Liberian Refugees in Ghana:A Case Study of their Well-being and the Local Environment

Jenkins Divo Macedo

Thesis Proposal Defense In

Partial Fulfillment for the Requirement of the Master of Arts Degree in

International Development and Social Change (IDSC)

Presented To

Thesis CommitteeDr. Anita Häusermann Fábos, Ph.D.

Dr. Marianne Sarkis, Ph.D.Dr. Jude Fernando, Ph.D.

3RD November, 2011

Research Question

This study explores what determinants impact the well-being and the local

environment of the Liberians Refugees in Ghana?

Thesis Statement

The impact of the protracted refugee situations on the well-being of Liberian

refugees and their local environment is determined by the Ghana’s refugee

protection and management structure, corruption, lack of adequate healthcare

and sanitation infrastructures, and the lack of provision of their fundamental

human needs.

Background & Setting of the Study

Buduburam Refugee

Settlement in Ghana

The settlement was

established in 1990.

Currently host about

11,000 Liberian refugees

and others.

UNHCR terminated all

humanitarian services

since 1997.

Voluntary Repatriation

Methodology Data Collection

Mixed Research

Quantitativeo Survey

• I administered a survey to investigate the influence of the protracted refugee situation on the protection of refugee and the local environment. Inferential data that were collected will allow me to triangulate results and generalized my findings to the entire refugee population at the BRS.

Qualitative o Free-listo Pile Sortso Semi-Structure Interviewso Focus Groups

• I implemented these instruments to allow me to collect detail subjective understanding of how the PRSs influence the process of refugee protection and the environment.

Methodology, Continued...

Geospatial

o Garmin GPSMap 60CSxo Landsat raster files between 1990 and 2010o Google Earth

• I used these geospatial techniques to collect waypoints datasets and satellite images to determine changes in land cover and also create a map of the refugee settlement with features to be launched on Google Earth .

Solid Waste Disposal o Total Waste Amount (TWA)

• I used this technique to calculate the emissions of Greenhouse Gas on the environment as a result of the solid waste disposed at the refugee settlement.

Digital Imageso Photographs and videos footages of Waste and infrastructures

Sampling Strategy Sampling Frame

Liberian Refugees at the Buduburam Refugee Settlement Staff of Government Agency Staff of Non-Governmental Organizations Staff of Religious-Based Organizations Staff of Community-Based Organizations

1. Simple Random Sampling• I generated 112 random integers to represent house numbers

using an MS Excel 2010 document containing the estimated number of houses in all 11 zones at the settlement and a participant from each of the selected houses answered the survey.

2. Convenience Sampling • I used the convenience sampling technique to recruit

participants for the focus groups based on recommendations from my research assistants.

3. Targeted Sampling • I used the targeted sampling technique from a list generated

in MS Excel 2010 of organizations working with refugees.

Percent of Households Randomly Sampled by Zone

Zone 112%

Zone 222%

Zone 3

7%Zone

45%

Zone 513%

Zone 6

0%

Zone 7

2%

Zone 817%

Zone 9

11%

Zone 108%

Zone 112%

Selection Procedure Participants

Participants were refugees and staff members of government agencies, NGOs, CBOs, and RBOs.

I contacted participants for the focus groups and interviews through the IRB approved recruitment letter.

Ethical Considerations Informed Consent

o Participants were consented through Clark’s IRB approved informed consent form.

Ghana Refugee Board Approvalo I got approval from the Ministry of Interior through the Ghana Refugee Board

to conduct the research at the Buduburam Refugee Settlement.

Verification and Certification by the Settlement Managero My approval letter from the MOI/GRB was reviewed and certified by the Settlement

Manager of the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO)

Data Analysis Deductive Reasoning

I used the deductive reasoning in analyzing my data because after reviewing preliminary literatures I found out that my conceptual framework is supported by preliminary findings from the data.

