On May 6th, the Kenyan government announced plans to close the Dadaab refugee camp, home to several hundred thousand Somali refugees, by the end of this year. Since December 2014, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), supported by donor governments, has facilitated the return of 28,000 refugees from Dadaab to Somalia. However, with Kenya’s push to close Dadaab, the voluntary nature of the returns has been called into question.
The majority of returned refugees have arrived in Kismayo, the capital city of the Lower Juba region in Jubaland, Somalia. Kisimayo, once a stronghold of the Al-Shabaab terrorist group, is now controlled by government and African Union soldiers, but just several kilometers outside of the city center, Al-Shabaab remains a potent presence. On August 30th, citing “severe humanitarian challenges,” the Jubaland authorities suspended the reception of new returnees to Kismayo. The city is home to around 40,000 internally displaced people (IDPs), and with a lack of alternative options, some of the returned refugees have taken up residence in IDP settlements there.
Dalxiska IDP settlement in Kismayo. Access to basic services are extremely limited for the residents here, and for many IDPs, land tenure issues could lead to forced evictions. Thousands of children in IDP settlements lack any access to education. So far, a reported 15 percent of returned refugees to Kismayo are now living as IDPs. Some have used the money from their return package to set up small businesses, like this kiosk in Dalxiska. Recently returned refugees from Dadaab gather at a way station in Kismayo. Some told RI that they had fled to Dadaab during the 2011-2012 famine, but others fled during different periods of conflict and drought and had been living in Dadaab for 10, 15, and even 20 years. RI staff listen to concerns from recently returned refugees. For many, gaining access to secure land and durable shelter is a key challenge. RI President, Michel Gabaudan, meets with women who recently returned from Dadaab. They described an intense campaign by officials in Kenya imploring that it was time to return to Somalia. Now that they are in Kismayo, some worry how or if their children will be able to go to school.Landscape on the outskirts of Kismayo. The last harvest was well below average and with the potential poor rainfall due to La Nina, drought conditions are expected. The climate conditions in Somalia cause a challenge for former agro-pastoralists returning from Dadaab to re-establish to their previous livelihoods.
