Music permeated daily life in Kenyan refugee camps, functioning simultaneously as cultural anchor, income-generating activity, entertainment, and medium for expressing experiences of displacement and hope. Musicians adapted their crafts to camp contexts, creating hybrid musical forms reflecting both heritage traditions and camp realities while navigating resource constraints and community preferences.
Live musical performance occurred regularly in camp social spaces, particularly during celebrations, holidays, and community gatherings. Somali musicians continued traditional forms including gabay poetry paired with distinctive vocal styles and instrumental accompaniment. Sudanese musicians maintained both secular and religious musical traditions, with religious music gaining prominence in camps with strong Islamic populations. Congolese and Rwandan musicians brought urban and rural traditions, with styles ranging from acoustic guitar-based songwriting to rhythmic patterns from pre-displacement communities.
Acoustic instrumentation dominated camp music given the absence of electricity and cost prohibitions on instruments. Guitar, drums, and percussion instruments constructed from available materials became primary instruments. Refugee craftspeople fashioned traditional instruments including lyres, harps, and percussion tools from wood scraps, animal skins, and salvaged materials. Musical innovation emerged from necessity, with musicians creating sounds from tin cans, water containers, and other everyday objects, generating percussion accompaniment when traditional instruments were unavailable.
Religious music held particular significance, with mosque-based Quran recitation and Islamic vocals and church-based choral traditions providing both spiritual services and recreational activity. Religious gatherings created legitimate social assembly opportunities in spaces where secular congregation was sometimes monitored. Musical performance during Friday prayers and Sunday services engaged large audiences and provided platforms for talented musicians, while also serving strictly devotional purposes.
Professional musicians attempted to sustain their craft and generate income through camp performances. Musicians performed at weddings, naming ceremonies, and other celebration events for payment, creating livelihood opportunities in the informal economy. Some achieved sufficient recognition to perform regularly for humanitarian organization events, earning steady income. However, competition among musicians, limited disposable income in refugee populations, and restrictions on public gatherings constrained earning potential, forcing many to abandon music or combine musical performance with other income activities.
Recorded music, accessible through radio broadcasts and increasingly through digital devices where available, provided entertainment and connection to broader African musical trends. Refugee youth engaged with contemporary music from home countries and pan-African styles, while elders often preferred traditional forms. Music taste created generational divides and reflected identity negotiations between maintaining cultural heritage and adapting to new contexts.
Music therapy and psychological healing applications emerged through humanitarian programming. Organizations recognized music's therapeutic potential for trauma recovery, introducing structured programs using music for psychological support. Musicians participated in health education campaigns, conveying information about disease prevention, nutrition, and mental health through musical composition and performance accessible to diverse literacy levels.
See Also
Refugee Culture Arts, Refugee Life Stories, Religious Practice Camps, Refugee Narratives, Camp Economics, Refugee Resilience Building, Refugee Identities
Sources
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Oka, R. (2014). "Coping with the Refugee Condition: Insights from the Refugee Economy in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya." Journal of Refugee Studies, 27(1), 16-37. https://academic.oup.com/jrs/article/27/1/16/1558775
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Turton, D. (2004). "Conceptualizing Forced Migration." RSC Working Paper No. 12, University of Oxford. https://www.rsc.ox.ac.uk/publications/conceptualising-forced-migration
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Kuhlman, T. (1994). "The Economic Integration of Refugees in Developing Countries: A Research Model." Journal of Refugee Studies, 7(2-3), 216-230. https://academic.oup.com/jrs/article/7/2-3/216/1558397