A pilot programme for voluntary repatriation targeting 10,000 refugees from Dadaab camp in northeastern Kenya is set to begin in mid-April, but questions linger about the refugees being ready to return to Somalia.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has singled out Kismayu, Baidoa and Luuq as the places they consider safe for refugees to return to. The organisation has already set up return help desks in all the five camps in Dadaab.

UNHCR started a comprehensive return intention survey on February 17.

READ: British government to support repatriation of Somali refugees

But a visit to Dadaab — considered the world’s largest refugee camp with 369,656 refugees as at the end of January — reveals mixed feelings to the voluntary repatriation programme that was launched when Kenya, Somalia and the UNHCR signed a tripartite agreement in November 2013.

While the majority of Somali refugees are willing to return home, they say there is no guarantee of safety. Some are concerned about how they will sustain themselves once they return home since the UNHCR and the Kenyan government are still working on the details of a return package.

The UNHCR Kenya Country Representative, Raouf Mazou, told The EastAfrican that repatriation will not be easy because the situation in South Central Somalia — areas of Baidoa and Kismayu — is not uniformly safe. But officials believe a significant number of refugees have already returned, especially those who arrived in 2011 due to the drought in the Horn.

The refugee numbers reduced from 480,000 in 2012 to 405,000 in 2013.

Dadaab, situated in Garissa County, North Eastern Kenya, has five camps; Hagadera, Dagahaley, Ifo, Ifo 2 and Kambioos. At Hagadera camp — the oldest, started in 1992 — most of the refugees have been there for over 20 years and are not keen on going back to Somalia because they have blended with the local community and even established business networks.

The large numbers of refugees making inquiries since the return help desk was launched have dwindled, with most being more concerned about the return package and how they will rebuild their lives in Somalia. 

Sixty-year-old Dahir Mohamed Ali, from Eastern Ethiopia, who escaped from alleged government persecution in Ogaden region, has no intention of going back because he says the conditions back home have not changed.

Mr Ali, who lives in Hagadera camp, said that before the repatriation programme begins, those involved must ensure that the refugees are ready and willing to go back and that there is peace where they are going.

As it is, the government of Somalia is yet to resettle the over one million internally displaced persons (IDPs), a situation that could put off the refugees in Dadaab. 
For Asha Mohammed Aden, there is nothing to go back to because she came to Kenya at the age of 10 and has no mental picture of Somalia.

“I only know Somalia by name and I have no link with the place,” said Ms Aden, whose parents are both dead.

Abdinassir Adow Isaak, a youth leader in the Hagadera camp, said the biggest fear among refugees about repatriation is that the youth are likely to be exposed to Al Shabaab either through forcible recruitment or because of financial challenges created by unemployment.

But in Kambioos camp — established after the 2011 drought in Somalia — the refugees are more likely to go back home as most are Somali Bantus who can now return to their farming activities now that the drought is over.

For 50-year old Habib Imen Hussein the conditions in Kambioos camp have deteriorated to the extent that she would rather go back home.

“When we came to the camp three years ago, we were looking for security and education for our children. But now the monotonous diet of maize and sorghum is forcing us consider returning to Somalia where there is a variety of food, although there is no guarantee of security,” said Ms Hussein.  

Under the slogan Return is my Choice, the UNHCR requires those who wish to go back home to first consult with the organisation on how they can travel home safely.

A security expert in the camp said that for the programme to succeed, Kenya must rally the international community to increase its troops in Somalia in order to crash Al Shabaab completely, which will encourage the refugees to return on their own.

ALSO READ: Somali refugees wary of insecurity

Kenya is under obligation by law to protect Somali refugees until their country stabilises. However, the refugee problem has lasted for 23 years and Kenya has grown weary.

Article 33(2) of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees allows countries to repatriate refugees when they have become a danger to the host communities. But, Kenya cannot guarantee that those who opt to return will be safe.