Dadaab
Encyclopedia
Dadaab is a semi-arid town in the North Eastern Province in Kenya
. As of 2011, it hosts what is often described as the largest refugee camp
in the world.
border. Until recently, the local population traditionally consisted of nomadic Somali
camel
and goat
herders. The nearest major town is Garissa
, which is the headquarters of the North Eastern Province.
and Dagahaley. The international humanitarian organization CARE is UNHCR's lead implementing partner responsible for managing the camp. Much of the town's economy is based on services for refugees.
Dadaab hosts people that have fled various conflicts in the larger Eastern Africa region. Most have come as a consequence of the civil war
in southern Somalia, including both Somalis and members of Somalia's various ethnic minority groups such as the Bantu
. Most of the latter have migrated from the southern Juba River valley and the Gedo
region, while the remainder have arrived from Kismayo, Mogadishu
and Bardera
. In 1999, the United States
classified the Bantu refugees from Somalia as a priority and the United States Department of State
first began what has been described as the most ambitious resettlement plan ever from Africa, with thousands of Bantus in Dadaab scheduled for resettlement in America.
The camps cover a total area of 50 square km and are within an 18 km radius of Dadaab town. In December 2006, the Kenyan government closed its border to refugees, a move that sharply reduced the number of new arrivals to the UNHCR base. However, the region suffered a severe drought in 2011, causing a dramatic surge in the camps' population. In July 2011 it was reported that more than 1000 people per day were arriving in dire need of assistance. The influx has placed great strain on the camps' resources: The capacity of the camps is about 90,000, but they were host to over 465,000 refugees as of July 2011, a number that is expected to increase to 500,000 by the end of 2011 according to estimates from Médecins Sans Frontières
. These population figures rank Dadaab as the largest refugee camp in the world.
Full recovery from the drought's effects is not expected until 2012, with long-term strategies by national governments in conjunction with development agencies believed to offer the most sustainable results.
Dadaab is also a division in the Garissa District
, which suffered a severe drought for almost four years. The drought killed approximately 50 percent of the local livestock, creating a major economic strain on the region. Given its arid, desert location, the long term settlement of refugees has severely impacted the landscape, as fuel and building materials are in constant demand.
In 2006, flooding severely affected the region. More than 2,000 homes in the Ifo refugee camp were destroyed, forcing the relocation of more than 10,000 refugees. The sole access road to the camp and to the town was also cut off by the floods, effectively cutting off the town and refugee camps from essential supplies. Humantiarian agencies present in the area are currently working together to bring these vital goods to the area. As of 2007, the Norwegian Refugee Council has been working to improve the housing and planning of Dadaab, with the construction of a new camp using Sphere Humanitarian Standards. However various obstacles, such as Kenyan policy and the continued influx of refugees from Somalia, restricts viable shelter and urban planning opportunities for long term planning and development.
in 1998 and the suicide bombings in Mombassa in 2002. On November 5, 2011 a Kenyan police truck escorting a UN convoy struck a landmine, in Hagadara camp, which failed to detonate. That was first landmine that has been found in Dadaab. Following this, on the same day, there was a grenade attack on a Pentecostal Church in Garissa in which 2 died and 5 were wounded. Members of al Qaeda and Somali pirates are a constant feature of the camps. Pirates and their recruiters have a high degree of visibility, being well dressed with expensive clothing and jewelry. They can be seen daily at a café in the central market at Ifo. Being the home to such criminal organizations, the camps have also become centers for arms smuggling and illegal monetary networks.
The extortion and abuse of asylum seekers by police is common place outside of Dadaab. This became increasingly prevalent with the closure of the Somalian border. Police stationed near Liboi, northeast of Dadaab, systematically "extort money from Somali asylum seekers who cross the border in vehicles with the help of smugglers. In some cases, police then rape women and assault men." Refugees and their children have been known to be taken hostage until a ransom is paid. Many people from Dadaab, Garissa, and Liboi believed that the police were the only ones benefitting from the closure of Somalia's border with Kenya. It is also worth noting that "under the Kenyan Constitution, which reflects key provisions of international human rights treaties to which Kenya is a party, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
, all people in Kenya, including refugees and asylum seekers, are entitled to protection of their property, freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention, and freedom from all forms of inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment."
