Survival strategies among urban refugees in Nairobi

Abstract

The primary focus of this study was to investigate the survival strategies among urban refugees in Nairobi focusing on health, shelter and food. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The researcher administered 124 questionnaire-interviews, conducted key-informant interviews with UNHCR, GTZ, JRS, RCK and the Ministry of Immigration. Review of documents was also done. Data were ana lysed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results were presented in tables of frequency distribution, percentages, pie-charts and graphs. The study found that there has been a meteoric rise in the population of urban refugees since 1990. Access and affordability of basic needs (food, health and shelter) are a survival for the fittest issue. This comes into the front when about half of the urban refugees (47.5%) have no income at all, yet like any other individuals they are expected to pay rent, buy food and pay for medical expenses. By investigating the problems urban refugees face in shelter, the study found that 75.8% lives in one-roomed houses and 33.8% share the one-roomed houses with more than three people. Urban refugees pay much higher rent and are often required to put many months deposit compared to local people, yet 47.5% have no monthly income at all. Their survival strategies include begging, prostitution, dependents of transnational relatives and friends, hawking among many others. Many of these strategies are morally not acceptable by many societies; they are actually illegal and city authorities keep on harassing them as 34.6% reported as having been harassed by authorities. Housing is the most challenging basic need in relation to health and food. An interesting observation is that majority of urban refugees (37.4% of male and 29.8% of female) have never been to refugee camps, while government policy is clear that refugees are only allowed out of the camps for special purposes with special permission. It means UNHCR and the government has not been able to implement this directive. Access and affordability of food is not a big challenge to urban refugees. This could be so because the local community and privileged refugees could be sharing the little they have. They could also be skipping meals, although this was not captured as a survival strategy. However most of them indicated that they depend on begging, transactional friends, casual labour among others as sources of their income.