2026-10-14T07:08:57Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33353697 2026-09-30T11:45:33Z category_29725 portal_921 item_type_11 month_year_09_2026

Urban refugees in Nairobi: Protection, survival, and integration Forced Migration Online (24276783) Migration, asylum and refugee law FORCED MIGRATION ONLINE REFUGEE STATUS LIVELIHOODS INTEGRATION REFUGEE/LOCAL COMMUNITY RELATIONS URBAN REFUGEES ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY This article examines the legal status and economic livelihoods of Somali and Ethiopian refugees in Nairobi, the two largest populations residing in the city. The article challenges the Government of Kenya's (GOK) official position and the popular local perception that refugees are an economic burden and argues instead that most urban refugees are successful, selfsufficient entrepreneurs. Despite this economic independence, conditions for most refugees in Nairobi are extremely difficult. Urban refugees live largely without material assistance or legal protection from the GOK or the UNHCR and are vulnerable to chronic police arrest and face high levels of xenophobia from the local population. By highlighting refugee selfsufficiency in Nairobi, this article lends support to the idea of local integration as a viable, durable solution to their situation of protracted exile. 2026-09-30T11:45:33Z Text Online resource 10.25446/oxford.33353697.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/online_resource/Urban_refugees_in_Nairobi_Protection_survival_and_integration/33353697 CC BY-NC-ND 4.0