somali refugees in kenya

Send Facebook Twitter reddit EMail Facebook Messenger Web Whatsapp Web Telegram linkedin. A diplomatic spat between Kenya and Somalia is now affecting trade, particularly Somalis living in Kenya. The return of Somali refugees is 'no longer voluntary, dignified nor safe,' an aid agency has said. Neither Somalia nor Kenya can afford the dispute turning into a protracted crisis: The two East African nations share a long land border and have strong socioeconomic ties. Kenya has vowed to close Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in the world. About half a million Somali refugees are said to be living in refugee camps in Kenya. Kenya has hosted more than 400,000 Somali refugees for two decades. It has also invested heavily in Somalia’s post-conflict reconstruction and hosted several conferences that played an important role in the success of peace-building efforts in Somalia. And what will happen to the Somali refugees in Kenya? A second large influx occurred in 2011, when some 130,000 refugees arrived, fleeing drought and famine in … Somalia cut diplomatic relations with neighboring Kenya on Tuesday, accusing it of meddling in politics. The Somali refugee population in Kenya stands at 265,811 out of the overall 494,585 registered refugees and asylum seekers in the country. There is still a clear path to peaceful coexistence and neighbourly cooperation and the two nations should get on it before its too late. Kenya seems to be failing to understand that no Somali leader in their right mind would dare an out of court settlement with Kenya since it would turn the public opinion against them. Issues like the trade imbalance, Khat exports, visa regimes, and border security can be resolved swiftly and effectively if both governments commit to following the recommendations of this technical and bilateral committee. See more ideas about somali refugees, somali, refugee. © 2021 Deutsche Welle | ", Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo accuses Kenya of interference. We hope this will end well.". [73] Although the camps' infrastructure … Juliet Njau, a Kenyan national, told DW that Somalia is ungrateful for the support her country has provided to Somali refugees and its efforts to bring peace to Somalia. Kenya, on the other hand, hosts hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees and is home to a large population of ethnic Somalis. It is safe to say this case, whose final hearing is due in March 2021, has influenced how Nairobi treats Mogadishu. Somalia, where Khat is widely enjoyed, has long been Kenya’s main export market for the red-stemmed, chewable green shrub. In Somalia, despite the moderate gains made in the past three years, the humanitarian situation in 2020 is expected to remain fragile, with over some 24.2 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in Sub-Saharan Africa. In March, however, Somalia practically banned Khat imports from Kenya, citing the spread of COVID-19 as the reason. “I was happy to go back home when I was assured of good security, education and food,” he said. The Somali authorities, rather than taking punitive measures against Kenya such as expelling its ambassador, should directly discuss their grievances over the issue with Kenya’s leaders. Despite having internal displacement and refugee crises of their own, countries like Yemen and Ethiopia have a long-standing history of welcoming refugees from Somalia. Domestic politics has also played a role in Somalia’s decision to sever diplomatic ties with Kenya. Contact “Kenya, it should be noted, is a Troop-Contributing Country to AMISOM, and hosts a large community of Somali refugees,” Faki said referring to the African Union forces in Somalia, to which Kenya Defence Forces have sent troops. According to the 2019 Kenya census, approximately 2,780,502 ethnic Somalis live in Kenya. The trade bloc already started putting pressure on Somalia to resolve its diplomatic tiff with Kenya during its 38th Extraordinary Assembly in late December and convinced Mogadishu to “take the first steps” to resolve the dispute. Kenya hosts the largest number of Somali refugees (more than 313,000 as of April 2017), most of concentrated in the Dadaab Refugee Complex, in Garissa County near the Somali border. Send us a text at +49-160-9575 9510. International SMS charges apply. Somalia blames its neighbor for 'meddling in its internal affairs', a charge, Kenya denies. The bottom line is that Somalia and Kenya cannot afford bad blood. Treatment of Somali refugees in Kenya. Ethiopia, which has close ties to both countries and has recently played a leading role in the resolution of many regional conflicts, can take steps to bring the two administrations to the negotiating table. In 2014, for example, UNHCR submitted only 4,325 Somali refugees in Kenya for resettlement, representing 1 percent of the Somali refugee population in the country. Somalia and Kenya can take several steps, together and independently, to ease current tensions and resolve outstanding issues: A committee consisting of Somali and Kenyan technocrats can be tasked with mapping the issues and grievances between the two nations and offering policy recommendations. Kenya, on the other hand, hosts hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees and is home to a large population of ethnic Somalis. DADAAB, Kenya, 25 July 2011 – Driving the nearly 100 kilometre sand road from the Somali border to the refugee camps in Dadaab, Kenya, is like an otherworldly odyssey across an … Kenyan Defense Forces (KDF) serving under AMISOM in Somalia are facing criticism for allegedly targeting Somali telecommunications towers, which are crucial to the local economy as they are used not only for communication but also for monetary transactions, under the guise of trying to break al-Shabab’s communication channels. But his family members weren’t refugees, and they weren’t born in Somalia – they were born in Kenya, and he says his father faked their refugee status in the 1990s to get into the US. The Somali diaspora also has significant investments in Kenya due to the relatively favourable working and market conditions in the country. Do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera ’ s five semi-autonomous States which border Kenya, where raised. 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