Kenya to repatriate 500,000 Somalia refugees

By Maureen Murimi, Citizen Digital

Published on 3 November 2015

Kenya to repatriate 500,000 Somalia refugees

The Kenyan government says it is working with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to ensure a smooth and voluntary repatriation of over 500,000 Somalia refugees living in Dadaab, Garissa County.

So far, only 45,000 refugees have left the country voluntarily according to Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaiserry.

Records from the Interior Ministry show that at least 45,000 refugees have been repatriated in the last two years from the Dadaab refugee camp and more could soon be going back home under a new program that looks to repatriate at least 500,000 Somali refugees.

“We have spoken to the leaders and we are going to follow the law,” said Nkaissery.

Speaking during a tour of the five Dadaab Camps, Nkaissery said that the long term plan include stabilizing the war torn country by the Kenyan troops under UNISOM and ensuring all the necessary infrastructure such as health services, education, water among other basic amenities are in place before the refugees can go back home.

In August, UNHCR Antonio Guterres said Kenya had agreed to repatriate refugees in the Dadaab Refugee Camp voluntarily rather than forcibly as earlier declared.

Guterres said that the Kenyan and Somali governments have reached a political solution to address the refugee relocation challenge.

Before visiting the camp, Guterres held talks with President Uhuru Kenyatta, the Prime Minister of Somalia and leaders of the Jubaland regional administration.

“In our common understanding there are three very important pillars, the first and I want to thank President Kenyatta to confirm that the return for the return of the refugees will be done as voluntary repatriation as in line with the tripartite agreement,” said Guterres.

This means no one will be forced out of the camp as earlier feared. Many in the camp were not prepared to make the move.

Over the years, Somali refugees trickled into the country due to war and famine. Their population here has grown to an estimated 350,000 people, more than half the population of the entire refugee community in Kenya.

UNHCR says it has identified 8 areas in Somalia, where most of the refugees came from, and where they will be hosted.

Although there are concerted efforts to make the repatriation process possible, new timelines have not been laid out.

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More support needed for Somali refugees going back home from Kenya

News Stories, 16 October 2015

Somali refugees board a plane that will take them home to Mogadishu from Dadaab camp in Kenya.

Nearly 5,000 Somali refugees from Kenya's Dadaab camps have returned home since December 2014 and a further 4,500 have signed up to go back, the UN refugee agency announced today.

UNHCR has helped the returning refugees with transport to their places of origin. Mostly these have been the southern port of Kismayo, the capital Mogadishu, the towns of Baidoa and Luuq in south and central Somalia.

"They also receive a cash grant, food and basic domestic items such as sleeping mats, mosquito nets, a solar lantern, hygiene supplies and kitchen utensils to help them start a new life," UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards told a press briefing in Geneva.

Meanwhile, UNHCR says that more than 26,000 Somali refugees have fled violence in Yemen and returned to Somalia, mostly to Mogadishu.

UNHCR says that although security and socio-economic conditions in many parts of Somalia are not right for large-scale returns and that many refugees remain doubtful about returning, some are eager to leave life in exile behind and help rebuild their country.

"To end one of the world's most complex refugee situations it is vital to make sure that the small number of returns can be successful and contribute to a more peaceful and stable Somalia," Edwards added.

He added that more support and investment in the country's social and economic infrastructure was urgently needed.

"While security remains a concern, the lack of equipped public schools and of job opportunities is cited by many as stopping them from going back," he added.

To rally international support for Somalia, UNHCR and the European Union are organizing a pledging conference on Wednesday 21 October, in Brussels.

UN High Commissioner António Guterres, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and the European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica will welcome the Somalia's Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke and the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Amina Mohammed, together with the high-level delegations from Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Yemen.

They will present a plan of action to prepare for the sustainable returns of Somali refugees from the region to Somalia and to rebuild the areas of return.

The main focus will be on rebuilding the infrastructure, reinforcing law enforcement, education, water and sanitation, health care provision, shelter, agriculture and the creation of job opportunities to representatives of more than 30 donor countries and organizations. The plan requires a total of US$500 million and will run for two years until the end of 2017.

More than 2 million Somalis remain displaced in the region, including over 1.1 million in their own country and 967,000 as refugees in the neighbouring countries. The majority (420,000) are living in Kenya, mostly in the five refugee camps in Dadaab in the north-east of the country. Nearly 250,000 Somali refugees are living in Ethiopia and an estimated 200,000 in Yemen.

Kenya to 'Repatriate' Half a Million Somali Refugees

A Somali girl accompanies women bringing firewood to the Ifo refugee camp in Dadaab near the Kenya-Somali border on Aug. 31, 2011 | Photo: Reuters
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Published 4 November 2015 (9 hours 9 minutes ago)
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Somali refugees have long been subjected to state racism, including ethnic profiling and abuse by Kenyan police.
Kenya plans to “voluntarily” repatriate half a million Somali refugees after it stepped back from doing so earlier this year due to mass international condemnation.

The mass removal of 500,000 people living at the Dadaab refugee complex, the world’s oldest and largest refugee site, will be carried out together with the U.N. refugee agency, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaisery said Tuesday.

The plan will allegedly involve maintaining Kenyan military presence in Somalia and establish the necessary infrastructure to cover basic necessities like health services and water supply for returning-refugees, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We have to ensure that the refugees go back to a safe place. That is why we still have our troops inside Somalia to stabilize the country," Nkaissery said.

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The news comes after in May, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta took back his threat to close down the Dadaab refugee complex, allegedly a breeding ground for militancy after it was erected in 1991 when a civil war rocked Somalia forcing hundreds of thousands to flee.

Kenyatta’s threat at the time was in reaction to a mass shooting that left nearly 150 dead at a university in Garissa at the hands of the militant group Al-Shabab in April.

Somali refugees have since been subjected to what they see is “collective punishment,” including systemic ethnic profiling, abuse, extortion and harassment by Kenyan police.

“Police intimidation is part of our daily life. When they see Somali person, they assume that you are illegal. I have paid a lot of money in bribes. They don’t accept that I am legal, even though I have a refugee card. They say it’s fake and demand money,” Said Hassan Anteno, told the New Statesman back in May.

Some 45,000 Somali refugees have already repatriated in the last two years from the Dadaab refugee camp according to Kenyan officials.

Xinhua News Agency

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