There's little information available online for prospective researchers or
journalists attempting to access Kakuma and Dadaab camps. The best I
found was an information packet published by the UNHCR in 2008. Access hinges
on permission from Kenya's Department of Refugee Affairs (DRA), though it's not
easy to get in touch with the DRA. The listed phone number is frequently
disconnected. The website has been under construction for two years. Emails
seem to get lost in cyber space.
Yet, those unaffiliated with the UNHCR or it's many partner NGO's have managed to navigate the approval process from the Commissioner at the DRA. I started by contacting a handful of these researchers and journalists--sending emails and phone calls and receiving a wide range of advice that reflects a wide range of experience:
"Basically you have to just camp out at the DRA--I came back every day for three days--and eventually they'll get to you."
"I was in and out in 45 minutes...I just showed them a letter from the university in Kenya that I'm affiliated with."
"I tried but basically bypassed the waiting game and just went--I had to fly below the radar a bit, but was there for three weeks and was fine."
My own experience further widens the range. I wound up calling the UNHCR sub-office in Dadaab camp and speaking with a community relations officer who put me in touch with Mr. Nyale (himself a community relations officer with the DRA). I sent him an email of inquiry regarding the process of securing a letter of permission and was thrilled to receive an email within twenty-minutes asking for a copy of my passport and a letter of intention that included my dates of travel. Upon doing so (immediately), I received still another email of confirmation, stating that the letter would be fast-tracked and ready within two days.
Cautiously optimistic, I arrived at the DRA three days later and met the one and only Mr. Nyale. Young, enthusiastic, and willing to accommodate my travel plans, we rearranged my dates to better facilitate my research. "You must be in Kakuma for World Refugee Day on June 20th," he said. "Here, let me push back just by a couple of days your trip to Dadaab so you can be sure to make the flight." "Come back tomorrow and I'll have a letter prepared and signed by the Commissioner," he said, concluding our meeting. "In fact, if you want you can even interview him too."
Conducting research, particularly research that requires interviews with overworked NGO staffers and permission to access populations at the margins requires a certain zen. Delays, complications, and long gaps in communication with contacts are more frequent than not. And often it happens that just when I've cast off hope of hearing from someone or gaining access somewhere, suddenly plans materialize. Those moments tend to require something different, that is a tenacious persistence and willingness to drop everything for an interview or event (and race across town via bus, foot, or tut-tut). The answer is always "yes" to the question "are you available now?"
So when tomorrow came and Mr. Nyale called to say the letter was not yet prepared (though most certainly would be first thing the following day), I held my breadth. Sure enough, I received a call this morning. "Your letter is ready," Mr. Nyale said. "Can you come in now?" I flagged down the first motorbike taxi I saw and off we went.
Thanks to the time and insight shared by the researchers and journalists whom I contacted and Mr. Nyale (and the support and encouragement of many others who assured me it would work out when I was not particularly zen), I have the letter in hand.
I leave for Kakuma tomorrow where I'll be conducting research and reporting until June 23rd (and will travel to Dadaab on June 30th). Stay tuned!
Yet, those unaffiliated with the UNHCR or it's many partner NGO's have managed to navigate the approval process from the Commissioner at the DRA. I started by contacting a handful of these researchers and journalists--sending emails and phone calls and receiving a wide range of advice that reflects a wide range of experience:
"Basically you have to just camp out at the DRA--I came back every day for three days--and eventually they'll get to you."
"I was in and out in 45 minutes...I just showed them a letter from the university in Kenya that I'm affiliated with."
"I tried but basically bypassed the waiting game and just went--I had to fly below the radar a bit, but was there for three weeks and was fine."
My own experience further widens the range. I wound up calling the UNHCR sub-office in Dadaab camp and speaking with a community relations officer who put me in touch with Mr. Nyale (himself a community relations officer with the DRA). I sent him an email of inquiry regarding the process of securing a letter of permission and was thrilled to receive an email within twenty-minutes asking for a copy of my passport and a letter of intention that included my dates of travel. Upon doing so (immediately), I received still another email of confirmation, stating that the letter would be fast-tracked and ready within two days.
Cautiously optimistic, I arrived at the DRA three days later and met the one and only Mr. Nyale. Young, enthusiastic, and willing to accommodate my travel plans, we rearranged my dates to better facilitate my research. "You must be in Kakuma for World Refugee Day on June 20th," he said. "Here, let me push back just by a couple of days your trip to Dadaab so you can be sure to make the flight." "Come back tomorrow and I'll have a letter prepared and signed by the Commissioner," he said, concluding our meeting. "In fact, if you want you can even interview him too."
Conducting research, particularly research that requires interviews with overworked NGO staffers and permission to access populations at the margins requires a certain zen. Delays, complications, and long gaps in communication with contacts are more frequent than not. And often it happens that just when I've cast off hope of hearing from someone or gaining access somewhere, suddenly plans materialize. Those moments tend to require something different, that is a tenacious persistence and willingness to drop everything for an interview or event (and race across town via bus, foot, or tut-tut). The answer is always "yes" to the question "are you available now?"
So when tomorrow came and Mr. Nyale called to say the letter was not yet prepared (though most certainly would be first thing the following day), I held my breadth. Sure enough, I received a call this morning. "Your letter is ready," Mr. Nyale said. "Can you come in now?" I flagged down the first motorbike taxi I saw and off we went.
Thanks to the time and insight shared by the researchers and journalists whom I contacted and Mr. Nyale (and the support and encouragement of many others who assured me it would work out when I was not particularly zen), I have the letter in hand.
I leave for Kakuma tomorrow where I'll be conducting research and reporting until June 23rd (and will travel to Dadaab on June 30th). Stay tuned!
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