‘90% Of The Times, I Am Not Safe’
Navigating Challenges & Solutions For The Protection of LGBTQI Refugees in Kakuma
By Jackie* as told to Samuel Hall Team
W hen I speak about protection, it takes me back to where it all started — my home country. Many of us left our home countries to seek safety and came to Kenya to seek asylum, and obtain protection . We left our home countries because of persecution based on our sexual orientation, which hindered our hopes to live a good life. Many others are still coming because of the government’s (especially Ugandan government’s) recent passage of a bill concerning LGBTQI. The law states that whoever is caught faces the death sentence.
I arrived in 2014 amidst state-sponsored cruelty against the LGBTQI community. I am thankful to the Government of Kenya that has provided us refuge. Unlike other agencies that require prior appointments, the Department of Refugee Affairs (DRS) in Kenya has maintained and continues to maintain an open-door policy, granting us access without the need for advance arrangements.
However, despite this, I must admit that I do not feel safe 90% of the time. The reality in Kakuma Refugee Camp, where I reside, presents significant protection challenges. We lack dedicated protection centres, and the one that once provided support is now defunct.
Beyond physical safety, ensuring our sexual protection presents its complexities. In a crowded camp like Kakuma, LGBTQI individuals struggle to have their health concerns prioritised, as the camp hospitals serve both the host community and refugees. Upon arrival at the hospital, our details must be recorded before receiving medical attention, leading to long waiting times.
Psychosocial support, too, remains elusive. While some international organisations, such as the Danish Refugee Council (DRC), conducted an assessment of the LGBTQI community, many protection concerns remain unresolved. Emergency information sharing is not effectively managed, and access to legal advice and representation remains challenging.
Reporting incidents to the police is often the sole recourse, with limited, sometimes biased media coverage. In 2020, an attempt on my life was terrible: a locally made petrol bomb was thrown into my compound, which I reported to the police. The problem here is that the only thing you can do is to report, nothing more. We have had many physical assaults: a case where one lost an eye, someone was shot, and someone was burnt.
Moreover, access to livelihood often exposes our community to discrimination, especially transgender individuals. Some organisations ask intrusive questions that deter many from seeking help or employment.
Samuel Hall’s recent study with the IOM on ‘Mapping and Research to Strengthen Protection and Assistance Measures for Migrants with Diverse SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics.) finds that knowledge of and attitudes towards migrants with diverse SOGIESC among protection actors is key yet often lacking and potentially discriminatory. Migrants with diverse SOGIESC with precarious legal status tend to experience limited access to local or national justice mechanisms in transit and destination countries.
To compensate for these challenges, I’ve put in place several self-protection and personal security measures, including keeping five dogs, erecting a fence, and housing two to three people with me to maintain security, even in my absence. I’ve established connections with the police, community block leaders, and security leadership. However, obtaining proper individual, community, and systemic protection remains an ongoing challenge.
As a leader, while I advocate for security, I also advocate for access to necessities such as food, communication, and water, as these are intrinsically linked. These are essential security measures because running out of water could force me to venture outside, making me vulnerable to attack.
Taking Matters in Our Own Hands
In light of this, in 2019, we founded the Nguono organisation to create a safe haven for members of our community. At Nguono, we rear chickens and grow vegetables to secure some income.
I first started Nguono project as a solo endeavour, inspired by my passion for crop farming. The seed of this idea was planted back in 2018 during a camp I attended, where I honed my farming skills and found ample time to nurture my agricultural interests. The journey of Nguono wasn’t a swift one; it evolved gradually over time.
During my time at the camp, I received monthly earnings, accumulating to a total of 3000 Kenyan Shillings. With this initial capital, I made my first move by purchasing 30 one-day-old chicks. I fed them with kitchen leftovers from local restaurants until they matured at three months old before selling them. As time went on, I welcomed new members to join the project, although I soon realised that it was more efficient to train fresh recruits rather than retaining them.
The COVID-19 pandemic restricted our movement, but it also provided us with an opportunity to enhance our poultry farming practices. We subsequently introduced turkey farming into our operations, utilising the poultry droppings as valuable manure. We also embraced a climate-smart approach known as vertical farming. Today, our primary areas of operation include poultry farming and vermiculture.
