Educational inequality in the Kebribeyah Somali refugee camp in Ethiopia: an autoethnography

Due to the Somali Civil War of 1991, more than 10,000 Somali refugees resettled in Kebribeyah, a town in the Somali region of Ethiopia. For nearly three decades, the local and resettled refugee communities shared the resources the region had to offer, adopted a new common cultural norm, and fostered some levels of social cohesions. It is the education sector, however, that caused social conflicts and hatred between resettled Somalis and the native Somali-Ethiopians. Currently, the education of Somali refugee children is funded by various international organizations, such as the United Nations. On the contrary, the local Somali-Ethiopian children pay their way to schools which leads to poor educational experiences. Using autoethnography as the research method, this article examines the formation of educational gaps between the local and refugee children. Findings suggest that educational inequality can exist between refugee and host communities, if not properly managed, and can ultimately impact social cohesion and stability in the refugee-hosting regions.

Ownership and Sense of Belonging for the Displaced: Integrating Somali Refugees into Wellington City

<p>Having a sense of belonging to a place is important for everyone adapting to a new environment but especially more so for displaced refugees. This is important for raising confidence and self worth which gives refugees a better chance to understand and connect to the surrounding culture and immediate environment. Somali refugees first arrived in New Zealand as asylum seekers. They are discussed specifically in this thesis with relation to the issue of discrimination, methods of integration and its issues such as social depravation. As an ethnic group, the Somali refugees are very distinct in their culture and religious belief thus facing more challenges in the process of integration compared to other refugee communities. This situation is not further aided as they live on the peripheries of the city, in this case, central Wellington city and its outskirts, which impedes the chance of exchange between their culture and other cultures that inform this multi-cultural city. The central city represents a central cultural hub where culture is exchanged through a variety of trade predominantly through food and the arts and crafts. This research explores the importance of providing spaces within the commercial centre for the social and economic value for the Somali refugees that could play a big part in their integration process. The thesis discusses the history of the Somalis, methods of integration and social depravation, precedents of successful spaces for cultural expression, concluding with the final design proposal discussions and conclusion. As the thesis explores the prospect of giving ownership to the Somali refugees in Wellington city the design component of the thesis focuses on architectural interventions that would facilitate and support cultural integration. The study explores the personalisation of an existing inner city built space and the use for functional needs as a first step for the Somalis to partake in economic and cultural exchange, understanding and eventually through such means develop a sense of belonging.</p>

Ownership and Sense of Belonging for the Displaced: Integrating Somali Refugees into Wellington City

<p>Having a sense of belonging to a place is important for everyone adapting to a new environment but especially more so for displaced refugees. This is important for raising confidence and self worth which gives refugees a better chance to understand and connect to the surrounding culture and immediate environment. Somali refugees first arrived in New Zealand as asylum seekers. They are discussed specifically in this thesis with relation to the issue of discrimination, methods of integration and its issues such as social depravation. As an ethnic group, the Somali refugees are very distinct in their culture and religious belief thus facing more challenges in the process of integration compared to other refugee communities. This situation is not further aided as they live on the peripheries of the city, in this case, central Wellington city and its outskirts, which impedes the chance of exchange between their culture and other cultures that inform this multi-cultural city. The central city represents a central cultural hub where culture is exchanged through a variety of trade predominantly through food and the arts and crafts. This research explores the importance of providing spaces within the commercial centre for the social and economic value for the Somali refugees that could play a big part in their integration process. The thesis discusses the history of the Somalis, methods of integration and social depravation, precedents of successful spaces for cultural expression, concluding with the final design proposal discussions and conclusion. As the thesis explores the prospect of giving ownership to the Somali refugees in Wellington city the design component of the thesis focuses on architectural interventions that would facilitate and support cultural integration. The study explores the personalisation of an existing inner city built space and the use for functional needs as a first step for the Somalis to partake in economic and cultural exchange, understanding and eventually through such means develop a sense of belonging.</p>

