Categories
Quotes of the Month

Quotes of the Month October – November

“The return of Somali refugees must be voluntary, conducted in safety and dignity.”

– The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Mr. Guterres told Kenyan officials/ “Somali Repatriation”

 

“We call upon the members of the community to maintain peace, it is unfortunate a child was involved whenever fights broke out,”

– said an LWF peace building official/ “Inter-communal conflicts”

“I was arrested together with 20 others, we had documents but police wish to verify all identification papers,”

– a Somali woman told Kanere in an interview/ “Refugees are not Terrorists”

“Kenya is a fair country in terms of refugee protection and to KANERE, the services we offered are pro bono,”

– said Advocate Rahma Jillo/ “KANERE – Registered as an NGO”

 

“The needs assessment was conducted in 2009 and the first intake in liberal studies was in 2010 where 27 students were able to graduate,”

– Elizabeth Lock, JC-HEM Coordinator, JRS Kakuma/ “Diploma Graduation Ceremony”

“There are 15,000 persons who have not reported to collect food rations, meaning these individuals are not in the camp,”

– a UNHCR official commented in a statement at FDC 3 in the Camp/ “Classified Finger Printing”

“Id is a great day. We should be sharing whatever we have with the most vulnerable and needy members of the community,”

–  urged a Sheikh at a mosque in Kakuma 1/  “Muslims Mark Id-Ul-Adha”

“There’re many courses offered online, after three years, it becomes real to accomplish. Despite a lot of burning heat, I made it here”

                   – Said Ahmed Biwaye, one of the graduates/ “Diploma Graduation Ceremony”

“Surrounded with atrocities, harshness and hardship in the line of war, killing fellow human beings breaks my heart,”

– A Former Sudanese War Child was quoted at a Concert in the Camp/ “Emmanuel Jal’s visit to Kakuma”

 

“There are 160 Nuer which outnumbered only 20 Murle arrested in masses but released after strong warnings,”

– said a government official commented/ “Inter-communal conflicts”  

“I felt humiliated in the cell, I was not given time to speak out before being released with a fine of Kshs 6,000,”

– A tired and hungry sheik told Kanere/ “Refugees are not Terrorists”

 “Kanere News is a platform that does not only cover the refugee issues but includes the marginalized host communities of Turkana. It’s an initiative to be funded equally,”

– said a Turkana District information officer/ “KANERE – Registered as an NGO”

“We’re not ready to go back to Mogadishu, our community is not prepared for it either, it’s not yet safe,”

– M. Gabo a Somali refugee told Kanere/ “Somali Repatriation”

“The refugees felt insecure and harassed to have to present their fingerprints to collect the rations,”

– a refugee zonal leader told Kanere/ “Classified Finger Printing”

Categories
Human Rights News Updates

KANERE – Registered as an NGO

Kakuma News Reflector (KANERE) has obtained its registration with the government as a national NGO in Kenya

Categories
Humanitarian Services News Updates

Classified Fingerprinting

The refugees in Kakuma Camp must go through a bio-metric assessment at all the Food Distribution Centers

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Human Rights Humanitarian Services News Updates

Somali Repatriation

Is repatriation a solution for Somali refugees?

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Human Rights Kakuma Town and Kenya News Updates

Refugees are not Terrorists

By Ibrahim Gindicha & Qaabata Boru

Terror attacks had negative implications for refugees following the Westgate tragedy, with arbitrary arrest and detention of innocent refugees

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Community and Culture News Updates Peace and Security

Inter-Communal Conflicts

Six members of the Sudanese Nuer community were arrested by police in Kakuma 2 following inter-communal clashes 

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Education Humanitarian Services News Updates

Diploma Graduation Ceremony

The official ceremony and handing out of Diplomas was marked by delicious meals and entertainments at Arrupe Learning Centre in Kakuma

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Community and Culture News Updates

Muslims Mark Id-Ul-Adha

The Faithful decked in fine robes and dresses conducted early morning prayers at Kakuma football field

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News Updates

Emmanuel Jal’s Visit to Kakuma

The former Sudanese child soldier Emmanuel Jal visited Kakuma refugee camp in the far Northwestern Kenya near to the South Sudan border

Categories
Letter from the Editor

Letter from the Editor

To all Kanere readers and supporters,

It is only now that we have finally gotten the 14th issue of KANERE online but don’t worry “a bad beginning makes a good ending”. This is a double issue of Kanere, thanks to our reporters and other contributors to the publication.

