Ben Rawlence's City of Thorns: An Intimate Look at Life in the World's Largest Refugee Camp

AMZN Shopper: What if there were a way to write a book about this subject without focusing on a few individual stories? It seems like it always comes down to focusing on a few individual stories as a representative sample, but what about the logistics of supplying such a place, or the perspective of the government actors that created and allow it to continue?

United States on Jul 26, 2023

Lucy: It has changed the way I understand the news when I see reports from this region. And other regions too, including my own. It gives little hope, but so much true empathy and depth of vision about the individual people and the harsh realities which are its subject matter. It's a wonderful piece of work, beautifully written and yet giving properly backed up sources of information, beyond the personal accounts it relays, in the notes to each chapter.

United Kingdom on Jun 25, 2021

StarK: For me, it is hard for me to read on my iPhone with the Kindle app, but it is still an interesting book. I would buy it in paper form instead, though. I think it is easier to flip real paper pages back and forth than to flip virtual pages back and forth. That is just my preference and has nothing to do with the content other than I like to go back and look at the maps as I read about the various places. I imagine that my students and/or their families have had similar experiences to the people in this book and I think it helps me to understand them better. I wish everyone would read it whether they work with refugees or not.

United States on Aug 02, 2017

Mandrake: I read this for Economics book club (why? Not sure, I will find out tonight. I think that the member who chose it knows the author), and my review therefore focuses just on its economic aspects. I expect that most Amazon readers will come to this book for an insight into the human aspects of the refugee crisis in Somalia, in which case this review may be of limited interest. Still, I found it surprisingly interesting from an economics point of view in that it shed light on the necessary conditions for a successful state/welfare state. Here are my notes:

Synopsis
The book describes life inside Dadaab the largest refugee camp in the world, through the stories of 9 people. All the subjects have fled to Dadaab from Somalia to escape the war or famine. Life in the camp is seen entirely through the eyes of the 9 subjects. The effectiveness of the UN Refugee program is not addressed directly, but its pluses and minuses are observed through its effects on the lives of the subjects. No UN personnel are given a voice, so the costs and difficulties of maintaining the camp are not addressed.

Critique
Although the book is primarily concerned with the humanitarian aspects of...

United Kingdom on Nov 26, 2016

MaiaTheBee: An unique insight into the Somalia refugee camps in Kenya. The author through the life stories of various camp residents portrays the true picture of life as a human guinea pig, in a refugee camp dependent on wealthy Western charities. The food consists of ground maize meal, flour and dried beans. Blankets, cheap tents and water rations comprise a bare survival existence. The residents are stuck in the middle of nowhere and some have endured these conditions for 30 years or more. They are unable to work, resented by the host country, surviving on paltry food rations with no recreation except to make babies. The camps house grand parents that arrived as children and have now fathered the 3rd generation of detainees.
We learn of the scams within the charity establishment and the few getting rich out of the existence of this hell hole. The purpose of these camps seems amounts to nothing more than a reason continue fund raising. Begging appeals on TV showing sad malnourished children. Why hasn't contraception been made available to these poor people OR would that defeat the whole purpose of these camps.

Well written by an insider

United Kingdom on Oct 05, 2016

Tony G.: Excellent, interesting, and easy to read. I'm a teacher in a school with many Somali refugee students and while taking Somali classes through community ed. the teacher (who was from Dadaab camp) recommended it. I think the book and Rawlence's experiences with the people in the book help most of us who have minimal knowledge of the situation gain some perspective on the refugee experience and the many challenges we never think about. It's hard to imagine growing up and living in an area the geographical size of New Orleans with 400,000+ others and no building permits near war torn areas where no one wants you, not the Kenyan government or the largely controlled territories of Al-Shabaab. Google image Dadaab to get an idea of what the camps look like. If you want to gain some perspective on the situation in Somalia and refugee experiences in general, this is a must read!

United States on Jul 28, 2016

Bryan Thomas Weikel: Never have I gotten to know refugee camp residents so well as in this book. I am not an aid worker so I haven't had real-world experience, but as far as what you can get from a book this is the best I have read. I have read other books written by aid workers that describe the experience for them, but Ben Rawlence has made this book 98% about the story of the refugee camp residents - from their perspective. He evidently got to know the people he wrote about very well and very meticulously documented their stories. He then tells their stories very well. He also had each of the people review what he wrote about them (or actually read to them what he wrote) to make sure that his description of their suffering, joys, frustration, pain, and thoughts were all accurate. If you want to know what really goes on in a refugee camp, (and some of the international forces that drive the camp policy), and what compels a people to take refuge in a camp (and to leave it) this is the best book you can read.

United States on Jul 16, 2016

samantha: I listened to the abridged version of this on radio 4's book of the week and really enjoyed it so bought the book. It is not at all depressing as the subject matter may lead you to think. The author has written a true story out of the experiences of nine individuals he met on his visits to the forgotten refugee camps in Kenya. It is eye opening, at times funny, poignant and dignified in its presentation of the day to day struggles of the refugees and their resourcefulness and positivity when living in such harsh conditions. You feel like you really know these people and you want to help fight their corner, to remind the world that they still exist, no refugee camp should become a permanent city. Highly recommend it.

United Kingdom on May 19, 2016

Diane: This is the first review I have ever written on any anything. This book has changed me and made my world larger in understanding who Jesus says my neighbor is. I love the way this book was written, it does give you facts, but more importantly it gives you real people living in this nightmare and trying to survive and hold on to hope. It made me cry for the horrendous acts of oppression and evil people are capable of doing to each other without a conscience of what their doing.
It made me realize that people without hope are people in danger of committing horrible acts against humanity to survive. I gave this this book 5 stars because I can never be the same after reading it. Being changed for the good of my fellow man is what makes any book worth reading.

United States on Mar 10, 2016

Amazon Customer: Ben Rawlence has given the inhabitants of the almost forgotten refugee complex in Dadaab publicity which they desperately need. By 2011 Dadaab had become both a warehouse for unwanted people and an embarrassment to the Kenyan Government; an embarrassment which was rubbed in by a VIP visitor who unwisely described me as “effectively the mayor of Kenya’s third largest city”. Dadaab could, and should, have become a university for preparing a new generation to lead the recovery of a post-civil war Somalia. Rawlence’s insightful description of the achievements of Tawane and the “Youth Umbrella” gives a glimpse of what could have been. Unfortunately Rawlence follows the tendency of his employers, Human Rights Watch, to use the book as an opportunity for UN-bashing. For example, in the first few pages, he recites the common refugee misunderstanding that “Each year far too few are officially referred by the UN and given asylum in other countries” – a more professional researcher would have acknowledged that the preferred solution of the international community is to return refugees to their home country as soon as a political conditions allow. Contrary to popular belief...

United Kingdom on Mar 04, 2016