City of Thorns

To the charity workers, Dadaab refugee camp is a humanitarian crisis to the Kenyan government, it is a nursery for terrorists to the western media, it is a dangerous no go area but to its half a million residents, it is 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 first hand witness to a strange and desperate limbo land, getting to know many of those who have come there 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 schoolgirl Kheyro, 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 and to sketch the wider political forces that keep the refugees trapped there Rawlence combines intimate storytelling with broad socio political investigative journalism, doing for Dadaab what Katherinee Boo s Behind the Beautiful Forevers did for the Mumbai slums Lucid, vivid and illuminating, City of Thorns is an urgent human story with deep international repercussions, brought to life through the people who call Dadaab home. New Read eBook City of Thorns author Ben Rawlence – kino-fada.fr This book wrecked me So much preventable suffering and death Pointless and heartbreaking.I can t stop thinking about it I can t stop thinking about the families who have spent the majority in some cases ALL of their lives in a refugee camp I can t stop thinking about the stories that my own students and friends could tell about their experiences with camp life and the events that drove them to flee to what they assumed would provide health and safety.Rawlence tells the story of refugee This book wrecked me So much preventable suffering and death Pointless and heartbreaking.I can t stop thinking about it I can t stop thinking about...Goodreads Giveaway Yay I m not sure how I feel about this On the one hand, the author did exhaustive investigation into these people s lives That much is obvious The harder thing is that it doesn t seem to have any organization or direction, and it read pretty dryly This is a huge culture shock, and I think that was ultimately the point I had no idea this refugee camp existed, let alone that it is the largest ever I had no idea there were so many disadvantaged people, with limited resourc Goodreads Giveaway Yay I m not sure how I feel about this On the one hand, the author did exhaustive investigation into these people s lives That much is obvious The harder thing is that it doesn t seem to have any organization or direction, and it read pretty dryly This is a huge culture shock, and I think that was ultimately the point I had no idea this refugee camp existed, let alone that it is the largest ever I had no idea there were so many disadvantaged people, with limited resources and an expansive population boom It is the sort of thing that makes you wonder how we can go along willy nilly like here when there are people like Guled running from being a child soldier The stories themselves are fascinating and upsetting It is a totally foreign world from everything I ve known and the author s research is commendable.I just wish it had been compiled a littlesmoothly The best I can t...I already knew a lot about Dadaab, since I had been fascinated by the idea of a refugee camp where people lived for generations and lived, worked, and died there I was familiar with the horrors of the 1992 civil war which started in Somalia by reading Ayaan Hirsi Ali s book And I also happened to watch a very interesting documentary on Dadaab So I had a good idea about the basics But Ben Rawlence really showed a deeper and muchintense side of the camp itself.The civil war of 1992 in So I already knew a lot about Dadaab, since I had been fascinated by the idea of a refugee camp where people lived for generations and lived, worked, and died there I was familiar with the horrors of the 1992 civil war which started in Somalia by reading Ayaan Hirsi Ali s book And I also happened to watch a very interesting documentary on Dadaab So I had a good idea about the basics But Ben Rawlence really showed a deeper and muchint...BOTWhttp www.bbc.co.uk programmes b06zqn0xDescription Ben Rawlence tells the stories of just a few of the forgotten thousands who make up the half a million stateless citizens of Dadaab the world s largest refugee camp, in the desert of northern Kenya, close to the Somali border, where only thorn bushes grow.The author, a Swahili speaker, and former researcher for Human Rights Watch in the horn of Africa made several long visits to the camps over the course of four years His account bears BOTWhttp www.bbc.co.uk programmes b06zqn0xDescription Ben Rawlence tells the stories of just a few of the forgotten thousands who make up the half a million stateless citizens of Dadaab the world s largest refugee camp, in the desert of northern Kenya, close to the Somali border, where only thorn bushes grow.The author, a Swahili speaker, and former researcher for...This is a good book on an important topic Dadaab is an enormous refugee camp with several hundred thousand residents, located in a desert area of Kenya near the border with Somalia For nearly 25 years, Somalis fleeing civil