We intend to produce KANERE in a quarterly edition but that would entirely depend on the efforts of Kanere staff, feasibility and the climate of media freedom within the Kakuma environs. However, we would want to move Kanere onto the next level by producing a print version to reach out to most vulnerable members of the refugee community who could not be able to read Kanere online. It would cost a lot for now but when amicable funds are made available, we intend to produce more than a thousand copies per issue.

In this edition, I welcome an academic feature contribution by Mandy Jam, a Dutch graduate student in cultural anthropology, based at Leiden University, the Netherlands. Mandy conducted her ethnographic research for MA that focuses on refugees’ perceptions and other competing discourses on the mode of governmentality within the camp, while considering the desperate situation of refugee adults who are born in Kenya camps – but have no right to citizenship.

Secondly, we take this opportunity to welcome a “Refugee Newsletter” produced and managed by an NGO in Kakuma. The new twist is sponsored and edited by FilmAid that works under the umbrella of UNHCR. While Kanere is run and entirely operated by refugee exile journalists completely independent of humanitarian control.

In this edition, we have compiled multiple stories for you; despite the fact that Kakuma has always been marked by insecurity and violence, the camp was relatively calm for several months. However, in late May there were incidents of clashes between the Sudanese Nuer community and members of Turkana’s host community.

In the Lokori area in Turkana, banditry has been frequent and has claimed at least three lives between 17th – 27th April when an unknown number of raiders armed with AK47 rifles attacked a group of Turkana women who had gone to fetch water and firewood, while in a separate incident, around 30 bandits attacked a Public Service Vehicle, setting it ablaze while the passengers escaped unhurt according to G4S April monthly report.

At Kanere News, the unfavorable climate of press freedom in Kakuma has resulted in a few journalists leaving on insecurity cases while a few reporters stepped aside from voluntary contributing to Kanere as they lacked support from the camp authority.

In December 2012, the government passed a negative directive to force urban refugees into camps, which later escalated to a dramatic increase in attacks. In January, the Kenyan High Court ordered the authorities to suspend the refugee relocation plans according to which more than 50,000 refugees and asylum seekers are supposed to leave urban areas of Kenya, but by the middle of May the court had not yet made a ruling on the negative decision.

However, in May, at least 45 refugees traveling to Nairobi were arrested on their way and arraigned at Eldoret court and charged with being illegal migrants, while at least six people died in the April – May floods in Kakuma.

And still the UNHCR Head of Sub-Office continues to receive the influx of new arrivals, the majority being South Sudanese. In the annual event of World Refugee Day, tens and thousands turned out to mark the historic event at Napata grounds in the camp. There are several other interesting stories that constitute this publication.

On our social media, we bring up news and events around the camp and Kakuma town with Kanere reporters in different sections of Kakuma; we bring up debatable issues. Tell us about your experiences, thoughts, let us read the latest and reality reporting on the unfolding happening inside a refugee camp.

Kanere would like to receive contributions from both the host and refugee communities and the NGOs’ staff, as we welcome diversity of culture in these multinational interactions. We truly believe that journalism should be strengthened, but not undermined, looking at the current status of journalism practiced in Kakuma. With no doubts you’ll find the difference between KANERE (a refugee-run) and an NGO-run newsletter!

We’re open to suggestions and debate on refugee affairs. In this true spirit of independent refugee media inside the camp, we will need your support to grow and develop! Share your experiences with us, pitch in news tips and send us feedback on our stories and concerns to, kakuma.news@gmail.com

Anyone can get involved in supporting and towards strengthening development of Kanere. Keep spreading the message in your networks, and you may ‘like’ Kanere on our social media page. I hope you’ll enjoy reading our issues.

Till next edition!

Signed,

 

Qaabata Boru

Editorial Executive