In limbo: dependency, insecurity, and identity amongst Somali refugees in Dadaab camps.
Refuge › Vol. 22 Nbr. 2, January 2005
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In limbo: dependency, insecurity, and identity amongst Somali refugees in Dadaab camps.
Abstract
The Somali civil war of 1991 left thousands of refugees scattered in neighbouring countries. This article examines the situation of the 130,000 Somalis in their second decade in Dadaab camps in Kenya, with a particular focus on the role and responsibilities of the refugee regime and the host state. It is argued that these camps are characterized by deprivations of both material and physical security. Research found that refugees' dependency on inadequate aid is due to lack of alternative livelihoods rather than "dependency syndrome." However, participants expressed diminished "self-esteem" resulting from their prolonged encampment. Finally, the paper presents a critique of the failure to explore solutions for protracted refugee situations on the part of the international refugee regime. Resume La guerre civile de 1991 en Somali a laisse des milliers de refugies eparpilles dans les pays avoisinants. Cet article examine le sort des' 130,000 somaliens qui sont a leur deuxieme decennie dans les camps de Dadaab au Kenya, avec une emphase particuliere sur le role et les responsibilities de la convention sur les refugies et du pays hote. L'article soutient que ces camps sont caracteises par un manque de securite tant au niveau physique que materiel. Des etudes ont demontre que la dependance des refugies sur de l'assistance--quoique cette assistance est elle-meme insuffisante--decoule d'une absence de voies alternatives pour gagner sa vie plutot d'un syndrome de dependance. Toutefois, les participants ont exprime un sens diminue d'estime de sol, resultant de leur sejour prolonge dans le camp. Pour terminer. L'article examine de facon critique le fait que la convention internationale sur les refugies ait failli dans son devoir de rechercher des solutions alternatives pour des gens se retrouvant comme refugies pour un laps de temps prolongS. Protracted political limbo still prevails in Somalia as it enters its fourteenth year of "statelessness." Despite the precarious situation of Somali refugees scattered across many parts of the world, both the country and the plight of its refugees remain off the radar of world media. The atrocities committed in the process of tumbling Siad Barre's regime in 1991, and the clan-based power struggles that followed, led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Somalis. The refuge...See the full content of this document
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