Surviving Africa

The author's visit to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) refugee camp at Kakuma, Kenya, served as a reminder of the enormity of the international refugee crisis. Kakuma was established by the Kenyan Government in 1991 in response to a massive influx of refugees. The numbers have settled to between 220,000 and 250,000, a figure which dwarfs Australia's refugee intake particularly when one considers that the Kenyan base population is half that of Australia and its economy is much smaller. A peaceful change of government in Kenya in December 2002 offers significant scope for improvements in the lives of the refugees at Kakuma. However, their futures still rest on continued assistance from Australia and other developed nations.