The availability of land is a very sensitive issue in Kenya. As a result,Dadaab was located in a semi-arid region on land that has no value. The soils of the area are poor in nutrients and sandy with rivers in the area only flowing seasonally. Therefore, water is held at a premium and vegetation is sparse. The belts of green surrounding the camps are simple fruit and vegetable gardens kept by the refugees. They are only for feeding poultry and goats, and to maintain vegetal cover to keep the dust down. Cattle can not be grazed off the gardens.
Within the camps there is discrimination of ethnic Bantu's is prevalent. Bantus are the descendants of Tanzanian migrants who were the slaves of Somalians, with their historic second class status continuing in the camps. This is evident from the spatial organization of the camps.
Maintaining an attitude of trust can be hard for those interacting with the refugees. This may or may not be as a result of any action of the part of the refugee. There is a common perception among government officials, UN and aid workers that all refugees do is complain and are constantly lying and cheating in order to receive more aid. This can be a dangerous attitude to have, allowing the people running the camps to overlook the legitimate needs of the refugees.
is commonly viewed as a problem by Kenyan authorities, aid organizations, and refugees. There is disagreement about the degree of the problem however. Refugees, in particular, have been accused of using unsustainable practices in collecting firewood. As a result of the deforestation rates refugees and locals have to walk long distances to find firewood. This job is normally performed by women and puts them at great risk of being raped or sexually assaulted.
and trade which would not have existed other wise. Unlike the surrounding area Dadaab has health facilities and an educational system. With the creation of the camps there also came running water and a slaughterhouse.
- a town in the North Eastern Province located 75 kilometres east of Dadaab.
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. As of 2011, it hosts what is often described as the largest refugee camp
Refugee camp
A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees. Hundreds of thousands of people may live in any one single camp. Usually they are built and run by a government, the United Nations, or international organizations, or NGOs.Refugee camps are generally set up in an impromptu...
in the world.
General
Dadaab is located approximately 100 kilometers from the Kenya-SomaliaSomalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
border. Until recently, the local population traditionally consisted of nomadic Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
and goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
herders. The nearest major town is Garissa
Garissa
Garissa is a city in the North Eastern Province of Kenya. It is the capital of both the province and Garissa District.-Overview:Garissa is located at and has a population of 65,881 inhabitants . The Tana River flows through the city....
, which is the headquarters of the North Eastern Province.
UNHCR base
Dadaab features a UNHCR base that serves refugee camps around the town: Hagadera, IfoIfo Camp
Ifo Camp is a refugee camp administered by the UNHCR in eastern Kenya, 420 km northeast of Nairobi and 75 km west of Somalia.- External links :* *...
and Dagahaley. The international humanitarian organization CARE is UNHCR's lead implementing partner responsible for managing the camp. Much of the town's economy is based on services for refugees.
Somali Civil War
The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war taking place in Somalia. The conflict, which began in 1991, has caused destabilisation throughout the country, with the current phase of the conflict seeing the Somali government losing substantial control of the state to rebel forces...
in southern Somalia, including both Somalis and members of Somalia's various ethnic minority groups such as the Bantu
Somali Bantu
The Somali Bantu are a minority ethnic group in Somalia. They primarily reside in southern Somalia, near the Juba and Shabelle rivers, and are the descendants of people from various Bantu ethnic groups originating from what are modern-day Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique who were sold into Somalia...
. Most of the latter have migrated from the southern Juba River valley and the Gedo
Gedo
Gedo is an administrative region , formerly part of the historic Upper Juba Region in southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. Gedo is a region created in 1980s and is bordered by the Ogaden in Ethiopia, the North Eastern Province in Kenya, and the Somali regions of Bakool, Bay,...
region, while the remainder have arrived from Kismayo, Mogadishu
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , popularly known as Xamar, is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital. Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
and Bardera
Bardera
Bardera City is an important agricultural city in the Gedo region of Somalia. It is the second most populous town in the Juba Valley, with Kismayo being the largest and most densely populated city in the region, and Garbahaarreey serving as Gedo's capital...
