Find ways to deal with refugee crisis
By Editorial.Team, June 21, 2023Kenyans yesterday joined the global community to mark the World Refugee Day. The day is designated by the United Nations to celebrate the strength and courage of refugees and other forcibly displaced people.
Due to its long period of relative peace and tranquility, Kenya hosts 612, 413 registered refugees and asylum seekers. Nearly 84, per cent of this population is resident in the camps while the balance is in urban areas. Somali, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo are the three sources of Kenya’s refugee population.
The asylum seekers are largely victims of conflicts in the Horn of Africa and the adverse effects of climate. According to the survey launched by President Ruto last month, the ongoing conflicts in DRC, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan gave rise to some of the largest outflows of refugees in sub-Saharan Africa. And while refugees have been traditionally perceived as a financial and resource burden for the host communities, the attitude is fast changing. Initially, migrants have been treated as unwanted intruders keen to exploit opportunities meant for the locals.
These suspicions have been deployed to stir hostility for individuals fleeing harm by blocking them to access to jobs and essential services through punitive laws.
Many refugees are unable to fend for themselves, take children to schools, tap into their potential to be useful members of the host societies. There is a tendency at blanket criminalisation of asylum seekers, though have been a few bad apples. We are, however, encouraged that Kenya is fast embracing the global conversation on the accommodation, resettlement and orderly repatriation of asylum seekers. We have got a responsibility to welcome neighbours in distress and provide an environment that protects their dignity and fundamental human rights. Kenya is a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol that help protect refugees and outline their rights, including the right to work, education and housing. Even with burden that comes with it, the Kenyan government should come up with enabling policies that empower refugees to engage in productive employment or livelihoods.
Importantly, regional leaders must tackle issues that result in forced migration and displacement of people.