On a dirt path that passes for a street in a Kenyan refugee camp, a merchant sells grains he bought from a local farmer outside the settlement. To call it an “economy” would be euphemistic, but it’s a living, and it’s enough to support his wife and two children — a family he’s built since arriving at the camp over a decade ago.
His story is not unique. On average, refugees spend 26 years in settlements that were built to be temporary.