# taz.de -- Migration policy in Somalia: Returning home by choice and force
> Almost half of Somalia's population fled the country during 25 years of
> civil war. Now, the transitional government is trying to bring its
> citizens back home – with help from the EU.
(IMG) Bild: A boy with a toy gun in Mogadishu
An estimated one-half of the population of Somalia, according to the World
Bank, has left its homeland during the past 25 years of civil war: over
four million Somali. This makes Somalia one of the key countries of origin
of refugees on the continent.
Most of them sought refuge in neighbouring countries: Almost half a million
Somali refugees were living across the border in the north-eastern desert
regions of Kenya during peak periods of flight and drought in Somalia in
2011 and 2012. About a million still live in Uganda, Ethiopia, Sudan,
Djibouti and Yemen today. Over a million displaced persons are seeking
refuge within the country, mostly in the secure regions of Puntland and
Somaliland – both virtually independent states that have not been
internationally recognised.
In Somalian language and culture, a word has lately come to be used for the
dangerous journey to Europe: “wuu tahribay“ is said among families, in
telling the news that a son has set off to try his luck in Europe. In
Arabic, the term is used in connection with smugglers and human
traffickers; in the Somali language, particularly in Puntland and
Somaliland, it refers to migration to Europe. A favoured destination is
Sweden.
The routes are hazardous and diverse: The eastern route crosses the Gulf of
Aden, the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq and Syria, on the way into Turkey and
finally to the Balkans. The sea route leads across the Red Sea and the
Sinai Peninsula, then over the Mediterranean to the Aegean Region; the
western route passes via Ethiopia through Sudan and Libya. The number of
applicants for asylum in the EU has been rising for years. In 2015, there
were around 21,000 Somali applications, of which 5,500 were approved and
over 3,000 rejected. Since August 2016, Somalia has been listed at the
Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF) as one of the countries of
origin with good chances to remain in Germany. Until then, the list had
included only Eritrea, Iraq, Iran and Syria.
In large parts of Somalia, brutal civil war has prevailed for the last 25
years. The Islamist militia Al-Shabaab has had intermittent control of
significant parts of the country. However, not all Somali living abroad are
war refugees, but also young men and women from the relatively peaceful
areas of Somaliland and Puntland. A study by the Rift Valley Institute
indicates that the ratio of young Somali from these regions who leave the
country after finishing school is almost exactly as high as the ratio of
those from the conflict zones. Most of them are looking for work that
corresponds to their education level, since there are no jobs to be found
in their homeland, says the study. “Migration is a path to success in the
Somali culture“, states Bram Frouws, a migration specialist at the think
tank RMMS, which researches migration movements on the Horn of Africa. Many
Somali now holding major positions in the country's current government and
economy have returned from a period of exile in Europe or the USA.
## Measures to stabilise Somalia
The international community has undertaken costly endeavours in recent
decades to stabilise the country during the civil war. Since 2007, the
African Union (AU) has maintained a stabilising mission in Somalia
(AMISOM), which is substantially funded by the EU: More than €1 billion
have been spent since 2007 on the payroll of Ugandan, Kenyan and Burundi AU
soldiers and police officers. Yet in early 2016, in the course of setting
up the EU's military mission in Mali, Nigeria and the Central African
Republic, the EU reduced its share of the AMISOM budget by 20 percent. In
the first half of 2016, Kenya and Uganda then complained of outstanding
payments to its soldiers in Somalia. Both countries threatened to pull out
of the mission. In September 2016, the EU approved a further $178 million.
In 2010, the European Union (EU) had already established a training mission
for the practically non-existent army. Soldiers, especially officers, were
trained by European military officers, though not within Somalia's borders.
Owing to the state of security, the Somali troops were flown to Uganda and
then drilled by European trainers for months at a time. In 2015, the
mission (EUTM) was moved to Mogadishu. At the present time (as of the end
of 2016), nearly 200 European soldiers are still stationed there in order
to instruct Somali officers.
Within the civil EU mission EUCAP Nestor (Regional Maritime Capacity
Building Mission in the Horn of Africa and the Western Indian Ocean),
European instructors have been training the Somali coast guard in its
struggle against piracy since 2012.
## Operation Homecoming
At of the end of 2016, elections were planned in which the clan chiefs were
to vote for a new government – a further criterion to stabilise the
country. Refugees were to play an important part in the elections. Their
return would supposedly contribute toward democratisation and the
legitimisation of a new transitional government, and thereby to the
country's stabilisation. It might even have been considered possible that
the entire population would participate in the election, as a government
spokesman implied: “Keep in mind that your return is a sign of the revival
of peace in Somalia and that if you return, you might make a difference to
your country“, he appealed to over 270,000 Somali refugees then remaining
at the Kenyan centre Dadaab.
In 2013, the Kenya and Somalian governments reached a trilateral agreement
with the UNHCR on closing the refugee centres in Kenya. At that point, the
deadline for voluntary return was set for the end of November 2016. Somalia
and Kenya wanted to hold to this date, and correspondingly raised the
pressure on the refugees. UNHCR, on the other hand, holds firm to the
international principle of freedom of choice to return, and anticipates
that repatriation might be concluded by the year 2032.
In June 2016, Hassan Sheikh Mohammud became the first Somali president to
visit Dadaab in Kenya. He promised his compatriots: “We don't want you to
be forced to return without available housing, education and health care
services“. He remained silent as to who should finance these offers. In
2016, UN refugee agency UNHCR received not even a third of the $150 million
assessed to be necessary for the provision of Somali refugee aid. To
assimilate so many returning refugees in such a short time would be a
Herculean task for a country that has been almost completely destroyed by
over 20 years of war, stated Somali government spokesperson Daud Awais.
## Dependent on aid money
The EU ranks as the largest financial donor to Somalia's stabilisation. For
a long time, “combating the causes of flight“ was the catchphrase for the
EU strategy toward Somalia, but in recent times, the focus is predominantly
on supporting those who return. Since Kenya announced the closure of its
refugee centres, 17,000 Somali have packed their belongings and been flown
out on UN aircraft. Currently, 275,000 Somali are still living in Dadaab
alone. Within Somalia, four “safe zones“ have been determined for returns,
including the capital Mogadishu and the coastal city of Kismayo. Voluntary
returnees are given a supply of food for 6 months and $150 per person from
UNHCR. This does not correspond to the definition of “voluntariness“ and is
thus infringing upon international rights, declares Victor Nyamori of
Amnesty International in Kenya. There are apparently more “push factors“,
foremost including the fear of violent deportation, than “pull factors“,
such as a better life back in the homeland.
Money for Somalia has been authorised by the EU Emergency Trust Fund for
Africa as well: the EU is paying €50 million to the UNHCR and the
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to handle the re-entry and
reintegration of returning refugees. Most of those returning find their
homes destroyed or occupied and must take shelter in the centres for
displaced persons now being erected by international NGOs. The EU is
investing a further €10 million in drought-ridden North Somalia, in order
to combat root causes of flight.
Within the framework of the National Indicative Programme (NIP), Somalia
has benefited from €286 million from the EU Development Trust Fund. Further
funds were distributed to Somalia within the scope of the regional Khartoum
Process, and also as part of support measures from the regional
organisation IGAD and the African Union.
The return of Somalian refugees has a further relevance for Europe. As soon
as great numbers of refugees from Kenya come back to the country, European
authorities will be able rank Somalia as a safe country after all.
12 Dec 2016
## AUTOREN
(DIR) Simone Schlindwein
## TAGS
(DIR) migControl
(DIR) Jemen
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