war and famine at home have come to the camp at this point, an entire generation has grown up there and roughly 60% of the residents are children Dadaab is mostly funded through foreign aid, but Kenya has always wanted rid of the refugees and made repeated attempts to This is a good book on an important topic Dadaab is an enormous refugee camp with several hundred thousand residents, located in a desert area of Kenya near the border with Somalia For nearly 25 years, Somalis fleeing civil war and fam...Dadaab is a city in Northern Kenya that has been a UN refugee city of thorns Only thorn bushes grow there And structures are often mud thorn construction It s a non fiction book that reads like fiction It s Ben Rawlence s eyes and experience with the individuals who core the nine real life stories Sections with maps and lists of the residents that are included within the book precede the main copy.And you will need them.For all is the enemy and these lives often become seated in Dadaab Dadaab is a city in Northern Kenya that has been a UN refugee city of thorns Only thorn bushes grow there And structures are often mud thorn construction It s a non fiction book that reads like fiction It s Ben Rawlence s eyes and experience with the individuals who core the nine real life stories Sections with maps and lists of the residents that are included within the book precede the main copy.And you will need them.For all is the enemy and these lives often become seated in Dadaab for a decade orEnough time to grow up and become another or is it the other Divisions of such multitudes that going home may not be a cultural or an economic possibility Many leave and get assigned for transport More than that are coming in...Please note I received this book from a Goodreads Advance Giveaway.I found this to be a gripping insight into the lives of people living in a refugee camp It is largely unflinching and deals with the stark reality of resource shortages, and the fear that comes with never knowing where the enemy is The author tells the stories of several different people and their families, and I feel portrays their experience with candour In this time of world unrest, I think this book is particularly import Please note I received this book from a Goodreads Advance Giveaway.I found this to be a gripping insight into the lives of people living in a refugee camp It is largely unflinching and deals with the stark reality of resource shortages, and the fear that comes with never knowing where the enemy is The author tells the stories of several dif...It seems that with the recent European Refugee Crisis the issue of refugee camps has finally come to the front burner in Western news circles, and this book gives a pretty good depiction of what it is like being a refugee in Dadaab, which was the largest one until this year, when it was surpassed by Bidi Bidi, also in Africait was the rhetorical question posed in the newsletter that had the biggest impact among Guled s traumatized generation Why invade a country that has been fighting a It seems that with the recent European Refugee Crisis the issue of refugee camps has finally come to the front burner in Western news circles, and this book...A city of broken dreams A city of broken promises A city of outcasts A city of forgotten people.A sadly fascinating picture of life in Dadaab a massive refuge camp in Kenya Populated mostly by Somalians, it also has Sudanese, Ethiopians, Eritreans and others fleeing from wars, famines or strangely enough a better life that can be found in the camp.The author focuses on nine people Some have be...I couldn t quite decide on whether I wanted to award this book with four or tree stars I ended up with four of them let me explain why.First of all, you have to separate this book in two 1 The subject it is covering the history behind and life in the world s largest refugee camp, Dadaab and the way it is written and telling you these things.If it was only a matter of the first, it would be a solid five stars We need to be told about places like this and the situations and crises behind it I couldn t quite decide on whether I wanted to award this book with four or tree stars I ended up with four of them let me explain why.First of all, you have to separate this book in two 1 The subject it is covering the history behind and life in the world s largest refugee camp, Dadaab and the way it is written and telling you these things.If it was only a matter of the first, it would be a solid five stars We need to be told about places like this and the situations and crises behind it.That being said, the book isn t that well written not structured Nine lives in the world s largest refugee camp , the subtitle reads I can understand why you want to make this about the people trying to live in Dadaab But nine is too many At some point you can t remember who is who who was born in the camp, who fled Mogadishu, who was a part of ...

• English
• 12 February 2017
Ben Rawlence
• Hardcover
• 384 pages
• 1250067634
• Ben Rawlence
• City of Thorns