Vital links in social security: Somali refugees in the Dadaab camps, Kenya

At the end of 1991, three refugee camps were set up close to Dadaab, a small town in the Garissa district of Northeast Kenya, to host the large influx of Somalis fleeing the collapse of their state. Today, approximately 120,000 refugees are living in Ifo, Dagahaley and Hagadera. Most of them originated from the regions of ‘Jubadda Hoose’ and ‘Shabeellaha Hoose’, the lowlands of the two main rivers in South Somalia. In 1995, I carried out research in Ifo for my Masters degree, which served as pre-study to the PhD that I am now working towards. Between July 1999 and June 2000, research was carried out in the three refugee camps as well as in Nairobi (Eastleigh) and Garissa, the Kenyan towns where most Somali refugees can be found. My main aim was to find an alternative representation of refugees, who are often depicted either as vulnerable victims or cunning crooks.