Volume 1, Issue 4-5 / March-April 2009
A refugee scholar due to begin a masters program in early January is still waiting in Kakuma Camp as UNHCR attempts to process his travel document.
In January, KANERE interviewed Mr. J.M., a Congolese refugee who was awarded a full scholarship to pursue a two years master program in medicine at Lund University, Sweden (see “Refugee’s Study Abroad Delayed by UNHCR Processing”).
He was due to begin his programme of study on 12 January 2009. Unfortunately, UNHCR processing delays prevented Mr. J.M. from obtaining a Convention Travel Document (CTD) on time.
At the beginning of May, Mr. J.M. reports that UNHCR is continuing to follow up his case. He was recently called for a meeting with a Protection Unit officer who referred his case to the Camp Manager for “accelerated processing” of the CTD.
As this double issue goes online, Mr. J.M. is still present in Kakuma Refugee Camp. Asked whether he will still be able to pursue the academic program that began in early January, Mr. J.M. says, “There is still hope.”