Somali refugees are being coerced to return home from the Dadaab, a new research by Amnesty International shows.
In a report, Not Time to Go Home, returnees interviewed said they were living in overcrowded camps in Somalia. They said they were forced to leave the Daadab camp.
Others left because of dwindling food rations and services while some said they returned because of fears, stoked by Kenyan government officials, that they would be forced back with no assistance.
“In its zeal to return refugees, the Kenyan government has made much of small security improvements in Somalia. The grim reality is that many parts of the country are still plagued by violence and poverty,” Amnesty International Head of Refugee and Migrants Rights Charmain Mohamed said.
The report came even as UN High Commissioner for Refugees Fillipo Grandi said those being repatriated had voluntarily decided to return. He spoke after winding up his regional trip with a visit at the refugee camp.
The refugees fled from drought, conflict and hunger in Somalia . They are being repatriated amidst a severe humanitarian crisis back home.
More than two million people face starvation in the drought-stricken Somalia with the UN saying it was on the verge of a deep humanitarian crisis. The horn of Africa nation has been plagued by famine and conflict, with al Shabaab terrorising the country.
There are about 500,000 refugees in Kenya. Some 285,705 are Somalis residing at the Daadab camp that was established in 1991.
According to UNHCR records as of December 15, 72,362 Somali refugees had been repatriated from Daadab to Kismayu, Mogadishu, Baidoa and other areas with 17,791 others set to leave in coming months.
New arrivals of about 6,000 have been reported at the Daadab even though government has stopped registration of new refugees. That means the new arrivals are not on ration program.
Amnesty has called for integration of the refugees in Kenya as a long term sustainable solution.
“As the situation of returnees in Somalia becomes increasingly desperate, large scale returns from Dadaab are simply not viable. Rather than pushing refugees into a humanitarian crisis, the Kenyan government should be looking for sustainable solutions, including offering opportunities for local integration in Kenya,” Mohamed said.
“But it cannot do this alone. The international community needs to step up its response, which so far has been woeful, contributing to the suffering of refugees and returnees."