Aid and the Perpetuation of Refugee Camps: The Case of Dadaab in Kenya 1991–2011

The refugee complex at Dadaab in North Eastern Kenya was established in the early 1990s. It has become known as the largest refugee settlement in the world since renewed fighting in south and central Somalia in 2006 pushed yet more Somalis into these long-established camps. Marked by problems related to poor living conditions and economic circumstances, camps of this size are very often a source of instability and insecurity, and their management has been widely discussed in the scholarly as well as policy literature. This article examines the role and responsibility of aid organisations such as M<ac>e</ac><ac>´</ac>decins Sans Fronti<ac>e</ac><ac>`</ac>res in the establishment and perpetuation of camps. When refugee camps become restrictive and repressive, the article asks, are aid agencies necessarily exempt from responsibility? Drawing on the M<ac>e</ac><ac>´</ac>decins Sans Fronti<ac>e</ac><ac>`</ac>res’ archives regarding their Dadaab operations up to 2011 and direct professional experience in this refugee camp, this article illuminates humanitarian complicity in situations of containment and protracted exile, arguing that this can have wider implications for the management of refugee populations all over the world.