City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World's Largest Refugee Camp


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. Lucid, vivid and illuminating, here is an urgent human story with deep international repercussions, brought to life through the people who call Dadaab home.

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UPC2030301005668
Author Ben Rawlence
ISBN 9781846275890
Publisher Granta Books
SKU2030301005668

As heard on BBC Radio 4's look of the Week' 'At once both an intimate story of redemption and hope, a prayer for the innocent, and a damning universal indictment... Brilliant' Wade Davis, author of into the Silence

'Hell on earth'. A 'nursery for terrorists'. A dangerous no-go area. Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp, has been called all these things and more, and the Kenyan government has vowed to shut it down. But for the half a million people who live there, it is their only option. Among them are Guled, a former child soldier who lives for football; Nisho, who scrapes an existence and dreams of riches; and Kheyro, a schoolgirl whose future hangs upon her education. Following the hopes and fortunes of nine Dadaab residents, City of Thorns brings to life this strange and desperate place through the stories of the people who, for now, still call it home. 'A clear-eyed account of people living in limbo and a testament both to human frailty and human resilience... As timely as Rachel Carson's Silent Spring — this book should be required reading'

'Magisterial... it moves like a thriller... City of Thorns is as much about the refugees it describes' LA Times

'An absorbing book, full of heart' New Statesman 'Superb... These are stories that need to be heard' Observer 'Rawlence teases out a narrative that, like Dadaab, pulsates with life'The Times 'Full of compassion and dignity' Daily Telegraph 'Gripping' Economist

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