTS Featured Stories 1 SOMALI WOMEN SHINE DESPITE CULTURAL HURDLES Going againts cultural constraints, Somali women in Dadaab Refugee camp are going 7 places, breaking the norms of culture. REKINDLING HOPE FOR YOUTH THROUGH VOCATIONAL TRAINING 3 YEP Centres have helped many to live the dream they may have thought is lost, 11 through specialized training. SO FAR FROM HOME: PAKISTANI REFUGEE IN DADAAB Having travelled thousands of kilometres to Dadaab, Robert Yusuf shares about his 17 experience of the camp. 5 COVER STORY She was forcefully married to an Al-Shabaab Militant while she was still in school. She had to drop out and serve as a slave wife. Find out more about her in the centre pages. PAGES 9 & 10 16 The Refugee. Issue 3 | November 2014 EDITOR Editorial Mohamed Jimale SUB-EDITOR elcome to another edition of your favourite read, Sahal Ali Hussein The Refugee. The stories in this edition cover the period September through November, with various MANAGING EDITOR Wparts of August. Paul Odongo Through this period, the camp has witnessed various changes, the latest being the cut in food rations that has hugely CONTRIBUTORS affected many refugees who rely on it, and the technological advancement in the education centres and more solar lights Kin Abdi Awes installed in the camps. Mohamed Osman In this edition, we bring you even more interesting and inspiring Noor Hassan Aden (Penda) stories from the camps in Dadaab. First, we tell you about the story of hope; after a long wait, a number of refugees Hussein Hamud Ismail relocated to Kakuma for processing of resettlement. We also Ahmed Issack Kheir tell you about the struggles that girls in Dadaab Refugee Camps face in pursuit of education; and a Pakistani national Mohamed Hawes Mohamed living as a refugee in Dadaab. All these and many other stories Abdikadir Mohamed Ali adorn this edition. Mohamed Abdullahi (LUNGU) In our second edition, we said that we would start creating magazines that feature stories in both English and Somali Abdullahi Abdi Noor versions in order to reach a wider. Unfortunately, we could not Abdiweli Omar Mohamed manage due to editorial constraints. We are however fast- tracking the processes to get us there. Asad Hussein November 25th marked the beginning of the 16 Days of activism. The next edition of The Refugee Magazine will be CONTRIBUTING EDITORS dedicated to the survivors of early marriage. We will feature Anne Ndegwa stories of early marriage survivors, people’s views and opinions. We will also tell you what you can do to help, where and how Ninah Lisanza to get help if you ever fall victim. Make sure you grab a copy! DESIGN & LAYOUT We hope you will relish reading through this edition. Paul Odongo PHOTOGRAPHY The Editor Paul Odongo Sahal Ali Hussein Mohamed Jimale Stories in The Refugee Magazine are written by refugees for the refugee community. It is published by FIlmAid with the help of BPRM. It is produced every three months. A gift of the BPRMUS Government The Refugee. Issue 3 | November 2014 THE STRUGGLE OF GIRLS IN PURSUIT OF EDUCATION IN DADAAB REFUGEE CAMPS By Mohamed Osman he existence of girls is solely girls is even higher than that of boys. This for the purpose of marriage reflects that the effort by the organizations and child bearing.” Says a tra- to support girl education has had a positive “Tditional elder in Ifo Refugee impact. Camp in Dadaab. Such are the sentiments that many male elders in the camp hold re- Girls in Dadaab encounter many challenges garding women in the society. as they pursue their studies. Forced early marriage and domestic violence are the In Dadaab camps, refugees and asylum common challenges that are witnessed in seekers of Somali origin account for the camp round, inhibiting their comple- ‘Hooyo,’ my mother more than 95% of the general population tion of studies. Momina, a 14 year old girl softly said. ‘That was (UNHCR/June 2014). Traditionally, girls in Dadaab, had a dream of becoming a a good poem. If you were not allowed to associate and inter- prominent person in the future, to help the mingle with boys. They were not allowed defunct society. She dropped out of school write many such po- to attend school as it was considered a when she was in class 5, due to challenges ems, people will notice disgrace to the family. This contributed to she faced back at home. She had to carry you. Singers will appro- the infringement of their right to access out a series of domestic chores each day to priate your lines; they education. Affirmative action was thus cater for her family’s needs. “I really want will turn them into adopted to uphold standards and motivate to