Somalia: Information on the repatriation of refugees to northeast Somalia, including their tribe, location and whether they are Majerteens (Darood), whether the repatriation is voluntary, and whether repatriation is possible by air transportation
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 February 1994 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | SOM16344.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Somalia: Information on the repatriation of refugees to northeast Somalia, including their tribe, location and whether they are Majerteens (Darood), whether the repatriation is voluntary, and whether repatriation is possible by air transportation, 1 February 1994, SOM16344.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab75a4.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
For general information on the repatriation of Somali refugees from along the Kenya-Somali border, please refer to Response to Information Request SOM16223.E of 27 January 1994. This document is available on the REFINFO database of your Regional Documentation Centre.
According to a Somali manager of the Centre for Italian Scholastic and Technical Organizations (COSTI) in Toronto who is also a specialist in Somali affairs, members of all Somali clans are present in the refugee camps along the Kenya-Somali border (14 Feb. 1994). The source states that about 60 per cent of these refugees are Marjeteens and they are largely located in southern Somalia (ibid.). The source notes that the repatriation is voluntary and most of these refugees would prefer to return to their places of origin (ibid.).
An official with CARE Canada agrees that the repatriation is voluntary (14 Feb. 1994). The source stated that the refugees could be repatriated by air, depending on the destination, but this method would not be the most cost-effective means of repatriation (14 Feb. 1994). As a result, the most appropriate method for transporting the refugees would be by road (ibid.). The source could not indicate the refugees' clans or place of origin (ibid.).
In a report on the "voluntary repatriation" of Somali refugees, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) notes that 80 per cent of the refugees are from southern Somalia (25 Jan. 1994). With regard to the clans inhabiting this region, please refer to the attachments from Somalia: A Nation in Turmoil and The Shaping of Somali Society. For further details on the repatriation and other relief and rehabilitation programmes of the UNHCR and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Somalia, please refer to the attachments.
This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
CARE Canada, Ottawa. 14 February 1994. Telephone interview with official.
Centre for Italian Scholastic and Technical Organizations (COSTI), Toronto. 14 February 1994. Telephone interview with Manager.
UNHCR Branch Office, Ottawa. 25 January 1994. "Current Status of Cross-Border Operations and Voluntary Repatriation of Somali Refugees from Kenya."
Attachments
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 5 October 1993. "Germany to Assist in Reconstruction in Northeast." (NEXIS)
_____. 15 April 1993. "Kenya: Repatriation of Somali Refugees." (NEXIS)
Cassanelli, Lee V. 1982. The Shaping of Somali Society. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Samatar, Said S. 1991. Somalia: A Nation in Turmoil. London: Minority Rights Group.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 25 August 1993. "UNHCR Activities Financed by Voluntary Funds: Report for 1992-1993 and Proposed Programmes and Budget for 1994," pp. 139-46.
_____. 24 August 1992. "UNHCR Activities Financed by Voluntary Funds: Report for 1991-1992 and Proposed Programmes and Budget for 1993," pp. 111-15.
UNHCR Branch Office, Ottawa. 25 January 1994. "Current Status of Cross-Border Operations and Voluntary Repatriation of Somali Refugees from Kenya."