Jenkins Macedo

Dr. Stephen Healy, Advisor/Assistant Professor

Department of Earth and Natural Sciences

Worcester State UniversityWorcester, MA

Presented at:

The Environmental Impacts of Warehousing Refugees:

A Case Study of Liberian Refugees at the Buduburam Refugees Camp in Ghana

Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting 2011 in Seattle, WA

16 April 2011

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Abstract

Much of the literature on refugee warehousing and their impacts on the host country’s environment assumes that refugees are exceptional resource degraders. The dominant conceptualization of refugees’ impacts on the host country’s environment treats refugees as actors with destructive behaviors rather than seeing the degradation as a result of inappropriate government policies, inefficient humanitarian assistance, and the lack of effective plan by host countries to foster durable solution. This study challenged these assumptions through the use of a questionnaire directed at refugees at the Buduburam refugee camp in Ghana. The questionnaires concern the patterns of environmental resources use among refugees and was analyzed using SPSS version 17 to run regression and correlation tests for items pertaining to resource use with those pertaining to environmental degradation. We hypothesized that warehousing refugees in camps significantly influenced their impacts on the local environment of the host country. We also hypothesized that warehousing of refugees has a significant relationship with their inability to locally integrate in the host county. The result suggests that warehousing of refugees in camps (M= 2.55; SD = 0.969) significantly influence (F (2, 288) = 37. 687, P-Value = (0.000)) the relationship between resource use (Agricultural activities M = 1.42; SD = 0.495 and firewood use M = 1.60; SD = 0.490) and environmental degradation. The evidence also indicates that there is a significant positive relationship (R (303) = 0.121, P-Value of (0.036), Alpha (0.05) between warehousing refugees in organized camps (M = 2.58, SD = 0.975) and their inability to locally integrate in the host country (M = 1.88, SD = 0.839).

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WHO ARE REFUGEES?

1951 United Nations Convention on the Protection of Refugees:

A person, who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of their nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail him or herself of the protection of that country.

Excludes climate refugees/Environmental Refugees

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)

Concept was Expanded in 1967 Protocols and by Regional Conventions in Africa and Latin America to include:

Persons who had fled war or other violence in their home country.

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Map of the Camp

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Background History the Buduburam Refugee Camp, Ghana

Established in October, 1990.

United High Commissioner for Refugees and Government of Ghana

Current Refugee population: 30,000

UNHCR terminated support 2003 and 2008.

Leadership

Camp Manager Appointed by the Ghana Refugees

Board (GRB), Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) and the National Mobilization Program (MNP).

Liberian Refugee Welfare Council (LRWC)

Appointed by the Camp Manager

Head-of-Heads (HOH) Appointed by individual tribes

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Poor Health FacilitiesPoor Housing Lack of Clean Water Supply

Security Issues Unemployment Education

Human Rights Activists

Vegetables Garden

Refugees’ Life at Buduburam

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Proposed Solutions to the Refugee Crisis

Repatriation

Local Integration

Resettlement

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Buduburam Refugee Camp

United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Oct., 1990Ghana Refugee Board45,000 Liberian refugees who fled the 14 years civil war (1989-2003).Area of the camp: 10 Square miles

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METHODOLOGYQuantitative Research

Population30,000 refugees settled

at the Buduburam Refugees Camp in Ghana

Data CollectionRandom Sampling

248 participants (Ghana)

Instrumentation Questionnaire

contained 40 questions (opened and closed-end

Two Research Assistants (RAs) assisted in data collection

Data Analysis SPSS was used to run

regression and correlations tests

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Research Questions

1. Does warehousing refugees into organized camps have a significant relationship with their lack of local integration?

2. Is there a significant relationship between resource use (Building Materials) and demographic characteristics such as age, sex, and household income?

3. Does warehousing refugees significantly influence the relationship between resource use and environmental degradation?

