KANERE - A Refugee Free PressBy Tolossa Asrat – KANERE Volunteer Writer, September 2021
COMMUNITY TALKING POINTS: Will the camp closure possibly affect you and your family?
No: To be honest, I think I am not the one affected. I feel it is the time to go. There is no benefit of staying at Kakuma Refugee Camp.
– Baluu Wol from South Sudan, Journalist
Yes: I think this is not the right time to send us back where we fled from.
– Solomon Hailu, from Ethiopia, Incentive staff
By Akuna Denza – KANERE Staff Writer, February 2021
Kalobeyei residents face a shortage of water as women turn to alternative sources to alleviate/mitigate the water concern.
Dear KANERE readers,
We are pleased to publish a new edition of Kakuma News Reflector (KANERE).
Since 2008, KANERE has focused on issues that matter to refugees based in Kakuma refugee camp. We continue to report under adverse conditions, in the face of immense financial and security challenges.
In this publication, we offer fact-based insight and analysis from the ground to our readers and supporters. The stories in this edition draw attention to how refugees are reluctantly abiding by necessary restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. As well as recently enacted enforcement measures, we examine the impact of climate change on refugees and its role in the growing number of refugees being displaced within Kakuma camps.
Dear KANERE readers and supporters,
We are delighted to publish a new edition of Kakuma News Reflector or KANERE.
Like the previous issue, this edition focuses on Covid-19 coverage. As an independent and refugee-lead media organization, KANERE has been at the frontline in thwarting misinformation and making sure that refugees in Kakuma and Kalobeyei have access to the valid information that is needed for an effective public health response. Following a partial lockdown announcement in Kakuma and Dadaab, effective from April 29th, the first coronavirus infection in Kakuma camp was confirmed on May 25th.
By the KANERE Editorial Team
The Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (aka COVID-19) has already impacted many countries around the world, especially in China, Iran, Europe and the United States.
In Africa, at least 52 countries have confirmed cases. Over 13,000 people have tested positive, and more than 700 of them have died. Kenya reported its first case in mid-March, and as the virus continues to spread to new counties, refugees in Kakuma are anxious that the virus will eventually reach the camp.
In the coming weeks, the Kakuma News Reflector will make Covid-19 a special focus. The editorial team is working overtime to report on the responses by humanitarian agencies and the government, as well as the ways that communities are dealing with the threat.
By Baluu Wol Makuach – KANERE Staff Writer April, 2020
On April 2nd, KANERE correspondent Baluu Wol Makuach visited Food Distribution Point 1 to see how the World Food Programme (WFP) was delivering rations under the increased health precautions. To curb the spread of Covid-19 in Kakuma, WFP is distributing a double ration of two months of relief food to beneficiaries.
This is the first story published in KANERE’s Photo Essay series, told through images rather than a conventional written article.
By KANERE staff reporter, May 2019
What do you think about the refugees integration and the freedom of movement? The Refugee Affairs secretariat (RAS), the main body responsible for refugees in Kenya, in conjunction with UNHCR, Refugee Consortiumof Kenya (RCK), and other implementing agencies held a one-day meeting with refugees on May 12th to discuss integration in Kalobeyei.
“When they arrived, they were many, they carried big sticks, and they used force. I was bleeding from my head as a result of the beating,”
– Leader of Refugee Flag Kakuma told KANERE in an interview on the scene/”LGBTIQ protest interrupted by violence outside UNHCR sub-office”
“It is just another bureaucracy,” Said Henrik, a community leader who spend more than 25 days waiting to meet the agencies officials to receive his number,”
– Henrik a refugee community leader told KANERE/”Using Tech to Bring Services closer to Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the Camp”
“after they killed him, they took his phone and money from his pocket.”
