Sunday, June 19, 2016
Refugees at Dadaab refugee camp/photo file
By ADOW MOHAMED, @adowmo
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has announced it will reject funding from the European Union and member states in protest saying the group was setting “bad and shameful precedent” for other countries hosting refugees.
The medical aid termed said EU-Turkey deal signed in March, as a “historic abdication of moral and legal responsibilities”.
"The EU-Turkey deal sets a dangerous precedent for other countries hosting refugees, sending a message that caring for people forced from their homes is optional and that they can buy their way out of providing asylum,” MSF said in a statement.
MSF said, last month, the Kenyan cited European migration policy to justify their decision to close the world’s largest refugee camp, Dadaab, sending its residents back to Somalia.
The EU signed a migrant deal with Ankara in March, which Turkey would take back refugees seeking asylum in the EU in exchange for a multibillion-euro aid package, as well as political concessions, including the visa-free regime for Turkish citizens.
According to observers, this is what motivated Kenya to announce the refugee camp shutdown and the consequent expulsion of over 300,000 refugees.
"There has also been a fall-off in the voluntary international funding for the camps in Kenya, in favour of raising budgets in the northern hemisphere to refugees headed to the West. International obligations in Africa should not be done on the cheap; the world continues to learn the ruinous effect of these persistent double standards," said Interior ministry PS Karanja Kibicho.
Jerome Oberreit, the secretary general of MSF, said the EU deal is the latest in a long line of policies that go against the values and the principles that enable assistance to be provided.
"We cannot accept funding from the EU or the member states while at the same time treating the victims of their policies. It's that simple,"
Oberreit said the deal is jeopardizing efforts to provide safety of millions of refugees and asylum seekers around the globe.
"It's really important to see the real people instead of the political football that they have become," he said.
Kenya said the camp poses security threat. It also said it has since become an economic and environmental burden to the country.
On Monday, UNHCR high commissioner Flippo Grandi appealed for funds to ease Kenya's burden of hosting refugees.
“There is an urgency to mobilize funds from donors to help create a conducive environment for return of Somalia refuges to their native country. These funds will support repair of schools, clinics, roads and livelihood projects that create employment,” Grandi said.
Meanwhile, World Refugee Day will be marked Monday across the globe. This comes as close to a million refugees in the country face uncertain future with government vowing to shut their camps within a year.
Ahead of the day, the UN refugee agency has initiated a “#WithRefugee' petition.
The petition calls on governments to ensure that every refugee child gets an education, every refugee family has somewhere safe to live, and every refugee can work or learn new skills to make a positive contribution to their community.