DETERMINANTS OF SUCCESSFUL INTEGRATION PROGRAMM OF SOMALI REFUGEE RETURNEES INTO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY IN SOMALIA

ABDIRAHMAN ABDIRAHMAN ABDIKARIM, DR. THEURI FRIDA SIMBA

Abstract


Settlement experiences can be challenging and difficult for refugee communities and individuals. There is no doubt that people who have lived for long periods in refugee camps had difficult experiences and faced a high level of poverty, including low levels of education or no education at all. Some have suffered terribly from posttraumatic disorder as a result of conflict and displacement. Due to the influx of Somali refugees in Kenya, the three permanent solutions to the predicament of refugees were deemed impossible to implement. The governments of Somalia and Kenya together with the UNHCR signed a tripartite agreement which was to oversee voluntary repatriation of the exiled individuals. Integration of refugee returnees with their organization local community has been faced by challenges. There is need to address the challenges to have successful integration of Somali refugee returnees into the original local community. The current study aimed at addressing the existing research gap by establishing the determinants of successful integration of Somali refugee returnees into the local community in Somalia. This research problem was studied through the use of a descriptive survey design. The target population of the study will be 1085 household of refuges return in Somalia and 75 UNHCR officials in Somalia. The sample size of the study was 314 respondents. The questionnaire was selected instrument or tool for data collection for the study. The researcher used trained research assistants to administer the questionnaires to all the respondents of the study. The study was carried out a pilot study to pretest and validate the questionnaire. Quantitative data collected was analysed by the use of descriptive statistics using SPSS and presented through percentages, means, standard deviations and frequencies. The information was displayed by use of bar charts, graphs and pie charts and in prose-form. Content analysis was used to test data that is qualitative in nature or aspect of the data collected from the open-ended questions. Multiple regressions were done to establish the determinants of successful integration of Somali refugee returnees into the local community in Somalia. The study conducted a correlation analysis to establish the strength of the relationship between the independent and the dependent variable. The study established that family support system affected successful integration of Somali refugee returnees into the local community. The study further revealed that language affects successful integration of Somali refugee returnees into the local community in Somalia to great extent. The study revealed that social-cultural factors positively affect successful integration of Somali refugee returnees into the local community in Somalia. The study found that government support system affect successful integration of Somali refugee returnees into the local community in Somalia.

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