In Kampala, Uganda urban refugee case load is excluded from the mainstream refugee assistance and protection that is focused on the settlements. These categories of refugees who opt to stay out of the settlement are supposed to cater for themselves. Relief agencies, service providers and decision makers sometimes ignore these refugees. This has created a situation where the role of refugee community organizations is vital.
The Urban Refugee Context in Kampala
The UNHCR’s most recent statistics for Uganda show that there are 379,668 refugees and asylum seekers from diverse nationalities of which the majority is from the democratic Republic of Congo. These refugees are spread in the gazette settlements and in Kampala which has a refugee population of about 54, 000 who live on their own. The government, UNHCR and partner organizations don’t cater for them.
This is because UNHCR and government of Uganda policy is that only refugees residing in government gazette settlements are eligible for relief and humanitarian assistance.
In reality, the situation of many of these refugees can no longer be described as “temporary.” The majority of them are in protracted refugee situation and the number keeps increasing.
The new Policy on Refugee Protection and Solutions in Urban Areas, released in September 2009, states (Article II:14): “The Office considers urban areas to be a legitimate place for refugees to enjoy their rights, including those stemming from their status as refugees as well as those that they hold in common with all other human beings.” UNHCR has the same responsibility towards them as it has to all refugees.
Nationally, Uganda’s Refugee Act 2006 was launched in May 2010, giving official recognition to a population which in reality already existed.
Among urban refugees are people with disabilities, single mothers with many young children, unaccompanied minors and single men. Although they are expected to cater for themselves, they are often unable to do so. They are confronted to immense difficulties accessing basic services such as health care, shelter, and food.
When asylum seekers and refugees in Kampala find themselves with limited assistance, this creates a situation where refugee communities have to play a significant role in helping them.
Filling the Gaps
In Kampala there is a multitude of refugee community organizations scattered in different parts where refugees live. Their exact number is unknown. Some of them are organized in groups either Community Based Organizations, community churches or NGOs. Others operate illegally and often do not have formally constituted community organizations; barrier to recognition.
The government of Uganda (GoU) recognizes a variety of rights to refugees in its 2006 Refugees Act, including “the right of association as regards non-political and nonprofit making association and trade unions.”
Numerous researchers have shown that most of services and social supports made available to Kampala’s urban refugees are initiated and delivered by refugees themselves through their different communities, kinship ties, social safety networks and community organization both formal and non formal. They have repeatedly demonstrated the desire and ability to use their own capacity to build dignified lives and to make a positive contribution, both to their own communities and to their host nations.
They have created opportunities, programmes and activities and are providing services that refugees and asylum seekers lack like education (English language and other trainings), sporting and artistic activities, women empowerment groups, and computer (IT) classes. They also provide, informal translating, interpreting and many other activities.
Opportunities
The provision of these services is done by people who are essentially self-determining and this has built a connection between Refugee Community Organizations and refugees so that they are in good position to mobilize them about relevant issues. Some of them are already well established, organized and united. They know the real problems faced by refugees and asylum seekers because they live with them and are members of the same community.
Further, the Refugee Community Organizations have the unique ability to reach out refugees and asylum seekers in their native languages. They have the advantage to reach refugees and asylum seekers because they have the language access that allow them to talk to actual members in communities and go into their neighborhoods and meet with them. Most of them are located in refugee places of abode thus they understand the local environment, the challenges and opportunities the locality.
Challenges
Despite all the services and social supports that the refugee Community Organizations provide, to refugees and asylum seekers in Kampala, their members are struggling with enormous issues, almost all are manned by volunteers, and have no resources due to limited external funding. Some of them have difficulties in meeting their basic needs, they can’t afford to send their children to school and even fail to pay their rent. Refugees have little opportunity to influence the decisions which profoundly affect their lives. Their views are not heard and sometimes their efforts and commitments are not recognized or completely ignored by some big Organizations.
Building bridges and linkages between UNHCR and the refugee community organizations
One of the ways of reinforcing the work of the Refugee Community Organizations is to build a bridge between them and UNHCR. In order to ensure that services and the humanitarian aids reach the refugees there is a need of creating space for refugees and services providers to improve efficiency and efficacy of the services to refugees and to ensure wise use of limited funds.
Noel Calhoun, 2010 shows in his studies how UNHCR began to highlight the importance of working with refugee communities in Executive Comity conclusion of 15 February 2001, entitled “Reinforcing a Community Development Approach”. The conclusion notes that:
“UNHCR programmes often tend to focus on individual service delivery to refugees, and omit engaging and building on the capacities of the refugees themselves and their communities. Such an approach limits refugee partnership and participation, and invariably produces dependency; this has proved to be limiting, resource-demanding and too problem-focused.”
The conclusion goes on to recommend that UNHCR engage in partnership with refugees in order to achieve various purposes, including: strengthening refugee initiative, reinforcing their dignity, achieving greater self-reliance and increasing cost-effectiveness of programmes. Overall, the document is framed as a guide to programming, suggesting that UNHCR should ensure that refugees participate in the design and delivery of the organization’s programmes so as to make them more effective, efficient, and respectful of refugees’ dignity and capacities.
Dwindling donor’s support continue to fuel a humanitarian and security crisis among the world’s refugees. Urban livelihood support is a necessity rather than an option. Urban livelihoods initiatives are already officially recognized as an essential element of UNHCR’s mandate. Refugees themselves desire empowerment, not sporadic charity. The views of all refugee community organizations need to be heard, and Refugee Community Organizations, are keen to get involved and to have their views heard. It is time to involve refugees in the implementation process of UNHCR programmes. This will help them grow and developed rather that excluding them which will lead to a set back of their creativity, innovation and talent.
“True partnership means … being willing to receive as well as to give; to listen to refugees as well as to talk to refugees; to be questioned by refugees as well as to ask questions; and finally, to use all resources for the refugees to enable them to face their past, live their present and hope for a better future.” Father Agberagba, August 2000.
Photo credit: UNHCR/B. Heger.
About the Author
Robert Hakiza is Co-Founder and Director of the Young African Refugees for Integral Development (YARID) – a refugee-led grassroots organization based in Kampala, Uganda. He has extensive experience working with refugees in urban areas, and served as Assistant Researcher in Uganda with Oxford University’s Humanitarian Innovation Project (HIP).
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