Forced migration in Eastern Africa : democratization, structural adjustment, and refugees /

This unique comparative study of refugees in Kenya and Tanzania, 1990-2003, focuses on refugees and a wide range of related issues, such as responses by the host countries. A product of field research in refugee camps (1993 in Kenya, 1998 in Tanzania) as well as extensive use of reference sources, especially the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the report reflects careful consideration of the refugees and the human rights problems they coped with over an extended period of time. Veney is equally sensitive to the economic and political effects on the host countries, particularly as labor and business policies produced various local consequences regarding water supplies and services, resulting in different outcomes in each country. The effectiveness of international organizations such as the UNHCR varied as they reacted to the issues, availability and location of resources, and interactions between the national and international agencies. The gender dimension is especially vivid, as readers see women become hapless victims when they try to reconstruct their lives and care for their offspring. The scholarship is reflected in an extensive bibliography, informative footnotes, and index. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. M. E. Doro emerita, Connecticut College