- Title: KENYA: South Sudanese escaping conflict seek refuge in neighbouring Kenya
- Date: 20th January 2014
- Summary: KAKUMA, KENYA (RECENT) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF REFUGEES AT CAMP GATE SIGN READING "UNHCR KAKUMA REFUGEE RECEPTION CENTRE" VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AT OUTDOOR CLINIC VARIOUS OF CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS GETTING IMMUNIZED CHILD CRYING DANIEL ATEM, SOUTH SUDANESE NATIONAL AND HIS FAMILY WAITING IN LINE ATEM'S DAUGHTER BEING IMMUNIZED (SOUNDBITE) (English) DANIEL ATEM, SOUTH SUDANESE NAT
- Embargoed: 4th February 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Kenya
- Country: Kenya
- Topics: International Relations,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA302MHGTHAHU5ORVTYX4Z28DAH
- Story Text: Two years after leaving the Kakuma Refugee camp in Kenya's north and heading home to rebuild their lives, a number of South Sudanese refugees have had to find their way back here again.
Since mid-December, when conflict erupted in South Sudan, over 86,000 South Sudanese have crossed into neighbouring countries. So far Kenya has received over 8,000 refugees.
The United Nations says thousands of people have been killed and more than half a million driven from their homes in fighting in the world's newest nation.
The conflict has pitted troops loyal to President Salva Kiir against rebels backing Riek Machar, who was sacked as vice president in July.
On arrival in Kenya, refugees are given basic relief items like blankets, mats, cooking utensils and jerry cans.
New children at the camp also get immunized against diseases like polio and measles.
A number of children now living in Kakuma are said to have been separated from their parents.
Daniel Atem lives here with his family. It's not his first time in Kakuma; he was a refugee during Sudan's north-south war which ended in 2005 and went back home after the south split from the north in 2011.
Atem says he and his family were lucky to escape alive after fighting broke out in their home town.
"The war erupted in Bor town so people started running to the bush. We stayed in the bushes for almost eight days then after that when the government captured the war town then we came back. When we came back the situation is still worse because the dead bodies were still on the ground," he said.
As more South Sudanese flee into neighbouring countries, the UN refugee agency UNHCR is working to establish a number of new camps and expand existing ones in neighbouring Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya.
Meanwhile many in Kakuma hope talks in Ethiopia aimed at securing a ceasefire, will soon bring the warring sides to agree so that things can go back to normal.
"I was an inspector, school inspector in Bor town and I was also working as a Tutor I was even a university student I was learning. All these things have been disrupted because of the war," said Peter Ayiik Gak, a South Sudanese national.
Girma Gebre-Kristos, is the head of the UNHCR sub-region office in Kakuma.
He says Uganda has taken in over 30,000 refugees so far and Ethiopia about 18,000 refugees, while Kenya has the lowest number.
Kakuma is also home to refugees from Somalia and Ethiopia and is meant to accommodate 100,000 residents a number it has already exceeded.
"We have received 8,000 but we should not forget that prior to this new influx we already had like 120,000 refugees recognized by the Government of Kenya living in the camp and in fact we already had a number of sectorial gaps in water sanitation, shelter and also education prior to the crises and the current influx would only exacerbate our situation and add to the challenge and that is what we are trying to address together with other UN agencies and partners," said Gebre-Kristos.
Aid agencies are working to set up new camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, to help accommodate the growing numbers.
The UN says it currently needs a total of 88 million US dollars to respond to the humanitarian crisis inside South Sudan as well as in the surrounding region. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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