Inter-rater Reliability Test Klaus Krippendorff 96%

Quantitative Data 112 surveys I imported the responses into PASW Statistics Version

18 to analyze. I coded labels and applied values to the data into

PASW All cases were included in the data set I ran frequency distribution analysis on significant

variables.

Data Analysis, Continued... Qualitative Data

Interview & Focus Group 12 interviews; 3 focus groups Atlas.ti version 6.0 I imported transcripts and interview notes from MS Word 2010 into Atlas.ti version

6.0 I used deductive reasoning to identify the themes that I used for coding. I associated codes with quotations I merged codes with other codes to generate categories I linked codes with other codes to ensure the density of my codes I developed themes from categories. I built my argument around my theoretical framework using deductive

methodology.

Free-list 72 Freelists; 15 Pile Sorts I used MS Excel 2010 to entered and clean freelists All cases were included I uploaded the MS Excel 2010 file into Visual Anthropac Version 1.0 I ran a frequency distribution analysis of the responses

Data Analysis, Continued...

Geospatial Data I used a Garmin 60CSx Global Positioning System (GPS) to collect 132 waypoints. I uploaded the waypoints into ArcMap Version 9.3.1 Geographic Information System

Analytical Software I took digital photographs of specific waypoints to create a visual map of the refugee

settlement features I downloaded raster satellite images from the United States Geological Survey (USGS)

website of the specific region between 1990 and 2010. I will create a map of the refugee settlement and that will launched via Google Earth

open source system.

Solid Waste Data I collected total waste amount of solid waste disposal from the Sanitation unit. I uploaded all numeric data into the MS Excel 2010 Institute of Energy and

Environmental Research (IFEU) Solid Waste Management Greenhouse Gas Emission Calculator system to calculate the effects of BRS SWM on GHG emission.

All cases were included

Preliminary Results

CODES FREQUENCY

Durable Solution 49

Refugee Management 48

Riot 35

Legal Frameworks 35

Lack of UNHCR Assistance

34

Protection 32

Refugee Council Leadership Change

31

Accusation 30

Sanitation 29

Insecurity 26

Police Violence 25

Human Rights Violations 24

Recognition 24

Fundamental Human Needs 23

Qualitative

Categories FREQUENCY

Refugee Legal Frameworks & Management Committee

109

Healthcare & Sanitation 100

Protection 97

Insecurity 86

Riot 82

Partnership 50

Recognition 40

Corruption 37

UNHCR’s Absence 34

Fundamental Human Needs 31

Police Violence 25

Human Rights Violations 24

Discrimination 24

Leadership Change 24

86 Codes developed, merged into 36 Categories, collapsed into 5 Themes

Freelist AnalysisRefugee Protection

Item Description Frequency (%) Salience

Refugee Status 66.7 0.376

Healthcare 66.7 0.352

Education 55.6 0.372

Security 44.4 0.400

Food Security 44.4 0.309

No Discrimination 33.3 0.165

Rules and Regulations 33.3 0.297

Relocation 33.3 0.192

Sponsorship 33.3 0.120

Basic Human Rights 33.3 0.220

Attention 33.3 0.76

Forgetting Fears 22.2 0.151

Life’s Conditions at the Buduburam Refugee Settlement

Item Description

Frequency (%)

Salience

Lack of Education

63.6 0.376

Poor Sanitation

63.6 0.368

Very Difficult 50.0 0.351

Corruption 50.0 0.200

No Money 40.9 0.172

Lack of Healthcare

40.9 0.253

Unbearable 40.9 0.254

Police Invasion 40.9 0.244

Poor Waste Disposal

40.9 0.200

Injustice 40.9 0.274

Lack of Employment

40.9 0.280

Insecurity 36.4 0.274

Preliminary, Continued...

5 Focus Themes with categories

Themes FREQUENCY

Refugee Protection 203

Refugee Laws & Management 189

Fundamental Human Needs 143

Corruption 135

Healthcare & Sanitation 100

Preliminary Results, Continued... Quantitative

Frequencies Distribution

Gender

Preliminary Results, Continued...

