Urban refugees in Addis Ababa Surviving or Thriving?

1. Urban refugees in Addis Ababa Surviving or Thriving? Dr. Peter Mackie, Cardiff University MackieP@Cardiff.ac.uk

2. QUESTION What images do you imagine when asked to describe a refugee/refugees?

3. LECTURE OVERVIEW • 1] Context • The global refugee crisis • Global refugee policy • 2] The Ethiopia case study • The research • Introducing Addis Ababa, Ethiopia • Refugee routes • Settling in Addis • Livelihood strategies + wider contributions

4. CONTEXT

5. GLOBAL REFUGEE CRISIS • What was the total number of refugees at the end of 2018? 25.4m

6. GLOBAL REFUGEE CRISIS

7. GLOBAL REFUGEE CRISIS • What are the countries of origin of refugees?

8. GLOBAL REFUGEE CRISIS • Which countries host the most refugees? Turkey: 2.9m Pakistan: 1.4m Lebanon: 1m Ethiopia: 790K Uganda: 940K Developing regions hosted 84% of refugees

9. Over 60% of the world's refugees live in urban environments

10. GLOBAL REFUGEE POLICY • UN 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol • Fundamental principle of non-refoulement: forbids countries to return asylum seekers • Right to freedom of movement within the territory (Article 26) • Right to work (Articles 17-19) • However, only 147 countries have signed up and only 75 of these have granted rights in full

11. GLOBAL REFUGEE PRACTICE De jure right No de jure right to work to work • Right to work in action (e.g. Ecuador) • Right to work in progress (e.g. Uganda) • Restricted right to work (e.g. Egypt) • No right but allowed in practice (e.g. Ethiopia) • No right and restricted in practice (e.g. Pakistan) 1 4 3 5 Defacto right to work No de facto right to work

12. ETHIOPIA

13. THE RESEARCH • Aim • To explore the livelihoods of urban refugees in Addis Ababa • Methods • Focus groups with 50 refugees from Somalia, South Sudan, Eritrea, Yemen and the Great Lakes (DRC) • Interviews with 50 ‘refugee businesses’ • Interviews with ‘Ethiopian businesses’ • Interviews with 21 key organisations (UNHCR, Refugee Councils, Ethiopian Government etc)

14. INTRODUCING ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA • Ethiopia has one of the largest refugee populations globally • An open door policy towards refugees • Encampment policy, with few exceptions • Legal restrictions on the right to work • Addis has the largest concentration of urban refugees in Ethiopia (c. 30K) • Addis, like many developing cities, has high levels of unemployment and budget and resource constraints

15. An encampment policy restricts movement

16. REFUGEE ROUTES TO ADDIS • Entry is generally via camps • Most interviewees and focus group participants (>80%) had come through refugee camps • Permitted • 15K Eritreans in the city - allowed out of camp • 5K refugees from 21 other countries (mostly Somali, Yemeni, South Sudanese, DRC) – allowed out of camp and ‘assisted’ on health grounds • Unregistered (illegal) • Estimated at around 11K – but may be higher (mostly Somali and Eritrean)

17. REFUGEE ROUTES “I walked to Ethiopia during the crisis and lived in a refugee camp. There we had to collect water and wood. Somaliland men were the fighters. In the camps we had to start some sort of business.” (Female Somali refugee)

18. QUESTION Why do you think some refugees may have been able to settle better than others?

19. SETTLING IN ADDIS (ASSIMILATION) • Levels of assimilation varied considerably • Eritreans and Somalis integrated relatively easily (language and existing populations); • South Sudanese and DRC found it harder due to language and cultural barriers: • ‘For people like us from the Great Lakes it is very hard to live in the city. [People from] South Sudan too…’

20. LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES Although refugees have no right to work, we found refugees had four main sources of livelihood Informal employment: Eritrean and Somali refugees were employed in Ethiopian-owned (10%) and refugee-owned enterprises (59%). Eritreans in leisure, services & skilled jobs (mechanics); Somalis in retail Refugees ran informal enterprises: Sometimes under an Ethiopian license. Sizes varied: surviving, managing & thriving Humanitarian assistance: £65 per month (rent can be £55) Remittances: But these varied across nationalities Illegal and riskier work: e.g. prostitution

21. LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES ‘The Eritreans who have the language work in Ethiopian hotels. Some of the Congolese play music from their own culture and play their own instruments in nightclubs to earn money, though this is a very small percentage. Some refugees also teach English and work as interpreters.’ (NGO worker). ‘I wash clothes for a small amount of money. It is not every day but some Somali families can pay for it. It is maybe 200-300 Birr (£8) per month so it is not enough – but it is something. It is only some Saturdays and some Sundays.’ (Female Somali refugee).

22. LIVELIHOOD STRATEGIES

24. QUESTION What benefits do refugees bring to the city?

25. MAKING AN ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION • Refugees had a significant impact on the Addis economy: • Business agglomerations create dynamic new markets • New customer base: 85% of Ethiopian businesses and 100% of refugee businesses said refugees were their consumers • Reciprocal employment • New markets: Service-oriented (rental brokers), sales-oriented (imported perfumes and clothing from Dubai etc via Somalia) • Internationalisation: In addition to imported goods, remittances are brought in – often via mobile phone

28. Question. What do you think this map shows?

29. SECONDARY MIGRATION

30. SECONDARY MIGRATION • Ethiopia is a key secondary migration point in the Horn of Africa • Caused by lack of assimilation, lack of employment and opportunities: • ‘I have been here 11 years but I always feel strange in the country...Most people [from the Great Lakes] want to move on but they don’t know how to do it.’ (Female Rwandan refugee) • ‘My main problem is that my sons are willing to take the risky journey through Sudan and into Libya and across the sea. I tell them, please don’t leave. But they say “what can we do?” Their assistance has been cut and there is no work.’ (Female Somali refugee)

31. CONCLUSIONS

32. CONCLUSIONS • Globally, the number of refugees has been rising – the majority in urban areas • International policy enshrines rights to assistance, to movement, and to work but these are rarely enacted – Ethiopia is an example • In hostile policy environments we found refugees in very mixed circumstances; some barely surviving, some managing, others thriving and making major economic contributions • Where policy is hostile, refugees will pursue secondary migration • So, what next?

33. QUESTION What solutions/responses do you propose?

34. Urban refugees in Addis Ababa Surviving or Thriving? Dr. Peter Mackie, Cardiff University MackieP@Cardiff.ac.uk