Garissa locals residing next to the Dadaab refugee camp have urged the government to rescind its decision to shut down the settlement and repatriate Somalia refugees back to their motherland, saying their livelihoods are directly entwined to those of the refugees.
The residents now fear that their economic survival and that of Dadaab Town could suffer a lot even as the voluntary repatriation programme launched in 2013 gathers speed in the face of countless challenges.
Apart from accommodating the only educational and health facilities, the town also offers the locals with employment opportunities that they will eventually miss after the closure of the tents.
The Daddab camp that was first set up approximately 25 years ago, also supports local contractors who offer construction services and others who supply foodstuffs to the over 270,000 Somalia refugees.
“Dadaab is the center of the local economy. Billions of dollars exchange hands here and it is something the government just wishes to take away without providing us (locals) with alternatives,” affirms Mohammed Osman, a former reporter of Gargar Humanitarian radio in Dadaab.
The locals are also uncomfortable with the camp closure because a number of them have since intermarried with a bigger part of the refugee population.
Some of the locals have even registered as refugees so as to benefit from the facilities offered by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) thus they fear being left destitute.