Sub-Regional Refugee Population by Country of Asylum

Sub-Regional Refugee Population by Country of Origin

Preliminary Geospatial Maps

ArcMap GIS Snapshot View

Preliminary Results, Continued... Solid Waste Disposal & GHG Emissions

Waste CharacteristicsComponents Default LIE Default MIE In % wet Waste

Food Waste 55.4% 41.9% 55.4%

Garden and Park Waste 9.2% 14.0% 9.0%

Paper, carboard 3.7% 9.3% 3.7%

Plastics 2.8% 6.5% 6.5%

Glass 1.2% 1.9% 1.2%

Ferrous Metals 1.4% 1.9% 1.4%

Aluminum 0.2% 0.5% 0.2%

Textiles 1.4% 3.3% 1.4%

Rubber and Leather 1.4% 1.9% 1.4%

Nappies (disposable diapers) 0% 4.0% 1.0%

Wood 3.5% 6.0% 3.5%

Mineral Waste 6.0% 3.0% 6.0%

Others (electronic scraps, etc) 13.8 5.8% 13.0%

Grand Total must be 100% 100% 100% 100%

Preliminary Results, Continued...Fo

od w

aste

Gar

den

& p

ark

was

te

Pap

er, c

ardb

oard

Pla

stic

sG

lass

Ferr

ous

met

als

Alu

min

ium

Text

iles

Sca

ttere

dB

urne

d-op

enW

ild d

ump

Con

trolle

d la

ndfil

l

San

itary

land

fill

BS

/land

fill

MB

T/tre

atm

/land

fill

MB

S/M

PS

/co-

proc

Inci

nera

tion

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Solid Waste Characteristics by Management Technique

ton

nes

/yr

Recycled waste Net

-50

0

50

100

150

200

250Net

Credits

Textiles

Aluminium

Ferrous Metals

Glass

Plastics

Paper, cardboard

Garden and Park waste

Food waste

Debits

Textiles

Aluminium

Ferrous Metals

Glass

Plastics

Paper, cardboard

Garden and Park waste

Food wasteResults of GHG Emission on Recycled of Waste

t CO

2-eq

/yr

Disposed of waste Net

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000GHG emissions - disposal

NetCreditsIncinerationMBS/MPS/co-procMBT/treatm/landfillBS/landfillSanitary landfillControlled landfillWild dumpBurned-openScattered wasteDebitsIncinerationMBS/MPS/co-procMBT/treatm/landfillBS/landfillSanitary landfillControlled landfillWild dumpBurned-openScattered waste

ton

ne

CO

2-eq

/yr

Environmental Challenges

Conceptual Frameworks

Preliminary Discussions & Findings Refugee Laws & Management (RL&M)

“According to the rules of the management of this camp or camps, because government wants the involvement of refugees themselves in their management we are expected to have a refugee welfare council who are expected to liaise between the refugees and “authorities” and when I say authorities here we are looking at government through my office, we are looking at the Ghana Refugee Board (GRB) as a part of the government then we are also looking at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), so that we form a kind of a tripartite.”

“I know it is being done but as for now there is no plan the GRB has for local integration. But haven’t we said that, we have had series of verification processes during which we’ve asked as to what refugees want and what option they want to take. These are the options whether to want to return home, locally integrate or be resettled to a third country, but off course we have explained to them what the chances of been resettled are, what being repatriated entails, and if those are not successful what local integration entails.”

Refugee Protection (PR)

“The biggest problem now is that lots of Liberians are wondering about the stagnant of events of their refugee status in Ghana.”

“The issues of Liberian refugees and their stay in Ghana with respect to maintenance, protection and benefits of both the refugee community and the host country is very politicized and raises many questions.”

