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Doctors Without Borders Urges Kenyan Officials to Consult Refugees Before
Closing Camps

Keminni Amanor

   Doctors Without Borders (MSF)is urgingthe Kenyan government to consult
   withpeopleliving inrefugeecamps before closing thecampspermanently.

   In anewsrelease, the medical humanitarian organization saidon
   Wednesdaythata human-centered approach would ensurethatauthorities
   understand the plight of refugees and adequately map out a more
   desirable future.

   "While MSF supports the need for sustainable alternatives to refugee
   camps, our teams are extremely concerned that the voices of refugees
   living in the camps are not being heard,"thenewsrelease said.

   Earlier this year, Kenyan authorities announced they were ready to shut
   down the Dadaab and Kakuma camps.
   In this Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017 file photo, Somali refugee girls stand
   by the fence surrounding their hut at Dadaab refugee camp in northern
   Kenya.

   In the announcement, the Interior Ministry said there was no room for
   negotiation. The minister in charge gavetheUnited Nationsrefugee
   agencyUNHCR two weeks to present a road map for evacuation.

   But the UNHCR said it would continue the dialogue with the East African
   country to ensure the protection of camp residents.

   After the announcement, PeterGichira, a lawyerand, according to The
   Associated Press,a formerpresidential aspirant,filed a case against the
   government's intentions, describing them as unconstitutional.

   The court agreed and suspended closureof the campsfor 30 days, making
   it the second time a Kenyan court haspreventedauthorities from shutting
   down camps.

   As the suspension period ends,MSFwants attention paid tocampresidents
   because their lives and livelihoods are at stake.

   "To reach viable and humane solutions, refugees must be included in
   conversations about their future and the future of the camps,"MSF
   stated.

   Since the pandemic hit,humanitarian aid and funds to support the lives
   of refugeeshave dwindled, further worsening theirplight,according to
   MSF.

   In 2020, deteriorating conditionsintheDagahaleycamp in Dadaabresulted
   in three suicides and 25 attempts, the group said.

   When Adrian Guadarrama, deputy program manager for MSF in
   Kenya,visitedDagahaleyin March, he reiterated the impactthatan
   uncertain future was having on camp residents.

   He underscored the importance of the refugee bill in Parliament,
   which,ifpassed, would allow refugees to"move freely, earn a living and
   access public services."

   Guadarrama also stressed the need for funds to expedite resettlement
   processes for camp dwellers.

   "When the time comes for them to leave Dadaab, it must be because they
   freely choose to do so, and only once their dignity, health and freedom
   have been assured,"he said.

   Dadaab and Kakuma are in the northernand easternpartsof the country,
   respectively,and are home to more than 410,000 people from Somalia and
   South Sudan. Plans to shut the camps began in 2016 when Kenyan
   authorities cited national security concernsarisingfrom intelligence
   thatsuggestedelements within the campswereinvolved in attacks on Kenya
   in 2013 and 2015.A high court blocked the move, calling it
   unconstitutional.

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