Nothing to write home about

Following relative stability in the country, Kenya has been home to thousands of refugees from the Great Lakes and the Horn of Africa regions. While the refugees are supposed to live in Daadab and Kakuma camps located in the northern part of the country, a number of them have opted to live in the relative safety of Nairobi in order to escape congestion and insecurity that pervade the camps.
But according to Emmanuel Nyabera, the United Nations High Commission to Refugees [UNHCR] Public Information Officer, the refugees living in Nairobi are doing so illegally since according to the Kenyan law, refugees shouldn’t live out of camps.
Official records indicate that Daadab camp holds the majority of refugees, with a total of 14548 people. Strangely though, the number of refugees has been escalating even after peace has returned to some of their countries. But as their numbers continue to swell, so does their plight. Food, clothing, shelter and education remain their major problems. Add to these the continued violation of their rights, including rapes in the camps and you get a picture of a wretched lot.
According to Nyabera, UNHCR sub office in Kakuma currently provides protection and assistance to 88,996 refugees from nine countries namely; Sudan,Somalia,Ethiopia, Rwanda,Burundi, DRC, Eritrea, Sierra Leone and Central African Republic.
A November 2004 report on human rights violation seems not to have been taken seriously by the host country. The report, “The hidden in plains”, was compiled by Harrison Parker, a human rights researcher. Among its recommendations, the report asked the host countries to improve their contributions so that the plight of refugees could come to an end But one year down the line, nothing seems to have changed.
Nyabera, however, notes that there is some light at the end of the tunnel.UNHCR is currently tackling the problem of sexual harassment. The sexual exploitation takes place in two ways. In the first instance, female refugees are sexually exploited by aid workers due to their vulnerability. In other circumstances, it is the women who sexually harass aid workers for favours.
UNHCR has implemented the code of conduct that every worker has to sign. This is aimed at curbing the cases of sexual exploitation. It dictates the terms of contacts between the employees and the refugees, which every worker has to sign before hand. This code of conduct is also extended to the other organizations that work hand in hand with UNHCR like World Vision, Care International, Donbosco, International Rescue Committee, German Development Cooperation Agency (GTZ) and the International Federation of Red Cross.and Red Crescent.
The refugees also complain of water and sanitation problems. Due to lack of sufficient water, kitchen gardens expected to provide green vegetables are not operating fully and efficiently so as to provide adequate micronutrients. The poor sanitation can also lead to outbreak of diseases. The net amount of water received per refugee per day is below the recommended standards, thus forcing the refugees to fetch water from dry riverbeds.
But through the Hygiene and Environmental Sanitation Promotion (‘HEESP) programme, the refugee population is trained on safe hygiene practices in order to curb the spread of communicable diseases caused by poor sanitation.
With the availability of only three hospitals situated in IFO, DAGAHALEY and HAGADERA, the refugees’ medical needs are not properly catered. Complicated medical cases that cannot be attended at the camp level are referred to the Garissa Provincial Hospital or Nairobi for further specialized treatment.
In education sector, the refugees complain of congestion in schools due to inadequate classrooms. This creates an unfavourable learning environment. There is shortage in textbooks and other materials, which inhibit progressive learning. The shortage of enough teaching staff forces the students to go without lessons.
With time, the situation has been reduced with Care International taking the responsibility of providing education and training the refugee children at all levels of education. Special education is also being offered to elementary learners with hearing, mental among other disabilities.