Karamoja Child Migration.Indd
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The opinions expressed in the report are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the report do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IOM concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers or boundaries. _______________ IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. As an intergovernmental organization, IOM acts with its partners in the international community to: assist in meeting the operational challenges of migration; advance understanding of migration issues; encourage social and economic development through migration; and uphold the human dignity and well-being of migrants. Publisher: Plot 6A, Bukoto Crescent, Naguru P.O Box 11431, Kampala - Uganda _______________ © 2014 International Organization for Migration (IOM) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. 10_14 Child Migration from Karamoja February 2014 With the support of Acknowledgements Acknowledgements This report and the associated research were funded by the Royal Norwegian Embassy under the Coordinated Response to Human Traffi cking in Uganda (CRTU) project. The research design was developed by Karol Czuba with the assistance of the lead researcher, Dr Christopher Lee. The interviews and focus group discussions were conducted and translated by Lokiru Denis Pius. Nangiro Paska helped to revise the research instruments and advised on Ŋkaramojong terminology. Initi al draft s were writt en by Karol Czuba and reviewed by IOM Uganda staff Alexander Billings and Mariela Guajardo. A comprehensive review of the paper was untaken by Roselinde den Boer. The logisti cs fi eld team was composed of Kutesa Seth, Golooba William, Isingoma Robert, Komakech David and Ntensibe Juma. 5 Glossary Glossary Elejilej Traditi onally, elejilej are income-generati ng acti viti es undertaken by young Karimojong to supplement the income of their families. Although traditi onally associated with acti viti es like catt le grazing, the term has recently been associated with children begging in the streets. Elejileij have become parti cularly common among minors in Kampala and other urban centres in Uganda, but small income- generati ng acti viti es like begging and grazing are also undertaken by children in rural desti nati ons. Kraal Kraals are temporary camps where Karimojong, predominantly male, and their livestock move during the dry season. Kraals are located in areas receiving relati vely more rainfall and are therefore suitable for catt le herding. Some women and children join their husbands and fathers to perform household acti viti es and tend the animals. Boys that are old enough can join the men without the supervision of their mothers. Manyatt a Manyatt as are enclosed residenti al areas, surrounded by sharp thorns and with only one small entry point. One manyatt a can house multi ple families and many heads of catt le. The Karimojong reside in the largely permanent manyatt as during the wet season when conditi ons are suitable for agriculture and livestock herding. When men move to kraals during the dry season, some women and children remain in the manyatt as to prepare for agricultural producti on. 7 Table of Contents Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................. 5 Glossary ............................................................................................................... 7 1. Introducti on .............................................................................................. 11 1.1 Objecti ves and scope ........................................................................ 11 1.2 Research questi ons and key fi ndings ................................................ 12 2. Background ............................................................................................... 15 2.1 Dual sett lement system..................................................................... 15 2.2 Politi cal and natural shocks ............................................................... 16 2.3 Migrati on .......................................................................................... 16 2.4 Push and pull factors ......................................................................... 17 3. Research Methods .................................................................................... 19 3.1 Sampling method .............................................................................. 19 3.2 Data collecti on techniques ................................................................ 19 3.3 Informed consent .............................................................................. 20 3.4 Analysis ............................................................................................. 20 4. The Evoluti on of Karimojong Migrati on Patt erns ...................................... 21 4.1 Traditi onal migrati on ......................................................................... 21 4.2 Shift ing livelihood strategies ............................................................. 22 4.3 Initi al fl ows of child migrati on........................................................... 23 5. Structural Causes....................................................................................... 25 5.1 Violence and food insecurity ............................................................. 25 5.2 Family expectati ons and obligati ons ................................................. 26 6. Moti vati ons ............................................................................................... 27 6.1 Individual moti vati ons ....................................................................... 27 6.2 Peer pressure .................................................................................... 28 7. Mechanisms of Karimojong Child Migrati on ............................................. 29 7.1 The decision-making process ............................................................ 29 7.2 Preparing for migrati on ..................................................................... 30 7.3 Family ti es ......................................................................................... 30 7.4 Urban survival ................................................................................... 31 9 Child Migration from Karamoja 8. Return and Reintegration .......................................................................... 33 8.1 Family tracing .................................................................................... 33 8.2 Family and community reception ..................................................... 34 8.3 Reintegration package ....................................................................... 35 8.4 Role of the community in reintegration ............................................ 36 8.5 Role of the family in reintegration .................................................... 38 8.6 Re-migration and other challenges ................................................... 39 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 41 References ......................................................................................................... 43 Appendix I: List of Research Sites ...................................................................... 47 Appendix II: Research Instrument – Causes and Mechanisms .......................... 49 Appendix III: Research Instrument – Return and Reintegration ........................ 59 Appendix IV: Informed Consent Script for Adult Research Participants ............ 65 Appendix V: Assent Script for Child Research Participants ................................ 67 10 Introducti on 1. Introduction 1.1 Objecti ves and scope Since the start of the new century, Karimojong migrant children have become an increasingly common sight in the streets of Kampala and other urban centres in Uganda. Due to the nature of their acti viti es on the street, parti cularly, begging around traffi c lights at busy intersecti ons, these children are highly visible. Clearly living in extreme poverty and highly vulnerable, these children are widely understood to come from a highly specifi c ethnic and geographic background – that is, the Karamoja region – and public percepti on of these children is informed by an understanding of the drivers of poverty in Karamoja, as well as considerati on of these children’s humanitarian plight. As a consequence, atti tudes towards these children range from great sympathy to outright hosti lity. The soluti ons to their problems may variously be seen as “politi cal” or economic, or as a matt er of policing. Due in large part to their high visibility, child migrati on from Karamoja to Uganda’s urban centres has att racted considerable att enti on from governmental, city council and non-governmental bodies, giving rise to various programmes which either directly or indirectly address their issues. A common refrain among such projects is to “tackle the root cause,” and to prevent “recycling” or to take “holisti c” approaches,