Saturday, June 11, 2016
Refugees from Ifo 2 camp line up to welcome Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Tuesday. / STEPHEN ASTARIKO
By STEPHEN ASTARIKO @stephen ASTARIKO
Refugees fear for their lives as state plans to close camps, transfer them to Somalia.
The planned repatriation of refugees and closure of the Dadaab camps could destroy the inhabitants’ livelihoods, traumatise their children and expose them to attacks by al Shabaab, some refugees have said. Some 329,811 refugees live in five camps in Dadaab. Speaking to the Star on Tuesday, some of them said the Kenyan government should have struck a compromise with Somalia on how best to solve the impasse.
Kenya calls the camps an economic burden and security threat. It wanted to close Dadaab and send everyone back by November. After an international outcry, it backtracked and now says there’s no deadline.
“We can’t believe we are being sent back to a country that is still unstable and faced with security lapses,” said Abdi Mohammed, 60, a refugee at Ifo II camp. “The attacks on a Kenyan base by the al Shabaab and now claims they have attacked Ethiopian forces only serve to prove that the country is still insecure. We wonder what al Shabaab can do to defenceless Somali citizens.”
For Amina Mohamed, the mention of camps’ closure “sends shivers down the spine of many mothers”, who suffer the most at times of war.
“The very feeling that you can be raped in the full view of your children is something we can’t as mothers comprehend. If the Kenyan government has decided to return us back home, then it should ensure that wherever we go is secure and has basic services,” she said.
(+) What leaders say about shift
Visiting the camps on Monday, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said his administration is working closely with the international community to prepare grounds to receive them.
Interior CS Joseph Nkaisery, who was present, said he was glad most of the refugees are willing to go back home and rebuild their country, despite security problems.