Refugee Youth Today, Future Leaders Tomorrow
A pause to recognize the impact of recent inter-ethnic violence at Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya on today's youth, tomorrow's leaders
Today is Day 32 of a 61-day series recognizing RainMakers & ChangeMakers. One thing I’ve learned from doing this series is this:
It’s not possible to draw portraits of people, interview them, and hear their stories without building some emotional ties.
For that reason, when things go massively awry for the people I’ve met, it’s important to tell that story too. While much of the western world’s attention is focused on two other large-scale conflicts elsewhere in the world, one of the largest humanitarian crises is growing larger by the day in central and east Africa as a result of war, conflict, disease, famine, and the effects of climate change.
So today, I’m honoring an anonymous youth who is a stand-in for all of the youth impacted by the multiple conflicts happening in Africa today. Specifically, I’m honoring the youth who are growing up in Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Settlement in Northwestern Kenya, which is home to 284,000 refugees (and growing) from South Sudan, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere. Pictured above is a South Sudanese child who participates in regular educational activities at Social Action Center for Vulnerable Individuals (SACVI). I recently highlighted
(founder) and Liz (Program Supervisor) of SACVI recently, here and here respectively.Already a challenging environment to grow up and live in, Kakuma and neighboring Kalobeyei Settlement have just in the last week and more specifically in the last few days experienced an intense flare up of inter-ethnic violence between the Nuer and Anyuak refugee communities. That violence has not been isolated; it has infiltrated many other refugee communities within the camp, spilling over and endangering Congolese, Burundian and other refugees living in the camps.
According to many news reports, violence amongst these ethnic groups at Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Settlement reportedly started June 23, 2024 and escalated over the last week resulting in a number of casualities and injuries (reports of how many have been killed so far vary).
I checked in with Andre of SACVI who lives at Kakuma to see how he and others are faring after a traumatic week which continues to threaten large numbers of refugees in both camps. Naturally, the chaos and threats spiked fear and panic amongst many families causing many to flee to different parts of the camp.
Andre, at my request, provided this reflection on the impact of the violence on the children that he and his organization serve:
Recently, the violence at Kakuma Refugee Camp has significantly impacted our students. Here are some ways the conflict has affected them:
First, there's increased anxiety and fear among our students. Witnessing violence and chaos near their living areas has created a sense of fear and insecurity, making it difficult for them to concentrate on their studies and daily activities.
Second, schools and learning centers have been closed or their activities halted due to the lack of security. This disruption affects students' education as they miss out on lessons, which can lead to a decline in their academic performance.
Third, the violence has led to a shortage of essential resources like food, water, and learning materials. Many students are facing hunger and tough living conditions, hindering their ability to participate fully in educational and artistic activities.
Despite these challenges, we are doing our best to support our students by providing psychological support through art classes, which help them express their feelings and find some mental peace. Additionally, we are working with other organizations to provide food and learning materials to ensure the children’s basic needs are met and they can continue their education as much as possible.
It's crucial that we continue to support these students and ensure they have a safe and stable learning environment, despite the challenges they face. We hope for peace to return so these children can pursue their education without interruptions.
While I don’t understand the full scope of the underlying causes behind this past week’s violence (it would take much more than an hour to research), it is clear that the Nuer and Anyuak refugee groups have brought with them their conflicts from home, making what should be a safe place for many just another place people are desperate to escape from.
From my brief reading on the internet, there are many contributing factors to the current crisis. First of all, the number of people fleeing to these camps are increasing. They are fleeing southward and eastward in to Kenya, in particular from South Sudan and Ethiopia, due to conflict, war, drought, disease, and famine. Some of that conflict stems from competing rights to land that date back decades. The Anyuak and the Nuer, in particular, have been fighting in what’s known as the Gambela conflict for decades.
For our friends living in Kakuma and Kalobeyei, we hope that security and peace are restored and some sense of normalcy, however tenuous given the circumstances, returns. For the sake of all, but especially the children.
About Kakuma and Kalobeyei… Briefly
According to the UNHCR Kenya Operations Report for November 2023 which provides statistics for both camps, the total number of refugees living in both camps is 284,000. The number of new arrivals just in the month of November was 30,000 with “reception centers at over-capacity and resources over-stretched” according to the report. In the same month only 330 refugees departed to Australia, the Netherlands, and the USA for resettlement. The refugee programs operated by the Government of Kenya with support from UNHCR are only growing larger and at the same time significantly underfunded with only 40% of the operational budget funded. This means that services of all kinds as well as the delivery of food rations are limited. And, it means that sometimes they are cut back and severely so. And, in some cases, paused for long periods of time.
In 2024, due to lack of worldwide donations to UNHCR and World Food Programme (WFP) as well as the diversion of existing funds to other conflicts in the world, refugees reportedly went for two months without the regular monthly distribution of 8 kilos per family of grain, leaving many with extreme hunger. The US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants reported as recently as May 3, 2024 that the WFP had cut food rations by 60%: “Extreme cuts to food rations have led to…deadly protests, suicides, and an inhumane situation for refugees seeking safety and protection.”
The situation has mildly improved recently. According to a WFP June 19, 2024 press release, the United States announced that it would provide $37 million in refugee support to provide rations using a “needs-based” approach according to the food security and socio-economic status of each family. The funding will last reportedly until December 2024. But, what then?
For more information about these two camps, visit UNHCR’s websites here: Kakuma Refugee Camp and the Kalobeyei Settlement. Both Kakuma and Kalobeyei are located in the Northwest corner of Kenya bordering South Sudan, Uganda, and Ethiopia.
An essential update, thank you. I hope to speak with Andre later today and continue to plan permaculture educationa nd community gardening initiatives, but we need stability and an atmosphere of co-operation to succeed. The numbers mentioned sound overwhelming and the reality is that displacement by war, climate and social unease is only accelerating. Refugees and displaced poeple are on the front line of building the post collapse society, this is a social laboratory among other things, while the wolrd's attention is rightly turned to Gaza and Ukraine, we must not forget the huge upheavals in Sudan, South Sudan and Ethiopia.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this update. Media rarely cover events in Africa, so it's important that voices come through via other means.