The informal system of shelter ownership that has sprung up in refugee camps in Kenya and elsewhere has allowed entrepreneurial activity to flourish, but it is also unregulated, corrupt, and leaves some refugees vulnerable to losing everything.
“It was more than just our source of income. It was the place we called home. And now, after they’ve taken it and given it away, it’s just a place to sell cheap Ugandan beer.”
Daniel’s email suggests bitter defeat. He has attached a photo of himself standing proudly outside the shelter-cum-printing studio he and his wife ran in one of the Kakuma refugee camps in northwestern Kenya. That situation came to an abrupt end recently when Daniel was accused by his landlord of defaulting on his “rent”, charged by the police for failing to vacate the shelter, evicted, detained, and finally released without being assigned a new shelter.
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