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

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

Katie Temporal: A beautifully written book about the truth not many hear about.

Canada on Apr 11, 2020

Amazon Customer: first hand, heartfelt, and real stories

Canada on Nov 09, 2019

Ashley U.: Heartbreaking, yet wonderful.

Germany on Mar 24, 2019

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

JR: Ben Rawlence, what you have written here, echoes so much within me. Thank you.
I have never been to Dadaab but, I have flown over it numerous times...I was living and working at the other end.
I was in Mogadishu from 09 until 25 Feb 12, providing the operational support to the AMISOM Force, which had me out and across Mogadishu a couple of times a week.
A real life experience. The `developed' world do not appreciate the realities of Somalia, and the rest of Africa.
I would have enjoyed relating with you, prior to `City of Thorns' being published...but...such is life.
Thanks so much.

Australia on Mar 10, 2017

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

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