While the population of refugees at Dadaab camps mainly comprises of Somali people, there are also minority groups residing there.
Asylum seekers from various Eastern African countries say they have been neglected on the repatriation schedules and they now fear that they will be left homeless when the camps are closed as stated by the Kenyan government.
‘'Since we landed here life has not been bad. However, you can never freely move around the camps. You have to stay within here because security is always tight,” said Okunju Ojulu, a Gambella refugee from Ethiopia.
Okunju said he fled conflict in Ethiopia’s Gambella Region way back in 2004.
The population of Ethiopian refugees at the Dadaab camps now lies at 8,000 people.
In mid-April 2016, South Sudanese militia group raided a village in Gambella region killing approximately 200 people and kidnapping several women and children, a fact that the Ethiopian refugees say returning home is never an option for them.
” We are now very confused on where to go after here. I would rather go to a third country than go home. UN told us that we will go to a third country so we are waiting,’' stated Ojulu.
Amid these uncertainties, the Kenyan government has not issued any statement regarding closure procedures. It has, however, assigned a task force to make recommendations and oversee the whole process.