Refugee women, children bear brunt of policy barriers

Kituo Cha Sheria Forced Migration Programme Larissa Truchan during a workshop on Feature Reporters Sensitisation to Media Coverage of Refugees at the Nairobi Safari Club on March 10, 2022. The workshop was jointly organised by the Kenya Editors Guild and Kenya Human Rights Commission.

Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • Refugees can be productive and contribute to the economy if given the opportunity and an enabling environment.
  • The Covid-19 crisis and the ongoing drought threaten the resilience of refugees, increasing their despair and hopelessness.

Refugee communities in Kakuma and Dadaab camps still grapple with policy barriers that limit their rights to work, move freely, and access financial services.

A study, Let Them Work, adds that political barriers, such as negative perceptions of refugees limit the political will for change and contribute to economic problems like limited job opportunities and a difficult climate for private-sector investment in host areas.

The study was conducted by the Centre for Global Development (CGD) and Refugees International and funded by the IKEA Foundation and the Western Union Foundation.

Refugee situation.

Photo credit: Chart | Nation Media Group

The Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing drought threaten the resilience of refugees, increasing their despair and hopelessness, coupled by the uncertainty of the closure of the camps whose June 30 deadline is fast approaching.

And while conflicts affect all, women and children are often bear the brunt, with data suggesting that they make up 76 per cent of the total refugee population in Kenya.

Determination

Ms Larissa Truchan of Kituo cha Sheria says that despite refugees being victims of trauma, they are strong, resilient and capable survivors capable of making decisions.

“In the face of a crisis, refugees demonstrate courage, determination, and creativity. Women refugees, for example, advocate quality healthcare and permanent shelters for themselves and their families; they organise and seek education, employment and even business opportunities,” she says.

Refugees are perceived as burdens to host communities, sucking money and resources, but they can be productive and contribute to the Kenyan economy and society if given the opportunity and an enabling environment.

“Many refugees have high credentials, which locals are losing out on by stuffing them in camps and not thinking about integration. Many professionals, who are resettled from Dadaab and Kakuma, successfully practise their trade abroad, talents that Kenya would have tapped into,” said Ms Truchan.