. In 1999, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
classified the Bantu refugees from Somalia as a priority and the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
first began what has been described as the most ambitious resettlement plan ever from Africa, with thousands of Bantus in Dadaab scheduled for resettlement in America.
The camps cover a total area of 50 square km and are within an 18 km radius of Dadaab town. In December 2006, the Kenyan government closed its border to refugees, a move that sharply reduced the number of new arrivals to the UNHCR base. However, the region suffered a severe drought in 2011, causing a dramatic surge in the camps' population. In July 2011 it was reported that more than 1000 people per day were arriving in dire need of assistance. The influx has placed great strain on the camps' resources: The capacity of the camps is about 90,000, but they were host to over 465,000 refugees as of July 2011, a number that is expected to increase to 500,000 by the end of 2011 according to estimates from Médecins Sans Frontières
Médecins Sans Frontières
' , or Doctors Without Borders, is a secular humanitarian-aid non-governmental organization best known for its projects in war-torn regions and developing countries facing endemic diseases. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland...
. These population figures rank Dadaab as the largest refugee camp in the world.
Dadaab is also a division in the Garissa District
Garissa District
Garissa District is an administrative district in the North Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital town is Garissa. The district has a population of 329,939...
, which suffered a severe drought for almost four years. The drought killed approximately 50 percent of the local livestock, creating a major economic strain on the region. Given its arid, desert location, the long term settlement of refugees has severely impacted the landscape, as fuel and building materials are in constant demand.
In 2006, flooding severely affected the region. More than 2,000 homes in the Ifo refugee camp were destroyed, forcing the relocation of more than 10,000 refugees. The sole access road to the camp and to the town was also cut off by the floods, effectively cutting off the town and refugee camps from essential supplies. Humantiarian agencies present in the area are currently working together to bring these vital goods to the area. As of 2007, the Norwegian Refugee Council has been working to improve the housing and planning of Dadaab, with the construction of a new camp using Sphere Humanitarian Standards. However various obstacles, such as Kenyan policy and the continued influx of refugees from Somalia, restricts viable shelter and urban planning opportunities for long term planning and development.
Camp Safety
Worries surrounding the infiltration of Kenya by Somali pirates, al Qaeda, and soldiers from the Union of Islamic Courts have created tension between the refugees and Kenyan law enforcement. Abuse of Somali refugees who are smuggled across the border is common. Men are regularly slapped, kicked, and beaten while being labeled as al Qaeda terrorists before being allowed to continue into the country. Fears are not unfounded despite such disregard for human rights though. Investigators from the US and Kenya have found ties between the camps and the suicide bombing of the US Embassy in NairobiNairobi
Nairobi is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi County. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters". However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is...
in 1998 and the suicide bombings in Mombassa in 2002. On November 5, 2011 a Kenyan police truck escorting a UN convoy struck a landmine, in Hagadara camp, which failed to detonate. That was first landmine that has been found in Dadaab. Following this, on the same day, there was a grenade attack on a Pentecostal Church in Garissa in which 2 died and 5 were wounded. Members of al Qaeda and Somali pirates are a constant feature of the camps. Pirates and their recruiters have a high degree of visibility, being well dressed with expensive clothing and jewelry. They can be seen daily at a café in the central market at Ifo. Being the home to such criminal organizations, the camps have also become centers for arms smuggling and illegal monetary networks.
Law Enforcement
The extortion and abuse of asylum seekers by police is common place outside of Dadaab. This became increasingly prevalent with the closure of the Somalian border. Police stationed near Liboi, northeast of Dadaab, systematically "extort money from Somali asylum seekers who cross the border in vehicles with the help of smugglers. In some cases, police then rape women and assault men." Refugees and their children have been known to be taken hostage until a ransom is paid. Many people from Dadaab, Garissa, and Liboi believed that the police were the only ones benefitting from the closure of Somalia's border with Kenya. It is also worth noting that "under the Kenyan Constitution, which reflects key provisions of international human rights treaties to which Kenya is a party, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966, and in force from March 23, 1976...
