security as a challenge facing refugees in kenya and the solutions

INTRODUCTION

 A refugee is a person who is owing to a well-founding fear being persecuted for the reason of race, religion, membership of a particular group or even political option is outside the country of nationality, and is unable or owing to such fear is unwilling to avail himself of protection of that country or who not having a nationality of being outside the country of former residence as a result of such events, is unable or owing to such fears, is unwilling to return to it.     

  Kenya has several refugee camps which are located near the boundaries; they are Dadaab, Kakuma refugee camp which is situated in Turkana district, a semi-arid region in north-west Kenya just 95 kilometers south of the Sudanese border. Kenya hosts refugees from Sudanese, Somalis, Ethiopians, Rwandans, Burundians, Ugandans, Congolese and individual families from Liberia and the Seychelles.

A refugee is like any other person and has rights and obligations. Here are some of rights of a refugee: freedom of movements, right of worship, and right of association, right of life, right to be protected, right to access of social amenities like education, health facilitates

Challenges facing refugees in Kenya and their solutions

1.      Security

 Basically it is the responsibility if the state to protect its citizens and if it fails it’s citizens do suffer a lot from violations and mat be forced to move away from the country in search of security in another country. The situation in Dadaab as reported by the UNHCR in 1998 was deteriorating despite the installed fence, banditry attacks. These attacks are mainly started by themselves especially to women, children by the male adults. Sexual abuse is a daily occurrence to the girls and women living in the camps, FGM is also prevalent to the refugees in the northern part of Kenya as well as abduction for the purpose of forced marriage in the country of origin.

Another form of violence experienced by the refugees is quarrels with the local population who find refugees as intruders. In Turkana, the main source of violence is from raiding the cattle by those leaving near the camps or in and is mostly armed.

Now that the situation in Sudan has improved, the camp population has dropped from highs of more than 90,000 as many Sudanese refugees have been resettled recently. However, these refugees leave behind empty houses which provide an ideal hangout for thieves at night. One refugee told us (the International Rescue Committee), "There have been incidents where men come. Two or three of them will have guns and others will have cutlasses. They hide in the houses. The police have been coming and doing patrols. It has helped to reduce the attacks but we are still worried. Work has also begun in the camp to demolish the empty houses.

To solve this problem

a)      There should arrangements in the camps to promote security as well as put in place police and check points.

b)      The community around should also be educated on the importance of security and protecting its people.

c)      Camps can be moved away from the border

d)      There should be efficient registration and documentation of new arrivals and the existing refugee population. It has benefits to refugees like: certainty to rights, access to basic needs, curbing police harassment of refugees, public awareness