One of the tragedies of the Somali conflict is the refugees’ destiny, as it happens all the times when there is a war. Since 1991, when Siad Barre’s regime was brought down, many Somalis, mainly women and children, have been fleeing and trying to cross the Kenyan border. Whether walking through a deserted region or trying to make it to the coastline in boats even those who make it to Kenya are not safe. According to Human Rights Watch, during the two years that followed the outbreak of the civil war (1991-1993), about 300,000 Somalis fled to Kenya. Their destination was the refugees’ camps: Dagahaley, Liboi, Marafa, Hatimy. Camp life, however, was not easy: many women were raped or sexually assaulted, people were restricted to the camps and to use the bare camp resources – for sanitation, education, water and food supplies.
Things have not changed, with the news coming from Eastern Africa in the last month envisaging an imminent humanitarian crisis. Following the recent conflict in Somalia, thousands of Somalis once again fled across the Kenyan border, but what they found was a closed boundary, which no refugee was allowed to cross. Kenyan Foreign Minister Raphael Tuju explained that since Kenyan authorities were unable to determine whether those asking to enter were refugees or combatants, they are not allowed to cross the border. Disturbed by the fact that every time there was fighting in Somalia, people tried to get into Kenya, Tuju complained that it was not written anywhere that it was up to Kenya to take care of them. UNHCR (the UN Refugees Agency) expressed its criticism and openly declared through its spokesperson, Millicent Mutuli, that denying humanitarian assistance was against international law.
Nonetheless, according to news agencies, Kenyan authorities deported hundreds of Somali refugees that had crossed the border. Reportedly tanks and helicopters are now enforcing that closure. Before being deported, purportedly the refugees were taken to Liboi in north-eastern Kenya where the Kenyan Red Cross was denied to visit them. Moreover, there were also reports about thousands of refugees stranded in the town of Doble, in southern Somalia, a city close to the border but also to the fighting.
Where do Nairobi’s apprehensions come from? On the one hand there might be the fear of a continuous influx of refugees that the country cannot and might not want to sustain. But on the other hand, it might not be accidental that the borders were closed as soon as Ethiopian troops entered Mogadishu, and that, at the same time, the Kenyan government was urging African countries to send troops for a peace-keeping force in Somalia. In other words, the perspective of a strong Ethiopian influence in Somalia was not seen positively for future dialogue and reconciliation in the region.
As UNHCR is negotiating with the Kenyan government to allow genuine refugees into Kenya and as Kenya is in negotiation with other African countries for a peace-keeping force in Somali, the situation of stranded refugees is worrisome. Having fled from war-torn Somalia, they are waiting to know their destiny, with no food, water or sanitation.