SOMALIA - OPPORTUNITIES FOR PD ENGAGEMENT WITH DADAAB

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001032

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR AF/E, A/S CARSON AND PRM

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PREF KPAO SO KE
SUBJECT: SOMALIA - OPPORTUNITIES FOR PD ENGAGEMENT WITH DADAAB

REFUGEES

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Summary
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1. (SBU) The residents of Kenya's Dadaab refugee camp, home to more
than 270,000 mostly Somali refugees, demonstrated a wide range of
activities aimed at promoting peace and reconciliation among Somalis
in Dadaab and in Somalia at large. These worthy projects certainly
merit support, and offer great prospect for public diplomacy
engagement with a large population of Somalis, many of whom are
disaffected but apparently receptive to U.S. engagement. This
message offers examples of activities we could support with varying
degrees of funds. The refugees' views on Somalia's future and
United States policy on Somalia will be reported via septels. End
summary.

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270,000 Disaffected Somalis
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2. (SBU) A Somalia Unit officer, accompanied by a visiting AF/PDPA
officer, traveled to Dadaab refugee camp from May 11-13 to survey
the views of the refugees regarding U.S. policy toward Somalia, the
current and future political prospects for Somalia, and
opportunities for public diplomacy engagement with the refugees.
The Dadaab refugee camp is in fact three separate camps - Ifo,
Dagahaley, and Hagadera - and is located approximately 80 kilometers
from the border with Somalia in Kenya's Northeast Province. The
camp was created in 1991 with capacity for 90,000 refugees. The
camp currently houses over 270,000 registered refugees, with more
arriving daily in spite of the official closure of the Kenya-Somalia
border.

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Public Diplomacy Opportunities
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3. (SBU) Following is a list of opportunities for public diplomacy
engagement with the Dadaab refugee population. This list is not
comprehensive, but offers examples of activities we might back with
varying degrees of budgetary support. The groups involved uniformly
stated that the human resources, including the determination and
intellect required, were readily available, and that relatively
small bits of financial support would boost these efforts.

- Radio programming ($400,000, or a portion thereof): The Office of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has
finally secured permission from the Government of Kenya to establish
and broadcast radio programming from Dadaab. The project was
previously funded but the money was re-allocated due to GOK delays
in approving the project. UNHCR's project envisions a studio in
Dadaab at which the refugees would develop radio programs to be
broadcast over StarFM, a station with which post has an excellent
relationship, during StarFM's idle hours. If post had funds to
support this initiative, we could dictate the themes of programs
developed and targeted at this audience of 270,000 Somalis.

- Hagadera soccer league ($4,000 or more): A group of youth, in
partnership with the NGO CARE, operates a soccer league of 80 teams
of 23 members each. The teams run their soccer league under the
rubric of youth leadership and conflict mediation. For example, we
met the coach of one team who described how the youth are trained to
resolve conflict in the context of their soccer matches. The league
could use any amount of equipment. We envision starting with
jerseys for each of the 1,840 members. If budget allowed, we could
provide soccer balls, cleats, or field upkeep, all emblazoned with
messages of peace and reconciliation.

- Dagahaley Drama Group ($200 or more): This group presented us with
approximately thirty minutes of their drama, song, and poetry. The
group operates with the most rudimentary of costumes and could use
anything from simple costumes to a microphone setup to a facility
for drama practice and rehearsal. The group could also benefit from
the ability to move among the camps to present their work. The
group presents messages of peace and reconciliation, and would
likely be receptive to input on their performances in conjunction
with any support we could offer.

- Youth Action for Peace Group: This initiative, which spans all
three camps, is focused on youth empowerment, self-reliance, and

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independence. The projects, a select few of which will be funded by
a CARE-associated volunteer, are supported by matching funds to
complement the funds raised by the applicant.

- Community Peace and Security Team (CPST) Leaders (multiples of
approximately $100): The CSM leaders at Ifo camp were beneficiaries
of bicycles, boots, and reflective vests from the Bureau of
Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM). However, the group notes
that their community policing efforts could benefit from even more
equipment, especially bicycles. Providing bikes and other equipment
(possibly with USG branding) would advance our public diplomacy
efforts while helping improve security in the camps.

- Community Self Management (CSM) Leaders: These groups perform
conflict resolution activities for disputes and petty crimes. The
CSM group in Hagadera noted that they have 30 CSM officers for over
100,000 refugees in that section of the camp. As such, a CSM
officer might require two hours to travel on foot to assist at the
scene of a dispute. Contributions to these groups would go toward
transportation, such as bicycles.

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Comment
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4. (SBU) Post believes that public diplomacy support for some or all
of these worthy initiatives would give us a valuable entre into an
audience of 270,000 Somalis, many of whom are otherwise disaffected
and unhappy. While we intend to use our existing and limited
programming budget to reach into Somalia, any additional funding
offered would likely be considered for direction to the Dadaaab
refugee camps. This population has both the ability to reach back
into Somalia with news of our good works and the potential to return
to Somalia en masse if and when the situation in their country
allows. Any public diplomacy programming we undertake in Dadaab is
likely to have positive effects.

RANNEBERGER