III. Methodology

This report is based on research conducted in Kenya between October 6 and 24, 2008.

Human Rights Watch conducted in-depth interviews with 54 Somali refugees (including 30 adult females and four children, two girls and two boys) in the three refugee camps (Dagahaley, Hagadera, and Ifo) near Dadaab town in Kenya's North Eastern Province.

Human Rights Watch worked with local contacts to identify areas in the Dadaab camps where recently arriving refugees were known to have settled. Interviews with refugees in Dadaab's camps were conducted individually in settings isolated from other refugees (under trees or in refugees' shelters) and lasted an average of 45 minutes. All interviews were conducted in English and Somali using a Somali interpreter of Kenyan nationality.

In Eastleigh, Nairobi, Human Rights Watch conducted 11 interviews with Somali refugees (five male, six female). A Kenyan journalist familiar with Eastleigh and members of a local nongovernmental organization (NGO) working with Somali refugees identified refugees to interview.

In Dadaab town, Human Rights Watch conducted a further 20 interviews with staff from United Nations agencies and national and international NGOs, as well as with representatives of the Department of Refugee Affairs (DRA) and a Member of the Kenyan Parliament.

In Nairobi, Human Rights Watch conducted a further 14 interviews with staff from United Nations agencies and international NGOs, five interviews with staff from Kenyan NGOs, interviews with staff from five embassies and three donor agencies based in Nairobi, and interviews with the DRA and a Member of the Kenyan Parliament.

Where individuals or agencies requested that some or all of their interviews not be attributed to them, Human Rights Watch has not identified those individuals or their agencies or the precise date on which the interview took place. For their safety, Human Rights Watch has also not published the names of any Somali refugees interviewed in this report.