Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Dadaab Refugee Camp - Mohammed Abdi Guhad sits idly in the shade of a makeshift wooden kiosk, explaining his plan to return to Somalia and fight for the country's powerful Islamist movement.
He said: "I would rather kill than stay here doing nothing", rubbing his hands in anticipation of leaving this dusty United Nations refugee camp in northeast Kenya, where he had lived since fleeing unrest in his native land six years ago.
The 24-year-old's goal of going back to join the Islamists would send him in the opposite direction of many of his countrymen and women who were scrambling to leave Somalia for camps like this in neighbouring Kenya in record numbers.
But, as thousands crossed the border the other way fearing large-scale conflict between the Islamists and the weak government, Guhad was among a growing number of poor, young Somalis at this overcrowded camp ready to head home for combat.
Sympathisers 'returning to Somalia'
He said: "I would not need money because I would be able to take up a gun and get what I need."
Aden Mohammed, 18, who planned to take up arms for "whoever will bring peace" to Somalia after he exhausted his educational options in Dadaab next year, said: "If one has nothing to do when he is hungry, he can do anything."
It was a trend that deeply concerned aid workers who were worried that their return would fuel unrest in a nation that had been ripped asunder by 16 years of anarchy and saw parallels with Afghan refugees in camps in Pakistan a decade ago.
Mohammed Qazilbash of the relief agency, CARE, that worked in Dadaab, said: "Sympathisers with both the Islamists and the government are returning to Somalia to join militias because they aren't engaged in positive activities here."
Youths 'easy prey for recruitment'
While the exact number to have returned to fight in Somalia was unknown, young idle youths made up about a third of the population here and aid workers estimated that more than 500 had left in recent months with more poised to go.
Raised in the squalor of a camp amid elders' endless debates about Somalia's bleak situation, and with limited chances for employment and education, these youths were easy prey for recruitment from both sides, they said.
There were now more than 153 000 mainly Somalis crammed into this complex, 470km from Nairobi, that would rank as Kenya's fifth largest city if it were classed as a municipality.
Many had lived here for years, since the 1991 ouster of strongman Mohamed Siad Barre plunged Somalia into chaos.
But, 30 000 newcomers had arrived so far this year and the numbers were expected to rise exponentially in coming months, placing a severe strain on space and resources.
In two days alone last week, the UN refugee agency reported that more than 2 000 Somalis had arrived in Kenya, while the World Food Programme had warned that ration cuts would begin next month if it didn't get urgent new funding.
Source: AFP, Oct. 10, 2006