| dc.description.abstract | Refugeehood either due to armed conflict or other forms of displacement is a traumatic condition
especially when the refugees do not foresee an end to their displacement in the near future. Living away
from ones ancestral land without family members has always been problematic to refugees. Refugees are
supposed to be protected and assisted by the UNHCR and the host government in meeting their
livelihoods. But this has never been the case with this category under investigation. Ethiopian refugees in
Eastleigh, Nairobi started flocking the area in 1974 and the number keep on increasing every day. The
study offers a scholarly approach to the question of Ethiopian refugees in Eastleigh, Nairobi, their
challenges and coping mechanisms. In order to understand the issues of Ethiopian refugees in Eastleigh,
Nairobi, the research sought to answer the following questions: what led to the establishment of Ethiopian
refugees in Eastleigh, Nairobi, what were the challenges facing Ethiopian refugees in Eastleigh, Nairobi,
and what were the coping mechanisms adopted by these refugees. The research started with unraveling
the various causes of refugee movement from Ethiopia to live under protracted conditions in Nairobi, and
further examined their challenges and coping mechanisms. The study utilized secondary data from books
and reports, and primary data from in-depth interviews with experts and refugees in Eastleigh which filled
gaps identified from secondary sources. The informants were randomly selected from the field in
Eastleigh, Nairobi, using purposive sampling and snowballing method.
Environmental and political factors pushed Ethiopians out of their country to various countries, including
Kenya where they established themselves as refugees in Eastleigh, Nairobi. Religio-cultural orientation
was the most challenging factor among the Ethiopian refugees in Nairobi. Finally Kinship ties were the
most effective coping mechanisms among the Ethiopian refugees in Eastleigh, Nairobi. The research was
cast in the conceptual framework of the refugee challenges and coping mechanisms. The Ecological
Systems Theory and Coping Theory were used in the study. The Ecological Systems Theory was used to
show how environment and other actors coalesced to impact on refugee in different ways, while the
researcher used Coping Theory to show the coping mechanisms adopted by this category in meeting their
livelihoods and overcoming their daily impediments. | en |
