Oxfam urges State to reopen Somali border

By Susan Anyangu

The Government has been told to reopen the Kenya-Somalia border amid warnings of a looming humanitarian crisis.

A new report by Oxfam, a Uk charity, indicates that Garissa’s Dadaab refugee camp faces a serious public health crisis due to lack of basic services, overcrowding and lack of funds.

The report warns that hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees face a catastrophe unless the Government and donors intervene.

The report shows the closure of the border has made the crisis worse with Kenyan security forces accused of abuses against asylum seekers.

"The Kenyan Government’s decision to close the border has not stopped refugees coming, but it has made conditions worse for them and their Kenyan neighbours," said the head of Oxfam GB-Kenya, Ms Philippa Crosland-Taylor.

Matters Security

In response to security concerns, the Government closed the border in January 2007.

This, however, has not prevented about 5,000 asylum seekers crossing the border monthly.

According to Human Rights Watch and Oxfam, Somali refugees are forcibly returned, a practice prohibited by international law.

As a result, human smuggling across the border and demands of bribes by security forces have risen. The report says those who cannot afford the bribes are tortured during arrest and deportation.

Following the closure, reception centres run by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which used to conduct health checks on new refugees, were closed.

The UNHCR expressed concern over sanitation and accommodation in camp ahead of the rainy season.

Yesterday, UNHCR spokesman in Nairobi, Mr Emmanuel Nyabera, said: "The matter is definitely urgent and we are concerned it is taking time."

(See today’s Editorial )