Laura Hammond, Oliver Bakewell, Padmini Iyer, Louisa Brain, Fekadu Adugna, Dereje Feyissa, Kalyango Ronald Sebba, and Caitlin Sturridge
Drawing on research conducted in seven countries over a period of eight years (2016-2023), the book’s main thesis is that mobility, in all its forms, features centrally in the life of people in the Horn of Africa and, as such, should also be fundamental to all development policy and programming. The book covers studies on people’s strategies and responses to, among other issues, displacement, migration for livelihoods and education, climate-driven mobility and intra and interstate migration, and the social, economic and political contexts within which these journeys are undertaken. The book argues that while many forms of migration may be understood as people’s quest for better lives, livelihoods and security and is not inherently a problem, when migration becomes forced or is undertaken under unsafe or desperate conditions, it becomes problematic. It is the authors’ intentions to shine light on why people engage in migration – both regular and irregular -, the factors and drivers that influence their pathways, and the risks they face at different points of their journey.
The book was authored by members of the REF core team and REF associates. The research synthesized in the book comprises more than thirty studies carried out in Somalia, Somaliland, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Sudan, involving more than 100 researchers working in and on the region.
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Image source: Alpha Mukange. The artist is a Congolese refugee living in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya. Instagram: @alphamukangeart