Queer refugees in Kenya, already displaced by fear of violence in the country, are being forced to flee the notorious Kakuma refugee camp and return to the capital of Nairobi in search of food.Rations at the massive camp, which houses over 300,000 refugees fleeing violence, privation, and political persecution around East Africa, have been slashed in the wake of foreign aid budget cuts imposed by the Trump administration and the collateral damage on aid from the United Nations and other Western countries. Related More than HIV: Trumps cuts shatter Kenyas health care system Refugees are going days without food, and those who can afford to buy are forced to do with one meal per day, said Terry Namalo, a 25-year-old Ugandan trans woman, who left Kakuma in September and headed to a safe house in Nairobi.The hunger became too much, she told Context. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today In June, the United Nations World Food Program said it wasreducing its foodand cash assistance at Kakumaand two other camps to its lowest levels on record.The food crisis in the camp has complicated the situation of already vulnerable queer refugees. They are being targeted (and) attacked, and other refugees are stealing the little food they have, said Lucretia, coordinator of the LGBTQ+ rights group Queers of Kakuma.The group has helped at least 200 vulnerable queer refugees move to safe houses in Nairobi between June and October as food allowances were gutted, she said.Now those same places of refuge are suffering the consequences.The number of those making (their) way out of Kakuma is so huge that the available safe houses cannot handle it, said Craig Paris, executive director of the Refugee Coalition of East Africa (RefCEA). We are not only worried about the shortage of food but also about overstretched water, sanitation and hygiene services, he said, warning that residents are at risk for diseases like cholera.The requests are overwhelming, said Gregory, who runs resource mobilization at the Kipepeo shelter in Nairobi. Its one of two safe houses in the capital that have received more than 300 requests for shelter from Kakuma refugees.Our safe house can only accommodate 40 persons, but now we are housing 96, he said. We are only able to provide dinner to the refugees. We have three people sleeping on one mattress, while others sleep on bare floors. A shelter run by MAREPA, a refugee-led non-profit organization based in the United States and Kenya, normally serves 30 people but now has 100. The crisis has led the lesbian safe house to open its doors to other queer refugees from Kakuma.Some refugees at the shelters are afraid to venture outside for fear of attacks, they said, but at least one incident demonstrated that even the safe houses arent immune to violence.Complaints about the number of people entering and leaving a compound on the outskirts of the city led neighbors to storm the shelter.They injured three people before police intervened and saved the situation, said Charity, the safe houses administrator.With the safe houses overwhelmed, the same food scarcity has followed refugees to the shelters. Mercy Juma, head of communications for the U.N.s World Food Program in Kenya, said the refugees plight was unlikely to change without additional aid.Without adequate funding, she said, The situation will only get worse for refugees.Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.