Socio Economic Impacts of Refugees on Host Communities: The case of Somali Refugees in Kebribeyah District, Eastern Ethiopia
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Date
2006-06
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AAU
Abstract
This th esis intend s to ex plore the soc io-econom ic impacts assoc iat ed ,,·it h th e presence o r
massive inn ux o f refu gees and reli ef ope rati ons. The stu dy wa s co ndu cted in KehrihelU// distri ct
or th e Soma li National Regional State (S I RS) in ea stern Ethi opia . KehrihcmIJ distri ct has been
hostin g over 250,000 refugees in three camps since 1988. The prolonged presence of massive
innux o f refugees and reli ef resources ha brought maj or changes on the ditTercnt aspec ts or th e
hosts' li ves. This th esis, thus, looked at th e soc io-economic aspec ts o r the chan ges. To und erstand
the maj or changes, the th esis used fo ur data co ll ecti on meth ods. These were review or lit erature,
in-depth in tervi ew, foc us group discussion and direc t obse rvati on.
The th esis employed va ri ous indic ators both in th e soc ial and economic spheres in ord er LO
understand th e perceived soc io-cultural and economi c changes on th li ves or th e host
communities. Accordingly, changes in th e soc io-c ultural spheres in clu de soc ial conni cts, erosion
of customary marriage practi ce, changes in consumpti on pattern s, altitudes and behav iors.
Positi ve ly, the common ethnicity pl ays a pivotal role in strengthening th e relati on between the
hosts and th e refugees.
Economi c changes, on th e oth er hand , refer to th e deve lopment and expansion or f/(/risheik
and Kebribehay town, trade and business acti viti es and in frastructure. The va ri ous social and
human capitals, which refu gees had brought with them, have contributed ror th e loca l
development. Access to variolls fac ilities such as water, health , education and road is also
created. Negati vely, the presence of reli ef operations and th e refugees has put some pressure on
resources such as vegetation, water and pasture. This, in turn , affected th e pastora l and agro pastoral activiti es, and also led to rural-urban migrati on, brain drain from th e government
organi zati on to the reli ef organi zati ons and hi gh costs of li ving.