get educated, but I cannot turn a blind music. When people them to study. eye on my family’s needs,” says Momina. listen to the songs, you Her father suffers from hypertension and For the last 5 years, the number of girls her mother is too old to do much around will share the sin with being enrolled in schools has rapidly in- the house. them. That might put creased. In some classes, the number of you in hell. My son, please stop writing po- ems. You will be safe. 1 The Refugee. Issue 3 | November 2014 During her short stay in school, she always emerged top of her class. Her DADAAB REFUGEES absence from school was felt by both the teachers and her classmates. The head teacher soon learnt that she had RELOCATED TO KAKUMA dropped out to support her family and tried to encourage her parents to let AWAITING RESSETLEMENT her get back to school. But her parents By Sahal Ali Hussein felt they needed her more. “She is the only source of income that we have.” bove and beyond offering refugees complained that the relo- Her mother insisted when the pressure protection for refugees cation program is not well coordi- to release her daughter to resume her and displaced persons, nated, as some refugees say they studies became too much. Athe UN Refugee Agency, receive phone calls and are asked Other girls have had to leave school UNHCR seeks, in its mandate, to to prepare to go to Kakuma, but not due to social challenges. Fadumo was find durable solutions for refugees. all the scheduled beneficiaries are married off by her parents without Many refugees flagged concerns relocated. Mohamed Osman is one her consent just before she enrolled over the rate at which these were of the refugees who were scheduled for class 8. A few weeks later she got being done as many have lived in the for relocation in April this year. When pregnant, sealing her fate of ever return- camps for over 23 years and have he was informed of his scheduled ing to school. Her father is an advocate since witnessed very small numbers travel, he was in Thika pursuing a of the traditional principles in respect to leaving the camps. course in Community Health. “I left marriage. That as soon as a girl reaches my studies so that I could join my Resettlement to third country in family and relocate to Kakuma, but adolescence she is mature enough to get the developed world is one of the married. few days prior to the scheduled day solutions that UNHCR offers; United of departure, I was informed that Windle Trust Kenya is an organiza- States, Canada, Australia and some I would not be resettled yet, even tion that funds secondary level educa- European countries being the lead though my mother and brothers tion in Dadaab. The organization also recipients. would. This separation set me back founded the KEEP (Kenya Equity Edu- The last budge of refugees was and caused me a huge frustration.” cation Program) Programmes meant on November 1, 2014 relocated to Said Mohamed. He raised concern to empower and motivate girls to take Kakuma for final interviews and over the psychological effects that advantage of supplementary classes processing for resettlement. A total the notification for resettlement offered on Saturday and Sunday. of 473 refugees benefited from this has, saying that physical and psy- chological preparedness follows the “Educating a girl is educating the project. Some of the refugees under this resettlement program told The notification, and one gets absolutely nation.” Said a teacher in a forum aimed crushed if plans are changed. at empowering girls. This saying, which Refugee that they were happy with some feel has become a cliché, has been the relocation since USCIS has not In November this year, a woman was made a reality with the implementation been in a position to come to Dadaab reported to have fainted after she of various programmes. Many girls have to conduct interviews. was notified by IOM that she would proven their competence and this is Over the years the receiving countries not be relocated with this budge. evident, as many have performed exem- of refugees being resettled would The woman, who was the head of a plarily well and even secured places for come to Dadaab and conduct their family of six, was reported to have scholarships offered by the World Uni- immigration interviews at the Inter- sold all her belongings including versity Scholarship of Canada (WUSC) national Organization for Migration the house in which she had lived to pursue their studies in prestigious (IOM) compound in Dadaab Main with her family the previous days on universities in Canada.

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