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DATA ANALYSISData Analysis & Results

1. Hypothesiso Ho: Warehousing refugees into organized camps do not have a significant

relationship with their lack of local integration?o HI: Warehousing refugees into organized camps do have a significant

relationship with their lack to integrate locally. (Claim)

Test: Correlation

Test Statistics Warehoused Refugees (M= 7.31, SD= 5.569) • Lack of Local Integration (M= 3.62, SD= 1.119) (R (253) = 0.292, P (0.000), and Alpha (0.01).

DecisionI reject the null hypothesis because the P-Value (0.000) is less than the

Alpha Value (0.01).

Interpretation

The evidence suggests that there is a positive relationship (R (253) = 0.292, P (0.000), Alpha (0.01) between warehousing of refugees in camps (M = 7.31, SD = 5.569) and lack of local integration (M = 3.62, SD = 0.1.119).

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2. Hypothesiso Ho: There is no relationship between resource use (Building

Materials) and demographic characteristics such as household income.

o H1: There is a relationship between resource use (Building Materials) and demographic characteristics such as household income. (Claim)

Test: Correlation

Test Statistics Building materials used M= 2.95; SD = 1.075Household Income: M = 5.19; SD = 3.448)P-Value of (0.029), (R (205) = 0.152), Alpha (0.05)

Decision: From the test statistics presented in the above results, I reject the null

hypothesis because the p-value of (0.029) is less than the Alpha value of (0.05). Therefore, I support the claim that there is a significant relationship between the kinds of building materials that refugee use and their household income.

Interpretation: The evidence suggests that there is a significant positive

relationship (R (205) = 0.152, P-Value of (0.029)) between the kinds of building materials refugee used (M = 2.95; SD = 1.075) and demographic characteristics such as household income (M = 5.19; SD = 3.448).

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3 HypothesisHo: Warehousing refugee does not influence the

relationship between resource use and environmental degradation.

H1: Warehousing refugee does influence the relationship resource use and environmental degradation. Test: Regression

Test StatisticsF (2, 288) = 37.687P-Value = 0.000Alpha = 0.05

Decision I reject the null hypothesis.

Interpretation• The evidence suggests that warehousing of refugees (M=

2.55; SD = 0.969) significantly influenced (F (2, 288) = 37. 687, P-Value = (0.000)) the relationship between resource use (Agricultural activities M = 1.42; SD = 0.495 and firewood use M = 1.60; SD = 0.490) and environmental degradation.

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ConclusionsWarehousing refugees significantly influenced their inability to socially interact and subsequently integrate in the local host communities, which causes them to rely extremely of the local environment.

The lack of social interaction with the host community is facilitated by language barriers, the Ghanaian economy, inappropriate social, government policies and ineffective humanitarian assistance to the refugee population.

90.5% of the respondents answered that they have been on the refugee camp for more than 10 years.

80% answered that their lack of local integration was due to not being socially accepted in most local Ghanaian communities.

Another 95% stated that the reason for their lack of social interactions with the host communities was related to the lack of programs for refugees and local Ghanaian citizens to interact more frequently. There is a disconnect between the refugee population at the camp and local Ghanaian citizens.

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Refugee camps should not be permanent, but rather temporary. If refugees can’t be returned to their home countries, effective plans should be developed

in consultation with all stakeholders including the refugee population to find a durable solution.

UNHCR and partnered agencies MUST not abandon refugees as is the case with most ‘warehoused refugees.’

Humanitarian assistances should be targeted towards the provision of skills through education and economic empowerment through microfinance ventures or revolving funds.

Development Assisted Integration seems to be an effective mechanism to prepare refugees, while they anticipate to either be locally integrated in the host country, repatriate to their home countries or if possible resettled to a third country.

UNHCR and partnered agencies should continue to support the most vulnerable population in refugee settings (women, children, the elderly, those with either physical or mental disabilities).

Development assistance should be culturally specific and relevant to the refugee population.

Programs/projects to engage both the host and refugee communities should be developed to promote social interactions, engagement and to minimize/reduce social stigma against refugees and host communities.

Refugees MUST be actively involved in all matters concerning their protection and security.

Recommendations

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