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Journal of Refugee Studies Advance Access originally published online on August 8, 2006
Journal of Refugee Studies 2006 19(3):396-413; doi:10.1093/jrs/fel011
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Journal of Refugee Studies Vol. 19, No. 3 © The Author [2006]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Articles

Urban Refugees in Nairobi: Problems of Protection, Mechanisms of Survival, and Possibilities for Integration

Elizabeth H. Campbell

Department of Sociology, Binghamton University—State University of New York, Binghamton, NY 13902, USA harper_campbell{at}hotmail.com

This article examines the legal status and economic livelihoods of refugees in Nairobi, focusing on Somalis, the largest urban population residing in the city. The results of the study challenge the Government of Kenya's (GOK) official position and the popular local perception that refugees are an economic burden, and show instead that these urban refugees are economically self-sufficient. Despite this economic independence, conditions for most refugees in Nairobi are extremely difficult. Urban refugees live largely without material assistance or legal protection from the GOK or UNHCR, are vulnerable to police arrest at any time and face high levels of xenophobia from the local population. By highlighting refugee self-sufficiency in Nairobi, this article lends support to the idea of local integration as a viable, durable solution to their situation of protracted exile.

Key Words: Somali refugees in Nairobi • refugee self-sufficiency and trade networks


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