When it comes to our team, Nguono operates more like a training program, where we educate individuals interested in farming for a two-month period and then empower them to initiate their own farming ventures.
However, we face significant challenges in Kakuma. The local climatic conditions are not conducive to farming, and water scarcity remains a constant issue, albeit one we strive to mitigate. Limited capital has been a hindrance, and we have not been able to scale our programmes..
The attitude towards the environment poses another significant challenge, as many people in the area are pastoralists and may not fully appreciate the importance of the Nguono project. Unfortunately, we’ve also faced discrimination due to our sexual orientation, leading to distressing incidents such as the poisoning of our chicks, dogs, and cats last year.
Currently, we are working to purchase chicken feed to increase production, with plans to sell in December. This initiative has also helped us address issues related to food shortages and nutrition. However, we do not have much reliable external support. Mostly we rely on voluntary contributions.
We Have The Solutions; But We Need The Support
The challenges faced by LGBTQI individuals, especially in displacement, are extensive. Some refugee and community-based organisations are working on the ground to provide safe spaces, skills-based programmes and referrals, but they need help with operational challenges. The lack of proper documentation further hampers our efforts, as many organisations require specific documents like refugee documents or mandates that are not readily accessible to everyone.
Immediate needs such as food, communications, and access to water require attention. Implementing livelihood or cash-based programs could provide a crucial lifeline while we await more permanent solutions. However, access to such provisions is inconsistent and depends on the UNHCR’s budget allocations.
The private sector has a role to play in addressing these challenges. They can support referral cases and contribute to livelihood programs like the agriculture project we are running. More advocacy and comms support is also needed to make these initiatives available to a larger group of people. Capacity building is crucial; LGBTQI individuals are active in various sectors and can engage in research and income-generating activities. They can potentially be critical players in any sector, but their skills still need to be explored. Assessing their abilities and providing training would be invaluable in helping them understand their rights and navigate these challenges. The private sector should consider working with them directly.
To address protection concerns effectively, agencies should establish feedback mechanisms that empower victims. Currently, such mechanisms are lacking, leaving cases of harassment unresolved. Concerns regarding health and education are also unmet.
Finally, we should be able to become key players in activities that support us. If external support is provided, it should not be overly bureaucratic. For instance, our organisation needs more essential equipment like computers and printers, hindering our work.
We also need direct involvement in decision-making processes rather than relying on intermediaries who may only sometimes act in our best interests.
We need to live life like everyone else. As leaders, people depend on us for solutions, but we also face our challenges. Sometimes, we lack the necessary information, but we will continue to advocate and remain hopeful.
Key Recommendations from Samuel Hall’s Research
Beyond the recommendations highlighted by Jacky, our forthcoming study with DRC on strengthening localisation in protection programming in refugee camps in Kenya calls for clearer communication between international NGOs and local actors, including refugee led organisations (RLOs). It also requires more funding, to cover operational costs these organisations face, but also direct funding to allow them to not only prevent protection issues but respond more swiftly.
Local actors have, for our research, mapped out the key barriers to be removed or reduced to facilitate localisation and to reinforce their involvement with communities. The most common barriers are:
- Funding: local actors consider that funding streams are too slow to respond to specific cases they can assist. They also consider that those who hold the funds, in a partnership, also hold power. Unfortunately, that is often not funding or power rested in the hands of local actors.
- Freedom of movement: Although the Government of Kenya has passed a new refugee bill easing freedom of movement, this has not yet translated into practice for local actors. Without freedom of movement, local actors cannot access training sessions or meet counterparts in other areas of the country, to learn from each orther, or further abroad in the region, in Uganda or Tanzania. Local actors believe more advocacy is needed to facilitate their registration and recognition as civil society organisations (CSOs) but also provide their founders and staff with documentation to be able to move out of the camps.
- Trust building and changing mindsets: In both Dadaab and Kakuma, local actors understand the need to work in collaboration but question whether this understanding is mutual and reciprocated by international organisations’ staff members. They consider that INGOs lack trust in them and are not ready to take measured risks to work together. The lack of trust has created an environment where protection risks increase, and go unchecked. In the words of LGBTQI+ community members, the dominant narratives, mindsets and lack of understanding of their legitimate concerns and fears is a barrier to their protection.
- Name changed to protect identity
