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Article Excerpt
Abstract
This article illustrates the methodological potential of electronic media such as the Internet and e-mail for research amongst refugee diasporas. It will first describe research amongst Somalis in Kenyan refugee camps, which demonstrated the importance of transnational networks in the survival of refugees in the camps. The intention of the research set-up was to provide an alternative approach to common depictions of refugees, which often ignore their agency. A focus on agency, referring to every individual's level of choice and power, is as much a methodological decision as a theoretical or epistemological assumption, since people's agency clearly manifests itself in knowledge creation. After describing the possible dialogical nature of academic knowledge creation, the article moves on to illustrate how electronic media can play an important role in this. There are a number of apparent advantages to the methodological use of the Internet and e-mail in research, though at the same time pitfalls should not be underestimated. Nevertheless, when studying refugee communities that are dispersed across the globe and make active use of electronic media, "virtual dialogues" provide fascinating new insights.
Resume
L'article illustre le potentiel methodologique de medias comme l'Internet et le courriel pour la recherche parmi les diasporas de refugies. Il se concentre d'abord sur les Somaliens dans les camps kenyans de refugies, ce qui prouve l'importance des reseaux transnationaux relativement a la survie des refugies dans les camps. La recherche visait a fournir une approche differente des descriptions habituelles de refugies, qui ignorent souvent leurs droits. Le fait de mettre l'accent sur ceux-ci, qui renvoie au degre de choix et de pouvoir de chaque personne, est autant une decision d'ordre methodologique qu'une hypothese theorique ou epistemologique, puisque les droits du peuple se manifestent clairement dans la creation de la connaissance. Apres avoir decrit la nature dialogique possible de la creation de la connaissance academique, l'article poursuit en montrant comment les medias electroniques peuvent jouer un role a cet egard. L'utilisation methodologique de l'Internet et du courriel comporte de nombreux avantages pour la recherche, mais egalement des ecueils a ne pas sous-estimer. Neanmoins, s'adonner a l'etude de communautes de refugies dissemines sur la planete en se servant des medias electroniques permet des > qui ouvrent des perspectives nouvelles et fascinantes.
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At the end of 1991, three refugee camps were set up close to the small town of Dadaab in Kenya to host the large influx of Somalis fleeing the collapse of their state. At present, approximately 135,000 refugees are said to live in Ifo, Dagahaley, and Hagadera. Most of them originated from the regions of Jubadda Hoose and Shabeellaha Hoose, the lowlands of the two main rivers in South Somalia. There are also smaller groups of refugees from Ethiopia, Sudan, and Uganda, and a few individuals from Zaire in Dadaab. Between February 1999 and September 2001, I carried out anthropological Ph.D. research in the camps. I wanted to understand how Somali refugees were able to survive in these camps, despite insufficient international aid and limited regional opportunities. Dadaab lies in Kenya's Northeastern Province, a vast stretch of semi-arid land that has been the object of dispute between Kenya and Somalia since independence. The area is unsuitable for agricultural production and is mainly occupied by Kenyan Somali pastoralists. The province has a very poor infrastructure and is insecure due to frequent attacks by shifta, Somali "bandits." (1) Inside the camps, UNHCR and various international NGOs provide assistance to the refugees. During my stay in the camps, this assistance often consisted only of three kilograms of maize per person per fifteen days, an amount impossible to survive on. Thus, it was clearly not their only means of survival.
My main aim in studying how Somalis were dealing with refugee life in the Dadaab camps was to provide an alternative perspective on refugees. Refugees are often depicted as "vulnerable victims" or "cunning crooks" in media and academic literature. This stands in sharp contrast to my own experiences with refugees during my work for VluchtelingenWerk (a Dutch organization assisting refugees) and in various research projects. I was introduced to many individuals who were not passively affected by circumstances but rather were resourcefully trying to utilize available opportunities. In my opinion, social scientists should continuously question accepted categories and forms of analysis, within both science and the larger society. This is even more urgent considering the fact that (theoretical) constructs not only are influenced by social reality, but also have an impact on the general discourse within that reality and thus on actions. (2) The ideas that exist about refugees in the end have a clear effect on the reality of their daily lives. As an alternative to common stereotypes of vulnerability and cunningness, I wanted to provide an image of human complexity. (3)
In order to understand the situation of Somali refugees in Dadaab at present, it is essential to place that specific situation in a historical context. In the academic world as well as within relief-providing organizations, crises are largely seen as external events interfering with...
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