REFUGEE REPORTING
Last year, a team from Doha Centre for Media Freedom (DCMF) visited the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to meet with exiled journalists and compile data which was eventually published in the report, No Home from Home: the plight of East African exiled journalists.
Members of the mission quickly found that while Nairobi had traditionally been viewed as a safe haven for journalists forced to flee their home countries in the surrounding area, the reality on the ground is that security conditions are often just as bad following their escape.
The situation continues to deteriorate, and exiled journalists in Nairobi are facing increased hardships as they attempt to rebuild their lives. Forced from a life of insecurity and instability, exiled journalists find themselves in a similar situation, but in totally new and unknown surroundings, unable to trust anyone and unaware of the legal issues associated to their predicament.
“Increasingly difficult” conditions
Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, Laetitia Bader, told DCMF that the situation facing refugees in Nairobi continues to deteriorate, noting: “What little remains of Kenya’s shaky reputation for respecting basic refugee rights is fast disappearing.”
“The Kenyan government has made it increasingly difficult, even impossible in the case of urban refugees, to register.
“This is evidently a particular concern for journalists.
KENYA: REFUGE or REPRESSION?
Eastleigh, also known as 'Little Mogadishu,' has been targeted by police in recent months
“Since early April, the government has also given almost free reign to its security forces to clampdown on Somalis, including refugees, particularly in urban areas, during a round-operation riddled with abuses. And to top it all off, at least 359 Somalis have been deported to conflict-ridden Somalia over the last weeks, without allowing them the opportunity to challenge their deportations,” she added.
While the Somali community as a whole continues to face such challenging conditions, journalists are particularly vulnerable because of their work, and being forced to relocate to refugee camps is seen by many as nothing short of a death sentence, as Al Shabaab operatives are known to work in these locations.
A call for action
The dangers facing journalists in these areas have prompted a campaign to exempt exiled journalists from being ordered to refugee camps. Supported by a number of international organisations, William Khayoko, founder of the Journalists for Human Rights Foundation, is involved with coordinating the campaign on the ground.
Khayoko told DCMF that discussions have been taking place to ensure that journalists are not forced to relocate to refugee camps, and that exiled journalists are able to continue living in Nairobi. While their security there is far from guaranteed, it represents an improvement in comparison to the camps.
“The situation is now getting worse, and journalists face threats from security agents who can easily get into Kenya,” he said,
However, daily life in Nairobi carries its own difficulties: “At the same time, Kenyan police continue to harass and threaten journalists, extorting money from them by threatening them with arrest or deportation.”
Tragically, many exiled journalists are forced into spending what little money they possess to bribe the police into leaving them alone, while others are subjected to regular intimidation and have even had their equipment seized.
Khayoko told DCMF that exiled journalists require three main pillars of support; a mandate from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) allowing them to work and move freely, support to carry out their work and pursue stories, and financial sustenance to cover their basic living costs.
“Life of hell”
Last year, DCMF met Mahad Diriye, a journalist who has been living in exile since 2010, during a trip to Eastleigh, or 'Little Mogadishu.' He has struggled to continue working but has produced work for a number of international media houses as well as working with Somali radio and television stations during his time in exile.
However, the legal restrictions and difficulties in obtaining the necessary paperwork to operate legally in Kenya continue to contribute to a daily struggle.
“I would describe life as a refugee as hell,” he told DCMF in a recent telephone interview.
“Things are so difficult, especially when you do not speak to language and you cannot integrate into the community.
Mahad lives in constant fear for his life. He fled Somalia after being detained, and he fears that security agents are pursuing him in Kenya.
“We feel more insecurity here than we did in Somalia – the situation is so difficult and we always feel danger.”
And journalists like Mahad must also deal with the local authorities and the challenges they pose.
Earlier this year, Mahad was detained by local police and forced to relocate to Kakuma refugee camp. He was eventually able to return to Nairobi, where he feels safer, but where he continues to struggle while trying to carry out his work as a journalist, a profession to which he is completely dedicated.
“I feel like I am between two difficulties – security agents and the local police who harass and threaten us. It is really terrible.”
“The worst kind of life”
While the Somalis represent the most visible refugee community in Kenya, the country plays host to exiled journalists from all over East Africa. Issues related to language, security, shelter and other basic needs unite a diverse and vibrant community in desperation, having being forced into exile.
While online media make it somewhat easier for journalists in exile to communicate with their colleagues and to report and read about news from back home, financial constraints mean that their professional experience can often become meaningless as they are forced to turn to other employment to make ends meet.
Not only are they being denied access to the profession they love, but their work is being withheld from their fellow countrymen and women.
Not every case results in doom and despair, but the reality of life as an exiled journalist is often defined by desperation and fear. The constant battle to scrape together enough money to cover one’s basic needs - as well as those of any dependents – combined with constant security threats mean that journalists in exile tend to feel lost and alone wherever they turn.
And as long as foreign security agents are able to move freely throughout Kenya and act with impunity, then exiled journalists will continue to find themselves stuck between the proverbial rock and hard place.
As Mahad explains, the only glimmer of hope for most exiled journalists in Kenya is that their resettlement applications can be finalised and they can be moved to locations providing real refuge.
“There is no hope here – the only hope is for resettlement. I don’t care where to, I just want to find a safe place to live where I can move freely and do my work.
When I think of my friends and colleagues who have been killed I feel like crying – this really is the worst kind of life.”