ABSTRACT
Refugees from the Casamance region of southern Senegal are living in urban locations in The Gambia due to protracted, albeit low-level, conflict in Casamance which continues to present security challenges and periodic refugee influxes from Casamance across its northern border into The Gambia. This chapter outlines the specific issues faced by urban Casamance refugees in The Gambia. The chapter explores why some post-2006 Casamance refugees relocate to urban areas, their motivation to do so and what keeps them there despite the clear hardships they endure. The year 2006 is a point in time that is identified by The Gambian Immigration Department (GID) and by UN agencies such as United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and World Food Programme (WFP) as the moment when the current influx of Casamance refugees began arriving. It also explores how access to assistance is impacted by refugees' move to urban areas and the challenges faced by local and international agencies in supporting urban refugees.
