All we need is a chance — Woman defying the odds of refugee life

Joelle Hangi, 26, was born in Eastern Congo but has been living as a refugee in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Turkana, since 2014. 

 "What I can say about the experience is that first, it was not easy. The transition from a French-speaking country to an English-speaking one was hard," she said. 

"Everything is new and you don't know how to start life, but despite all the trauma I was going through, I just wanted to continue with my life."

According to the Eastern Congo Council of Affairs, the wars in Eastern Congo began in 1994, and the civilians caught in the crossfires have suffered the most.

"The death toll in the country has topped 5.4 million, mostly in the east, while nearly three million people remain displaced and more than a million women and girls have been victims of rape," reads the council website. 

Civilians are targeted for supporting rebel groups or for their ethnic identity. 

"They have been robbed, displaced from their homes and villages, and pressed into service as slaves," read the website. 

"Women have borne the brunt of sexual violence, wielded as a weapon of war. Driven from their homes, many have died from hunger and disease."

For security reasons, Joelle declined to discuss her personal experience back home. 

Despite her will to move on, inadequate support, unmet needs and lack of study opportunities made the process of transitioning harder. 

'I AM KAKUMA'

"I couldn't speak English and the system is in English. For example, if you have any documents, you need to translate them, and that needs money. It was a headache for me," she said.

In spite of the challenges she faced, she learned English and went through training, from which she got her first scholarship with Film Aid Kenya. 

"I did the course for a year between 2015 and 16, then after that, I started working as support staff for several organisations," she said. 

"I worked with the International Rescue Committee for two years as a human resource assistant and after that, I got a scholarship to continue with my degree."

Before she fled to Kenya, Joelle had completed only three months of her first year in university. 

"I had just finished high school and was doing economics at campus. Using the scholarship, I completed my three-year diploma in business," she said. 

She earned another scholarship for an associate degree after working for  Jesuit Worldwide Learning, which provides tertiary learning to marginalised people and communities. 

"I am now working on my online degree in business communication," she said.  

In 2016, she started the Refugee Artistes and Authors initiative to help refugee youth with talents who are unable to use them to earn incomes. 

"We basically try to organise events and exhibitions so artistes can bring what they have been working on and we call people to provide them the exposure," she said. 

Through the initiative, she met former journalist Geert Van Asbeck last year and together, they started the 'I am Kakuma' website. 

Asbeck, a local representative of PUM Netherlands senior experts, hopes the platform will help people who have never been to the camp see that refugees have their own ambitions. 

PUM advises businesses in developing countries and emerging markets and links them to Dutch professionals. 

"As a journalist, I noticed that a lot of stories written about refugees are from journalists. Refugees rarely have an opportunity to tell the stories on their own, and that's why we started the 'I am Kakuma' website," he said. 

Joelle adds that the world does not have a clear picture of refugees and their lives at the camp.

"We are always portrayed by humanitarian organisations as vulnerable people who always need help," she said. 

"We do, but we also have something to offer because we are citizens of other countries and we came with our knowledge still intact. We can work when we are provided with opportunities, but the world does not know who refugees are, they only know data."

She says people are shocked when she reveals she is a refugee. 

"These are the things I am trying to pass and demystify myths about refugees. We may be going through hard times but that does not define who we are, all we need is an opportunity," she said. 

INNOVATION UNIT

For Joelle, the opportunity to continue with her studies provided her with a window to see things differently, and she started applying for internships after completing her associate degree. 

"Because we are in rural areas, whereby we do not have any exposure to the world. There a child is given a jerrican covered with old blankets and told that is a fridge," she said. 

"That child is deprived of more exposure so they grow up with that mentality. They are living under a poverty trap so whenever you are poor, you are living to earn the basics."

For this reason, coupled with the restrictions refugees live under despite getting an education, people are slow to seek opportunities. 

"People are like, they cannot apply for opportunities because of the restrictions. We have restrictions of work, movement and even interaction with neighbouring communities," she said. 

"But even when you try, you are told despite being qualified, they cannot hire a refugee."

Joelle applied for police clearance and internship work permit before she could be allowed to work. Most employers are not ready to go through the processes and hire 'readily available' people. 

"For us, though, we are new in the country and we are willing to be ready, but it seems the country is not ready to accommodate us. The system is still a big challenge to us," she said.

"I needed a real opportunity because some of my peers ended up doing their internships in church. Imagine doing business communication or public management and ending up in the church because that is the only opportunity you have."

She spent almost four months out of school because she could not get an internship opportunity. 

When she first tried, she was excited because she had reached the last level of the interviews and was among the top five picks. 

"It was open for anyone around the world but at the last minute, they told me, they couldn't take me because I was a refugee. It almost feels like you are carrying a disability with you," she said. 

When she was finally called for an opportunity at the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, she was skeptical. 

She thought the commission had dialled the wrong number when she was told she had gotten the job. 

"When I went there, people were surprised when I told them about my refugee status," she said. 

She was recruited by an innovation unit to support them in identifying refugee needs and how to respond to them effectively.  

"They are starting to realise that if I am working for them, maybe there are others who can work, too. It is helping them think beyond what they have been doing," she said. 

Joelle's unit is mandated to find ways of having refugee inclusion in their system and listening to their views. 

"I was working on communicating with the community to see how to approach and accommodate them in the programme," she said. 

She was there for three months before she received another three-month extension. 

"It's helping them think beyond what they have been doing, which seems not to be responding effectively. Looking at the reality, the refugee crisis keeps increasing, and it may be because of how they have been approaching the situation," she said. 

She is also working on starting an initiative for refugee women to have safe spaces, where they are able to share their experiences. 

"They can share among themselves and help them to overcome, look for a way to empower them and move on with life," she said.