September 2011
Christian Aid’s Natalie Dale recently visited Dagahaley refugee camp in Kenya. Here she reports on how new arrivals are met and registered at the camp and why this process is vital to ensure that each person gets the help and support they’re entitled to.
The registration centre is the first place that people arriving at the camp come to start the process of becoming a registered refugee. This means that they can then access food, tents, other essential items, and health and education services.
I walked to the centre with Fatumo, the supervisor for Christian Aid’s sister agency the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Fatumo’s role is to ensure that each person’s case is looked at separately on arrival and that their needs are met.
For me, LWF’s ability to work with many agencies supporting people across the camps is one of their main strengths as camp managers.
In particular, LWF supports the elderly, single parents and pregnant women. Fatumo explains that many refugees want information about how they can care for the elderly on arrival, as so many of their older relatives have suffered on the journey to the camps.
There are three shelters at the first section of the registration centre and when we arrive they are packed full of people waiting to be ushered through the first part of the registration process.
Meeting Adan Maow Omar
Adan Maow Omar at Dagahaley refugee camp
Outside I meet Adan Maow Omar, a 72 year old man who is laying waiting on the ground. He lifts up his arm and I can see it is swollen.
He tells me that he has two children, a daughter, 30, and a son who is twenty. His daughter has three children, and because she is divorced, Adan is responsible for their welfare.
Adan recently arrived at Dagahaley camp. He came to Kenya on foot, where possible getting lifts from passing vehicles. The journey took him 15 days, and he tells me that he only had tea to drink on the way to sustain him.
He says that he left Somalia because of the drought. He was a farmer, but there had been no rain for three years. His family managed to survive as they had stored sorghum (a cereal crop) from previous years.
During these years, Adan and his family only ate two meals a day. His family did not eat any fruit or vegetables, only sorghum. ‘You can’t live a life like that’, he says.
I ask him what Somalia was like 30 years ago. ‘It was good’, he says. ‘There was a government, there was security, and there was peace. We had animals, milk, fields to grow our crops in and we were producing food.’
I ask him what he would like to tell the international community if he could. He replies, ‘We want to be supported to get food and peace. I do not want to go back to Somalia. God only knows if I will or not. I want to remain in Kenya. My family has better opportunities here. I am enjoying the peace here, I feel safe in the camps. I’m not used to this feeling of safety and I like it.’
I feel sad and humbled that Adan and his family want to stay in the camp. This is not somewhere I would like to spend the rest of my life.
Registering at the camp
On arriving at the camp, Adan says that finding out where he will get food and water is his first priority, and also where he can go to receive medication for this arm. He also wants to know whether he will be able to live with his family who are already in the camp.
In this first tent Adan is asked about his family size, nationality and when he arrived at the camp. The government registration worker speaks Somali so that Adan and others can understand the process.
At the next tent photos are taken and further information is entered into the camp computer systems.
Due to the sheer number of refugees arriving on a daily basis, there is a backlog of people, so for many the wait is a long one.
Finally people’s finger prints are taken, and then they are sent to the UN compound to be registered as refugees. The mass of people registering means that papers can often be mislaid, lengthening the process still.
Eventually Adan receives his papers and his finger prints are taken. Unfortunately, the government officials in the tent do not speak Somali so can not explain to Adan what is happening.
I learn later that Filmaid are putting television screens into the reception centres, so people registering can watch a short film to understand the process. It’s a really innovative idea that will help so many refugees.
It’s late in the day and I have to leave to catch my escort from the camp. I leave Adan to navigate the last part of the reception process, but I know that he will be well looked after in the LWF tent. But I feel a pang of sadness that we do not get to say goodbye.
Spending a day with Adan navigating the registration process has been a real eye-opener. However, it is clear that LWF is working to ensure that this process is as clear as possible so that people feel respected and maintain their dignity.
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