– Close relative to Deng told KANERE/”Violent Robbery Results in Refugee Death”
“I thought my refugee status would be determined within a year after arrival. but this has not been the case at all,” he explained. “I was denied opportunities because my status determination was incomplete, and people I met at UNHCR were not helpful,”
– Tamiru an Ethiopian asylum seeker with her experience of RSD rejection/”Refugees receive RSD letters from RAS”
“The two clans belong to Luo Nuer, and the reason for the fight was recycled from the last year,”
– Explained community security worker Gat Dak in Kakuma 4/”Two killed in communal violence”
“The programme is comfortable and its really helpful”
– Jilo one of the beneficiaries from refugee community/ “SNHU Global Education Movement (GEM) and Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL) Introduce New Programme for Kakuma Residents at Student-Employer Networking Event”
“They told me to call someone with computer skills after finishing the two steps process. It takes more than a week to find help because I do not have the computer skills to schedule my own appointment,”
– Explained an Oromo refugee, who wishes to remain anonymous at the field post Centre two/”Using Tech to Bring Services closer to Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the Camp”
“Matom was imprisoned in a murder case, but the person who impregnated his sister has fled from Kakuma. The girl is in UNHCR protection area with her child,”
– John Sudanese youth leader told KANERE/”Two killed in communal violence”
“The police are supposed to solve land conflicts and refer the case for resolution. However, if the police see money in the conflict, they take bribes from both parties. The winner is often the one who paid more,”
– says a refugee with experience in shelter disputes/ “Kenya’s black market in “refugee real estate”
“I counted ten bullets holes in his body, two on the neck,” a close relative of Saladhin told KANERE,”
– a close relative of Saladhin told KANERE/ “Political refugee killed by Kakuma police”
“I am in fear for my life, and I am not sure what to do with my business,”
– Farhan told the KANERE journalist at his shop in November/ “Refugee business entrepreneur facing life threats”
“I was trying to resist and I got one of them down but when the other hit my head with a sharp machete, I fell down,”
– Ali told KANERE/ “Refugee man shot and wounded”
“I heard him crying and asking for mercy for more than ten minutes, then gun rumbles followed,”
– an anonymous witness told KANERE/ “Political refugee killed by Kakuma police”
“As a single mother, i needed more than the food supplied by the UN. So, i came up with this plan of baking and selling biscuits,”
– explains Axlam, a Somali woman living in Kakuma/ “Kenya’s black market in “refugee real estate”
“Land allocation is a big factor but we’re determined to see peaceful co-existence between the refugees and local community,”
– claimed Governor Nanok speaking at a previous World Refugee Day event/ “Refugee business entrepreneur facing life threats”
“We gathered at the scene of murder, we were shocked and nobody can question the police action,”
– a Sudanese local elder addressed the mourning crowd/ “Political refugee killed by Kakuma police”
“I was beaten in the market by local women (Turkanas) for a reason not known to me,”
– Felicia, a business woman in Kalobeyei told KANERE/ “Refugee business entrepreneur facing life threats”
“I was on the ground, then the trio move backwards and one of them fired the gun at me. That was all I could remember,”
– Ali told KANERE in an interview/ “Refugee man shot and wounded”
“We welcome the announcement to reconsider the closure of camps and we hope repatriation remains voluntary for all Somali refugees,”
– A Somali community leader told KANERE/ “Closure of Refugee Camps”
“They were diagnosed with second degree burns which were generalised over the body in addition to inhalation burns,”
– Reads a doctor’s statement found by KANERE at Nairobi National Hospital/ “Mother and son died in arson attack”
“If my personal information and location are identified, then my life will be in danger,”
– A refugee who refused to expose his nationality said at the verification’s field post one in the camp/ “Refugee Verification Exercise”
“She told me that I don’t have any legal right to discuss this case of the accident with their office, that as a South Sudanese, that I don’t have any right,”
– Emmanuel Adah, Beatrice’s father said he had been intimidated by the Film Aid Official in an interview with KANERE/ “NGO vehicle knocked down a refugee child”
“Each day we do a daily show at different places all over Kakuma and we will deliver laughs and we love to see people laugh,”
– Gabi Winter, an actress told the KANERE reporter at camp 3/ “Resilience in Laughter”
“This is quite unique and we feel concerned about the security issues for the refugees,”
– Somali refugee leaders told KANERE at field post two/ “Refugee Verification Exercise”
“I heard some commotion, I ran out of my house only to find my daughter lying by the road side with blood oozing from her head,”
– Dola Beatrice’s mother told KANERE in an interview/ “NGO vehicle knocked down a refugee child”
“I feel happy to attend the shows and it boosts the amount of sleep, it feels happy in my mind,”
– Shukria, a young Somali woman remarked/ “Resilience in Laughter”
“I arrived in Ifo camp in Dadaab in 1994, since then I never moved out of here. I can’t return because it’s not safe now,”
– Abdallah Hajji told KANERE/ “Closure of Refugee Camps”
“The amazing thing with the physical comedy is that you can reach people across language barriers. I still have images of laughing audience flashing across my eyes when I go to sleep,”
– Henrik Bothe told KANERE in an interview/ “Resilience in Laughter”