KANERE - A Refugee Free Press
Volume 1, Issue 2 / January 2009
In Kakuma Refugee Camp parlance, a distinction is made between “incentive” and “salary” payments. Refugees with proper qualifications and competence in their fields employed by international organizations are paid “incentives” and not salary. The incentives are far below what their non-refugee counterparts earn in the form of salaries. Are refugees entitled to equal pay for equal work?
Volume 1, Issue 2 / January 2009 The Anti-Warehousing Campaign spearheaded by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI), an NGO based in New York, is changing refugee situations world-wide. More than 130 signatory NGOs from all over the world and prominent personalities, including three U.S. Senators, have joined the campaign.
Volume 1, Issue 2 / January 2009
Information is power, and sharing information with refugees on matters that affect their lives is vital. Refugee Status Determination Watch (RSD Watch, www.RSDWatch.org) is an organization devoted to just this purpose—disseminating information to create awareness on and advocate for refugee rights under the RSD process.
Volume 1, Issue 1 / December 2008
I wonder how one can explain to an African parent—who grew up knowing spanking as the only way to correct a child—that it is wrong to do so because every child has a right not to be hit and to be talked to with love. I recently witnessed a scenario in which a mother refused to feed and clothe her child because he was naughty, commanding him to go to the Child Right’s Office at Lutheran World Federation (LWF) to be catered for.
Volume 1, Issue 1 / December 2008
The children look emaciated, tired, and older than their real age. A look in their faces will tell you that they lack much hope for their future lives. These are the children who labor throughout Kakuma Refugee Camp as household help. I happened to meet some these children and had the opportunity to interview them about their lives. I came to the conclusion that most youth don’t work for sheer pleasure, but only so that they may eke out a living.