Page 12 - atoday

A12 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 29 december 2016

‘It was a deception:’ Ex-Somali refugees regret coming home

ABDI GULED ger despite promises that
Associated Press they would be assisted.
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) “As opposed to what we
— “I was betrayed,” la- were told, what we found
mented Madino Dhurow of here is all about insecurity
her return to Somalia from incidents during the day
the world’s largest refugee and gangs preying into
camp, Dadaab, where she our camps to rob us of the
lived for 12 years. She said little things we were given
she was assured safety and before,” said Ali Haji, a fa-
support back home but she ther of five who returned to
found those promises to be Somalia after eight years in
empty. Dadaab.
She is among thousands of “Whoever ventures to go
Somalis who left the sprawl- outside will be killed,” he
ing camp of some 260,000 said.
in neighboring Kenya, Somalia’s government has
sometimes under pressure, criticized the decision by
after the Nairobi govern- Kenya’s government to
ment announced it would close Dadaab camp and
close Dadaab, calling it a warned that forced repa-
recruiting ground for So- triation of refugees would
malia’s al-Shabab Islamic only worsen the security
extremists and a base for situation there.
launching attacks. For a while earlier this year,
Al-Shabab has carried out In this photo taken Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016, Somali refugee and mother of six Madino Dhurow, the Jubbaland State gov-
several assaults in Kenya who was repatriated to Somalia from Kenya’s Dadaab camp, holds her “voluntary repatriation ernment based in Soma-
in retaliation for sending form” as she speaks to The Associated Press in the Daryeel camp for the displaced, where she lia’s third-largest city, Kis-
Kenyan troops to Somalia now lives in Mogadishu, Somalia. mayo, stopped accepting
in 2011 to fight the extrem- Associated Press refugees because of a lack
ists, who are waging an not to mention the armed security and other con- shu but soon moved to her of resettlement plan by aid
insurgency against Soma- gangs that often prey on cerns. hometown, Afgoye, com- agencies. It later accepted
lia’s weak Western-backed the camp at night. Some 35,000 Somali refu- plaining of a lack of assis- them after talks with aid
government. Refugees said each family gees have been supported tance by aid agencies. agencies.
The insurgents’ deadly received $400 support cash in returning voluntarily to Then al-Shabab attacked Last month, the Kenyan
attacks in Somalia also from the United Nations Somalia since 2014, ac- a police station in Afgoye government announced
threaten the lives of those once they agreed to return cording to the U.N. High last month, triggering hours it was extending by six
returning from Dadaab. home to Somalia, but the Commissioner for Refugees. of clashes that left at least months its deadline for clos-
“All the security improve- money has not gone far. But some Somali refugees six people dead. A mor- ing the camp and sending
ment and welfare informa- It is not what those liv- report harassment and in- tar shell hit near Abdow’s the refugees home. Aid
tion we were told we would ing in Dadaab expected timidation by Kenyan secu- home, leading her to move groups called the delay
find here turned out to be when they were pressured rity agents to leave Dada- again to a nearby nomad- a short relief but said that
false,” Dhurow said, watch- to leave, sometimes after ab quickly and speed up ic village where water sup- with the new May 31 dead-
ing her six children wade spending their entire lives in the repatriation process. plies are usually scarce. line hanging over them, So-
through dirty, stagnant wa- the refugee camp. “Many of us had a dead- Amnesty International and mali refugees will continue
ter in the Mogadishu dis- Some Somali refugees line to leave. Personally, I other rights groups have to feel they have to leave.
placed persons’ camp that have been living in Dada- didn’t want to leave Dada- said Kenya is coercing resi- “As long as Kenya denies
is their current home. “We ab in eastern Kenya for ab but I had no choice to dents of Dadaab to return Somali refugees secure le-
got many promises, but it more than 20 years, since stay on,” said Halimo Ab- to Somalia where they risk gal status and threatens to
was a deception meant to Somalia descended into dow, a mother of nine who getting killed or forcibly re- close camps and deport
make us leave.” chaos following the 1991 returned to Somalia in Au- cruited into al-Shabab. them, refugees will feel
Conditions are dire at the ouster of longtime dictator gust. Some returnees also they have no choice but
Somali camp, called Dary- Siad Barre by warlords who Once they reached So- blamed aid agencies, say- to go home with U.N. return
eel. Families live in make- then turned on each other. malia, Abdow and her ing the insufficient and support cash instead of be-
shift homes of sticks and Somalia is trying to rebuild children were driven from wrong information they ing forced out with noth-
plastic sheets that are unfit and faces a presidential place to place by violence provided made them to re- ing,” said Gerry Simpson, a
to protect them from the election that has been de- and financial crisis. They first turn to Somalia. The return- senior refugee researcher
upcoming monsoon rains, layed several times amid went to a camp in Mogadi- ees say they now face hun- at Human Rights Watch.