City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World's Largest Refugee Camp
Finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Named a Best of Book of the Year by The Economist and Foreign Affairs Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
The Dadaab refugee camp is many things: to the charity workers, it’s a humanitarian crisis; to the Kenyan government, a “nursery for terrorists”; to the Western media, a dangerous no-go area. But to its half a million residents, it’s their last resort.
Situated hundreds of miles from any other settlement, deep within the inhospitable desert of northern Kenya where only thorn bushes grow, Dadaab is a city like no other. Its buildings are made from mud, sticks, or plastic. Its entire economy is grey. And its citizens survive on rations and luck. Over the course of four years, Ben Rawlence became a firsthand witness to a strange and desperate place, getting to know many of those who had come seeking sanctuary. Among them are Guled, a former child soldier who lives for football; Nisho, who scrapes an existence by pushing a wheelbarrow and dreaming of riches; Tawane, the indomitable youth leader; and Kheyro, a student whose future hangs upon her education.
In City of Thorns, Rawlence interweaves the stories of nine individuals to show what life is like in the camp, sketching the wider political forces that keep the refugees trapped. Lucid, vivid, and illuminating, City of Thorns is an urgent human story with deep international repercussions, brought to life through the people who call Dabaab home.
1121732888
City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World's Largest Refugee Camp
Finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Named a Best of Book of the Year by The Economist and Foreign Affairs Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
The Dadaab refugee camp is many things: to the charity workers, it’s a humanitarian crisis; to the Kenyan government, a “nursery for terrorists”; to the Western media, a dangerous no-go area. But to its half a million residents, it’s their last resort.
Situated hundreds of miles from any other settlement, deep within the inhospitable desert of northern Kenya where only thorn bushes grow, Dadaab is a city like no other. Its buildings are made from mud, sticks, or plastic. Its entire economy is grey. And its citizens survive on rations and luck. Over the course of four years, Ben Rawlence became a firsthand witness to a strange and desperate place, getting to know many of those who had come seeking sanctuary. Among them are Guled, a former child soldier who lives for football; Nisho, who scrapes an existence by pushing a wheelbarrow and dreaming of riches; Tawane, the indomitable youth leader; and Kheyro, a student whose future hangs upon her education.
In City of Thorns, Rawlence interweaves the stories of nine individuals to show what life is like in the camp, sketching the wider political forces that keep the refugees trapped. Lucid, vivid, and illuminating, City of Thorns is an urgent human story with deep international repercussions, brought to life through the people who call Dabaab home.
20.0
In Stock
51
City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World's Largest Refugee Camp
Finalist for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Named a Best of Book of the Year by The Economist and Foreign Affairs Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
The Dadaab refugee camp is many things: to the charity workers, it’s a humanitarian crisis; to the Kenyan government, a “nursery for terrorists”; to the Western media, a dangerous no-go area. But to its half a million residents, it’s their last resort.
Situated hundreds of miles from any other settlement, deep within the inhospitable desert of northern Kenya where only thorn bushes grow, Dadaab is a city like no other. Its buildings are made from mud, sticks, or plastic. Its entire economy is grey. And its citizens survive on rations and luck. Over the course of four years, Ben Rawlence became a firsthand witness to a strange and desperate place, getting to know many of those who had come seeking sanctuary. Among them are Guled, a former child soldier who lives for football; Nisho, who scrapes an existence by pushing a wheelbarrow and dreaming of riches; Tawane, the indomitable youth leader; and Kheyro, a student whose future hangs upon her education.
In City of Thorns, Rawlence interweaves the stories of nine individuals to show what life is like in the camp, sketching the wider political forces that keep the refugees trapped. Lucid, vivid, and illuminating, City of Thorns is an urgent human story with deep international repercussions, brought to life through the people who call Dabaab home.
Ben Rawlence is a former researcher for Human Rights Watch in the horn of Africa. He is the author of City of Thorns and Radio Congo and has written for a wide range of publications, including The Guardian, the London Review of Books, and Prospect. He is the founder and director of Black Mountains College and lives with his family in Wales.
Table of Contents
Maps
List of people
Prologue
Part One: Ma’a Lul – Famine 1. The Horn of Africa 2. Guled 3. Maryam 4. Ifo 5. Nisho 6. Isha 7. Hawa Jube 8. A Friday in Nairobi 9. Maiden Voyage 10. The Silent March 11. Muna and Monday 12. Live from Dadaab 13. Billai
Part Two: Rob – Rain 14. Kidnap 15. The Jubaland Initiative 16. Tawane 17. Heroes Day 18. Kheyro 19. Police! Police! 20. Nomads in the City 21. We Are Not Here to Impose Solutions from Afar 22. Y = al-Shabaab 23. Buufis 24. Grufor 25. In Bed with the Enemy
Part Three: Guri – Home 26. Crackdown! 27. The Stain of Sugar 28. Becoming a Leader 29. Too Much Football 30. The Night Watchmen 31. Sugar Daddy 32. Italy, or Die Trying 33. Waiting for the Moon 34. Eid El-Fitr 35. Solar Mamas 36. Knowledge Never Expires 37. Welcome to Westgate 38. Westgate Two 39. A Lap Dance with the UN 40. A Better Place
Ask any of our booksellers what they love most about their jobs, and you’ll hear a chorus of voices say, “Recommending books we love to other readers.” Our booksellers read deep into specific categories or widely across genres; they never stop talking about the books that broke their minds wide open, the stories they can’t […]