Kakuma News Reflector - A Refugee Free Press
Volume 1, Issue 1 / December 2008
Drug abuse among the youth in Kakuma Refugee Camp is a serious and persistent problem. It has caused many youth to lose their hopes, great expectations, and also their dignity. Youth as young as ten years of age are using drugs, while cases of bhang smoking are reported among children as young as seven years of age.
Volume 1, Issue 1 / December 2008
In September 2007, a tripartite agreement was signed between the Government of Southern Sudan, the UNHCR, and the Governments of Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia. The Tripartite Agreement allowed for Sudanese refugees were to be repatriated back to their country on a voluntary basis.
Volume 1, Issue 1 / December 2008
As of November 2008, Kakuma Refugee Camp has approximately 10,400 pupils in primary schools and 800 pupils in secondary schools. Two thirds of the student population in each case is comprised of boys, while the remaining one-third is girls.
Volume 1, Issue 1 / December 2008
Kakuma Refugee Camp is blessed with a number of NGOs operating their humanitarian missions holistically and rendering services to the refugee and host communities free of charge. Some of these services include health facilities, food distribution, education, vocational training, counseling, and more. However, it has been found that outreach services are more effective and successful when they are supported with community-based organizations and volunteers.
Volume 1, Issue 1 / December 2008
Kakuma Refugee Camp hosts thousands of refugees from various nationalities who fled their home countries because of violence, war, or insecurity. Refugees came to seek refuge in Kenya in search for peace and security, to find a place free from threats and violence. Kakuma Refugee Camp has proven to offer some level of peace and security, but it is not satisfactory.
Volume 1, Issue 1 / December 2008
“I fight for justice over injustice.” These are the words spoken by Samuel Esianyen Lokumak, born in the Kakuma area of Turkana District in 1952. He is a chief elder, peace maker, and security officer for local and refugee communities.
Volume 1, Issue 1 / December 2008
“Little food, more drinks.” It’s a saying you will hear many refugees quote as they discuss the food situation here in Kakuma Refugee Camp.
Currently, a global food crisis that threatens the world economy. Here in Kakuma, the food crisis does not refer to this international phenomenon but to daily food security for refugees.
Volume 1, Issue 1 / December 2008
The general election of the Kakuma Water Association was successfully conducted on the 13th of December, 2008. The maturity period of this election was early according to the constitution, and was prompted by the fact that the office is currently running without paid officials. The acting chairman, Mr. Mohamed, has been serving on a voluntary basis since the former chairman was asked to resign.
Volume 1, Issue 1 / December 2008
Have you ever experienced something that you thought would never happen to you? Something you have only seen happen to others?
It was a Wednesday night in November when I was sleeping with “Grace,” my roommate, after a long day’s work.
Volume 1, Issue 1 / December 2008
Just imagine that at least every minute…
Someone loses life to the Almighty Jah,
Someone gives an everlasting vow to a loved one,
Volume 1, Issue 1 / December 2008
To all KANERE readers, here and abroad:
We are most pleased to introduce the Kakuma News Reflector, known among us as KANERE. We hope this inaugural edition will mark the beginning of a strong history of refugee reporting on encampment.
Through this publication, we act on our conviction that refugees should be involved in monitoring the work pertaining to their affairs, and should be given a meaningful channel to address their concerns to relevant bodies. We hold that a free press is one of the most effective means of human rights awareness. In this sense, our publication represents one step in a larger project to re-conceptualize refugee affairs from the ground up. To the well-established voices of academia, law, and institutions, we wish to add the emerging voices of refugees.
The birth of KANERE has been the result of concerted effort by a small team of journalists. Concerned at the lack of refugee participation in refugee law and policy, we wish to offer our own perspectives in a constructive bid for involvement. Disheartened at the lack of international attention to our prolonged encampment, we wish to spark awareness and interest from all quarters. We are appalled at the lack of human rights monitoring in refugee camps, and hope to stimulate discussion and debate over the events that unfold in our daily lives.
We are committed to the strictest honesty and integrity in our journalism. If our reporting is sometimes gritty, it reflects the perspective from the ground. If our analysis is sometimes incomplete, it reflects the information we have been given—and our access as refugees is often very limited. We are dedicated to the courageous questions and clear thinking that are necessary for a free and balanced press.
The theatre of our lives is diverse. As a community-based newspaper, our operations are local while our vision is international. Our primary concern is to provide local reporting for refugees and Kenyans living in and around Kakuma Refugee Camp. At the same moment, we are acutely aware of the international influences that bear on our daily lives, and this is also reflected in our reporting.
We welcome comments and contributions from all our readers. We send our especial greetings to all those members of our Kakuma community who have been resettled abroad, and welcome your input. Please address all correspondence to blo3@cornell.edu.
With many thanks to the humanitarian agencies who have walked with us and worked for us thus far, we press for the day when refugee rights are an entitlement rather than a gift. It is a long time coming and we are only one voice, but our vision burns.
Signed,
KANERE
Kakuma News Reflector - A Refugee Free Press