Development of a culturally and linguistically sensitive virtual reality educational platform to improve vaccine acceptance within a refugee population: the SHIFA community engagement-public health innovation programme

ObjectivesTo combat misinformation, engender trust and increase health literacy, we developed a culturally and linguistically appropriate virtual reality (VR) vaccination education platform using community-engaged approaches within a Somali refugee community.DesignCommunity-based participatory research (CBPR) methods including focus group discussions, interviews, and surveys were conducted with Somali community members and expert advisors to design the educational content. Co-design approaches with community input were employed in a phased approach to develop the VR storyline.Participants60 adult Somali refugees and seven expert advisors who specialise in healthcare, autism research, technology development and community engagement.SettingSomali refugees participated at the offices of a community-based organisation, Somali Family Service, in San Diego, California and online. Expert advisors responded to surveys virtually.ResultsWe find that a CBPR approach can be effectively used for the co-design of a VR educational programme. Additionally, cultural and linguistic sensitivities can be incorporated within a VR educational programme and are essential factors for effective community engagement. Finally, effective VR utilisation requires flexibility so that it can be used among community members with varying levels of health and technology literacy.ConclusionWe describe using community co-design to create a culturally and linguistically sensitive VR experience promoting vaccination within a refugee community. Our approach to VR development incorporated community members at each step of the process. Our methodology is potentially applicable to other populations where cultural sensitivities and language are common health education barriers.

‘Some Refugees Move because the Health Facilities in the Settlement are not Good’: A Qualitative Study of Factors Influencing Movement of Somali Refugees from Nakivale Settlement to Kampala City

Background: There is a growing number of urban refugees that may necessitate local government and humanitarian organizations to factor in when planning for the urban infrastructure as this has proved to be a planning blind spot. This study assessed factors influencing Somali refugee movement from Nakivale refugee settlement to Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. Methods: Six key informant interviews were held with the Principle Protection Officer-OPM, Legal Coordinator-NRC, Manager Access to Justice Program-RLP, Psychosocial Counsellor-JRS, Somali elder Nakivale settlement and the Chairperson-SCK. Three focus group discussions were conducted with one group of male and two groups of female Somali refugees. Transcripts were managed using Atlas ti version 7 (ATLAS. Ti GmbH, Berlin). Results: The need for better basic needs such as food, water, health care, education, employment, a better quality life and difficulties related to having a language barrier emerged in the first theme. Movement due to political and cultural persecution emerged as a combined theme of security. The need for better economic benefits, livelihood support and an enabling refugee policy were influencers. The study also revealed that Somali refugees are a well-knit society with a robust communication network that relies on Islamic religion and country background in exploiting connections that enable those who move from Nakivale settlement to quickly adapt to the situation in Kampala.Conclusion: Somali movement from Nakivale refugee settlement to Kampala is influenced by a need for better basic needs and security; economic benefits, livelihood support and an enabling refugee policy which guarantees freedom of movement. A communication network based on religion and country background are facilitators.

Threats, deportability and aid: The politics of refugee rentier states and regional stability

In 2012, 2016 and 2018–2019, Pakistan threatened to expel Afghan refugees and in 2015, 2016 and 2019, Kenya threatened to demolish the Dadaab camp and expel Somali refugees. Following the threats, the governments extracted more than $300 million aid, combined. Why did these states succeed in extracting aid despite their relatively weak status and not bordering the target of their blackmail? This article first situates refugee expulsion within the literature on refugee policies, migration diplomacy and refugee rentier states. Second, in two cases – Somalis in Kenya and Afghans in Pakistan – I show how states used the threat of expulsion to construct and leverage the deportability of their refugee communities as a foreign policy tool. States used the legal uncertainty around deportability to channel threats and violence toward refugees, but the primary audience of the threats were not refugees, but the international community. Officials in Kenya and Pakistan used threats paired with six-month or one-year delays as negotiation tactics to extract aid. Surprisingly, states that were generous hosts to refugees become strategically important because of their role in providing regional stability, which turned otherwise weak states into important allies that could threaten expulsion and extract aid from superpowers.

