Ethical Dilemma Trust and Distrust Among Refugee Host Community in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya

This paper explores that complex ethical issues that arise from the coexistence between the refugees and the host communities in Kakuma refugees camp situated in the Northern-Western Kenya and home to about 400,000 asylum seekers drawn from ten countries among them Sudan and Ethiopia. Established in 1992 under the auspices of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the camp hosts the “The Lost Boys” of Sudan, a group of over 30,000 Sudanese children who fled their homes following the civil war in the 1980s undertaking a perilous 1000 miles journey on foot without adult support to Kakuma. Many succumbed to starvation, violence, and natural hazards through the journey. Only half of the original numbers made it to Kakuma where they remain stranded. Of these, 3,600 were later move to the United States of America in 2001. Data from from twelve document drawn from the google search engine reveal chronic displacement, disparity in access to social amenities and community services leading to trauma, and uncertainty, cumulative stress response among refugees settling and adapting to new environments. Drawing on theoretical frameworks such as Elias’ Theory of Established-Outsiders and the Refugee Aid and Development (RAD) model, the study analyses examine the issues of equity, justice, dignity, autonomy, and inclusion arising from trust and distrust among displaced refugees settling in a new cultural context under humanitarian. The study then argues that the current segregation status of refugees in Kakuma inadvertently reinforce inequality, isolation of the local community and empowers the refugees hence fueling trust and distrust with the host community. This justifies the ethical need for trauma-sensitive, supportive research approaches. Therefore, an inclusive and equitable intervention in refugee host com minty projects would give a win solution promoting human dignity and rights among both populations.