World Refugee Day at Elimisha Kakuma
When the morning of June 20th dawns in Kakuma, the sunrise will bring a bittersweet joy to the nearly 200,000 residents of the camp. The massive community of refugees in northwest Kenya makes up only a small portion of the world’s 30 million refugees, a number that seems only to grow every year. But all 30 million of the world’s refugees, those who can no longer lead lives in their country of origin, can seize June 20th as a day of their own – World Refugee Day.
The United Nations General Assembly voted to declare June 20th World Refugee Day in 2001, and this year will mark the 22nd time it has been celebrated as such in Kakuma Refugee Camp.
Kakuma students Deng Chol Deng and Atong Tou describe World Refugee Day as a time to celebrate both community and individuality. While over half of those residing in Kakuma are South Sudanese refugees, many cultures are represented among the residents, including refugees from Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Burundi. Atong explains that one of the day’s main attractions in Kakuma is a central stage where members of the Kakuma community perform traditional cultural dances, putting their culture on display for all to enjoy and share in.
These dances and displays of cultural joy also provide learning opportunities for members of the camp to experience cultures other than their own, appreciating each others’ homelands as well as the community they’ve formed together in Kakuma. The day, as Deng Chol says, “reminds us of where we came from and also what we are going through.” Often, Atong notes, visitors from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees or other guests of honor come to Kakuma to speak, network, and learn about the members and needs of the camp. Soccer matches are organized, food and drinks are distributed, and fun is encouraged above all else.
While the day is packed with activities, performances, and speeches meant to make World Refugee Day an exciting occasion for those in Kakuma, the day is also one for remembrance, introspection, and understanding. Before the festivities, Deng Chol says that the day starts with stories.
Stories of homelands, of how members of the community came to Kakuma, of the persecution they faced before they settled there. Many members of the camp were born there, or have lived there from a young age, and World Refugee Day is a reminder not only of their current situation but of what family, elders, and family members had faced in the past.
World Refugee Day, to him, is a day where no matter what residents of Kakuma are going through, they feel a spark of hope that they will not be refugees forever. That this day of recognition will aid them in finding a place of belonging, a place where they can truly put down roots. For Atong, World Refugee Day strengthens the feeling of community in Kakuma – while the day showcases where the camp’s residents come from, it also reminds them to acknowledge the present and look towards a brighter future.