PhD Candidate

Across the world, refugee hosting has been associated with costs and benefits to the hosting nations. However, in Kenya, hosting Somali refugees is majorly considered costly rather than beneficial to the nation. The county’s high insecurity is one of the major effects that Somali refugees are associated with. No objective research has indicated the specific benefits of Somali refugees in Kenya. Using mixed research method, this study focused on establishing the costs and benefits of Somali refugees. The findings show that Somali refugees pose positive and negative effects on the Kenyan state. These effects are economic, social, and environmental. The study recommends policy implementation and technological adoption strategies as ways of enhancing Somali refugee contribution to Kenya’s socio-economic development.

You Have to Pay to Live: Somali Young Adult Experiences With the U.S. Health Care System

There is increasing documentation that refugees face experiences of interpersonal or structural discrimination in health care and employment. This study examines how Somali refugees understand various forms of discrimination in employment and health care related to their health, utilization of, and engagement with the health care system in the United States. We draw on semistructured qualitative interviews ( N = 35) with Somali young adults in three U.S. states—Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Maine. Using modified grounded theory analysis, we explore how experiences of discrimination in employment and health care settings impact health care access, utilization, and perceptions of health among Somali young adults. Discrimination was identified as a major barrier to using health services and securing employment with employer-sponsored insurance coverage. These findings highlight how interpersonal and structural discrimination in employment and health care are mutually reinforcing in their production of barriers to health care utilization among Somali refugees.

The Relationship Among Trauma, Acculturation, and Mental Health Symptoms in Somali Refugees

More than 100,000 Somali refugees have resettled in the United States, creating a need for additional research about mental health needs and premigration experiences that precede resettlement. The purpose of this study was to learn more about premigration traumatic experiences, the process of acculturation following resettlement, and the relationship between premigration trauma, acculturation, and mental health. Eighty Somali refugees from two mid-sized Midwestern cities participated. It was hypothesized that acculturation would mediate the relationship between premigration trauma and mental health symptoms. The results partially supported this hypothesis, dependent upon the dimension of acculturation included in the path analysis. Unexpected relationships among the various acculturation dimensions in the model (American cultural identity, English language competency, and American cultural competency) occurred with traumatic experiences, mental health symptoms, and time in the United States. We discuss implications and directions for future research, practice, advocacy, and training.

Risk and protective factors for comorbidity of PTSD, depression, and anxiety among Somali refugees in Kenya

Background: Comorbid common mental disorders (CMDs) are pervasive in refugee populations. However, limited research has explored psychosocial factors for mental disorder comorbidity in Somali refugee samples. Aims: This study aims to explore potential risk and protective factors for comorbid depression-anxiety and comorbid depression-PTSD by examining associations between trauma exposure, psychosocial factors, and mental health symptoms among a sample of Somali refugees displaced in urban Kenya. Methods: We used snowball sampling to recruit Somali youth aged 15 to 35years( N = 250, n = 143 female, n = 88 male, n = 19 unknown gender). We measured 16 common types of trauma exposure and three psychosocial factors (endorsing violence, willingness to share problems, and symptom awareness) and used the HSCL-25 and PCL-C to capture individual and comorbid CMD symptoms, using guided cutoff points and/or algorithms. We then ran a series of logistic regression analyses to examine relationships between trauma exposure, psychosocial factors, and individual and comorbid CMD symptoms. Results: Findings showed that increased trauma exposure predicted symptoms of individual and comorbid CMDs. Increased symptom awareness and endorsement of violence predicted comorbid depression-PTSD and comorbid anxiety-depression symptoms, respectively. Willingness to share problems buffered depressive symptoms but did not predict comorbidity. Conclusions: These findings revealed the high CMD comorbidity prevalence with differential effects of trauma and psychosocial factors on individual or comorbid mental disorders. This study suggests a need for transdiagnostic approaches that cut across Western diagnostic boundaries and consider culturally responsive and relevant items for mental health measures.