“And as these questions keep piling up unanswered it generates tension among refugees and these tensions lead to behaviors that may be classified as hostile, because they don’t know where else to turn for answers.

Preliminary Discussions & Findings, Continued... Corruption

“Over the past few months, there have been various forms of aggressions by the refugee population against UNHCR staff members, their own leaders of the Liberian Refugee Welfare Council (LRWC) and the Settlement Manager (SM) on grounds that these agents or institutions are using their refugees’ status to generate huge income for themselves that should have been directed to issues such as education, healthcare, food, sanitation, etc.”

“All these fabricated rumors and lies has created the situation in which people who decided to volunteer are discouraged from affording their efforts to help the community, because they are told that whatever they were volunteering to do for their own neighborhood and the community at large that there are funds allocated for such issues and that some people (basically their leaders and the Settlement Manager as well as ) the UNHCR was taking the money and using it on themselves or building infrastructures that will only benefit Ghanaians as oppose to refugees. These claims led to counter-claims and resulted in mass public disruptions on February 2011.”

Healthcare & Sanitation

“The sewage system on the camp is really degrading; the disposal of garbage is also a major concern, because the garbage is not being actively collected. We see garbage all over the place and this can lead to serious health outcomes such as cholera outbreak, malaria, diarrhea, etc. Flies go to these open garbage can fly back in the homes serving as vectors for diseases and these increase the new cases of cholera, dysentery, malaria, and other water and airborne diseases.”

“The health insurance for refugees at the camp does not cover every illness. It covers sickness such as malaria, dysentery, diarrhea, running stomach, coughing, and to a larger extend delivery system of pregnant women.”

Preliminary Discussions & Findings, Continued...

Fundamental Human Needs

“The United Nations as well as the Ghanaian Government needs to specify why have refugees been kept on this camp for so long without access to basic services such as education, healthcare, proper sanitation, housing, etc.”

“There are lots of amenities that we don’t have access to. So, these hindrances cause life at the camp to be very stressful and extremely hard.”

“We face lots of major challenges, because here you know bulk of the people are unemployed even though some of the people are professional and very skillful.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Research Question Revisited

What determinants impact the well-being and the local

environment of the Liberians Refugees in Ghana?

Preliminary Conclusions

The protractedness of Liberian refugees at the BRS is a result of the government’s lack of appropriate structural framework to address and promote a durable solution one of which is the lack of a framework to encourage local integration.

This situation is enhanced by corruption of appointed leaders and the violations of refugees’ rights by security apparatus of the state.

The inadequate and inappropriate disposal of solid waste at the refugee settlement are social drivers that increase refugees’ vulnerability to disease outcomes and the increase on GHG emissions.

The withdrawal and termination of all humanitarian activities to the refugee population at Buduburam except voluntary repatriation has created a situation in which refugees are desperately seeking a way forward with their state in Ghana.

The lack of provision of refugees’ fundamental human needs by the UNHCR and other state actors decrease their likelihood of becoming self-reliant and self-sufficient, but rather becoming solely dependent on remittance from families and friends overseas.

Special ThanksDr. Anita H. Fabos, Ph.D., Thesis Committee/Clark University

Dr. Jude Fernando, Ph.D., Thesis Committee/Clark University

Dr. Marianne Sarkis, Ph.D., Thesis Committee/Clark University

Dr. Willam Hansen, Ph.D., Professor of GIS/Worcester State University

Dr. Ellen Foley, Ph.D., Academic Advisor/Clark University

Dr. Richard Schmitt, Professor of Philosophy/Worcester State University

Research Assistants

(Eric Saygboh, Kinsman Collins, Anthony Carr, Benjamin Tubman, & Junior Sobah)

Ministry of Interior (MOI)

Ghana Refugee Board (GRB)

NGOs/CBOs in Buduburam, Ghana

Faculty and Students of CCLDC, Ghana

Buduburam Refugees Community

Peer Reviewers, IDCE/Clark University

Compton Foundation, USA