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KENYA / GUTERRES
STORY: KENYA / GUTERRES
TRT: 2.51
SOURCE: UNHCR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / SOMALI / NATS
DATELINE: 4 AUGUST 2009, DADAAB REFUGEE CAMP, NORTHWEST KENYA
4 AUGUST 2009, DADAAB REFUGEE CAMP, NORTHWEST KENYA
1. Various shots, daily life in the camp and overcrowded conditions
SOUNDBITE (Somali) Hawa Ali Hassan, Somali refugee:
“I had ten children, and when I fled from Mogadishu – there was heavy war going on in the area. I could not collect all my children at the same time. So they were killed because of the bombings going on, and guns. I realize my four children are dead…
I came here with my husband and other children.”
3. Various shots, daily life in the camp and overcrowded conditions
4. Various shots, registration of new arrivals
4. Various shots, UN High Commissioner touring camp
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees:
“Unfortunately the situation in Somalia remains a very difficult one, every month 5,000 people come to Dadaab from Somalia. This has generated an enormous problem, making it extremely difficult to provide the support and protection these people need.”
6. Various shots, daily life in the camp and overcrowded conditions
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Adan Sug, MP, Kenya:
“I think there’s need to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. As a representative of the local community here, we have a problem with congestion in the camp. Because this camp is very close to local settlements around here, and tension is building between the locals and the refugees.”
8. Various shots, UN High Commissioner touring camp
9. Various shots, refugees in camp
Dadaab, on the Kenya-Somalia border, is the largest refugee camp in the world – and it’s still growing. The settlement already holds more than three times the number of people it’s meant to – but there’s no sign that the influx will stop.
Almost all of these refugees are from Somalia, which is considered to be the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
SOUNDBITE (Somali) Hawa Ali Hassan, Somali refugee:
“I had ten children, and when I fled from Mogadishu – there was heavy war going on in the area. I could not collect all my children at the same time. So they were killed because of the bombings going on, and guns. I realize my four children are dead…
I came here with my husband and other children.”
So this is home for 280,000 people, and with thousands of new refugees arriving every month, the only solution is either to expand the camp or create a new one and soon. But first the Kenyan government has to agree. And so far, no accord has been reached.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, visits the camp to show just how urgent the need is for more space.
SOUNDBITE (English) Antonio Guterres, UN High Commissioner for Refugees:
“Unfortunately the situation in Somalia remains a very difficult one, every month 5,000 people come to Dadaab from Somalia. This has generated an enormous problem, making it extremely difficult to provide the support and protection these people need.”
Chronic overcrowding means the living conditions are sub-standard and that UNHCR can’t provide the help it needs, leaving the refugees struggling to cope with basic needs: sanitation, water and health.
Women refugees say that collecting water containers used to be a simple chore, but now people are beginning to fight because the new arrivals come to fetch water at the same time.
The camp – which is made up of three huge sections – has been here for more than two decades. It has put an enormous strain on scarce local resources in one of the most underdeveloped and isolated areas of Kenya.
Such a large concentration of refugees in this area has caused major environmental degradation, as well as security problems. Local movement is often restricted by government officials and security forces.
People living around here feel they pay a high price for hosting the refugees, as the local MP explains.
SOUNDBITE (English) Adan Sug, MP, Kenya:
“I think there’s need to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. As a representative of the local community here, we have a problem with congestion in the camp. Because this camp is very close to local settlements around here, and tension is building between the locals and the refugees.”
This is the challenge facing the High Commissioner as he tours the camp and talks to the refugees. UNHCR says it is committed to do everything possible to improve conditions, and hopes that talks with the Kenyan government are fruitful soon.
Meanwhile, refugees keep arriving – and the numbers are increasing. At the latest count, 6,500 crossed the border this month.
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