, all people in Kenya, including refugees and asylum seekers, are entitled to protection of their property, freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention, and freedom from all forms of inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment."
Social Structure of the Camps
The World Food Programme provides the foodstuffs for the camps refugees. Many of the refugees were pastoralists used to living off the milk and meat of their camels and other herd animals. The corn-soy food blend they were given by the WFP was not popular within the camp and many would only give to their animals as feed.The availability of land is a very sensitive issue in Kenya. As a result,Dadaab was located in a semi-arid region on land that has no value. The soils of the area are poor in nutrients and sandy with rivers in the area only flowing seasonally. Therefore, water is held at a premium and vegetation is sparse. The belts of green surrounding the camps are simple fruit and vegetable gardens kept by the refugees. They are only for feeding poultry and goats, and to maintain vegetal cover to keep the dust down. Cattle can not be grazed off the gardens.
Within the camps there is discrimination of ethnic Bantu's is prevalent. Bantus are the descendants of Tanzanian migrants who were the slaves of Somalians, with their historic second class status continuing in the camps. This is evident from the spatial organization of the camps.
Maintaining an attitude of trust can be hard for those interacting with the refugees. This may or may not be as a result of any action of the part of the refugee. There is a common perception among government officials, UN and aid workers that all refugees do is complain and are constantly lying and cheating in order to receive more aid. This can be a dangerous attitude to have, allowing the people running the camps to overlook the legitimate needs of the refugees.
Dependency
While the ultimate reason for the camps would apparently be to provide assistance to the refugees in Dadaab however at times they face the same economic, physical, and existential threats they faced outside the camp. Being outside the protection of ordinary citizenship rights it is responsibility of international regimes focused on refugee rights to protect the interests of the refugees. This is normally carried out by the host countries, the UNHCR, agencies involved in delivering services, and donors. There are questions however, of whether the form the regime takes in Dadaab makes the refugees more vulnerable by making them completely dependent on the camps. Refugees have very little opportunity for making an independent livelihood. Some opportunities of making an income are provided by the regime that runs the camps. Kenya, however, has severely hampered refugees abilities to become integrated into the local economy. The refugees of Dadaab are looked at as temporary guests instead of the permanent residents many of them become. In 1992, with the creation of the Dadaab camps and the arrival of over 100,000 refugees Kenyan policy regarding refugees changed. "Kenya has added multiple reservations to its signature of the 1951 Convention (on the Status of Refugees), allowing it to restrict refugee access to some of the rights outlined in the Convention such as citizenship pathaways, mobility, employment, state education, state social security, and access to health care."Environment
DeforestationDeforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
is commonly viewed as a problem by Kenyan authorities, aid organizations, and refugees. There is disagreement about the degree of the problem however. Refugees, in particular, have been accused of using unsustainable practices in collecting firewood. As a result of the deforestation rates refugees and locals have to walk long distances to find firewood. This job is normally performed by women and puts them at great risk of being raped or sexually assaulted.
Relations with Locals
The relationship between the UNHCR camps and the local population is mixed. The creation of the camps has brought urban enclaves into the Northeastern Provinces of Kenya, bringing with it infrastructureInfrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
and trade which would not have existed other wise. Unlike the surrounding area Dadaab has health facilities and an educational system. With the creation of the camps there also came running water and a slaughterhouse.
See also
LiboiLiboi
Liboi is a town in North Eastern Province of Kenya. It is located 18 kilometres west of the Somali border, and is an important border crossing point to Somalia. Liboi is located along the A3 road, 75 kilometres east of Dadaab and 175 kilometres east of Garissa, the provincial and district capital...
- a town in the North Eastern Province located 75 kilometres east of Dadaab.