“Back in 1992, the camp originally held ninety thousand Somali refugees fleeing the civil war. They had reproduced. Then others had come: more waves of Somalis, as well as Sudanese, Congolese, Ethiopians, Ugandans and Rwandans seeking asylum whom the Kenyans… — Ben Rawlence Copy Share Image
“I tried to explain to the NSC officials my own wonder at this teeming ramshackle metropolis with cinemas, football leagues, hotels and hospitals, and… — Ben Rawlence Copy Share Image
“When he asked about work, Noor laughed. Guled learned that employment in Kenya was forbidden. Like many governments anxious about asylum seekers, Kenya didn’t… — Ben Rawlence Copy Share Image
“In Ifo he felt only hostility. The inhabitants eyed him nervously. Guled had come from a place of fighting and fear; as far as… — Ben Rawlence Copy Share Image
“Al-Shabaab seemed right about many things. The newsletter said that international aid was brought to ruin Somali agriculture and to make people dependent on… — Ben Rawlence Copy Share Image
“In the city, the ‘Battle of Mogadishu’, as al-Shabaab’s offensive was known, intensified street by street with trenches, snipers and indiscriminate shelling. The militants’… — Ben Rawlence Copy Share Image
“Millions more, the vast majority, remain in camps. And through our tax contributions to the UN, we all pay billions of dollars to keep… — Ben Rawlence Copy Share Image
“I thought of the former child soldier Guled and the many like him, who had fled to the camp to escape the extremists, not… — Ben Rawlence Copy Share Image
“But Ethiopia and America were nervous of an Islamic government and the US and other nations sponsored Ethiopia to invade Somalia and dispatch the… — Ben Rawlence Copy Share Image
“At a time when there are more refugees than ever, the rich world has turned its back on them. Our myths and religions are… — Ben Rawlence Copy Share Image
“Poverty does not necessarily lead to extremism,’ I said. In my head, images of the proud Imams defending their traditions against the murderous corruptions;… — Ben Rawlence Copy Share Image
“Raised on the meagre rations of the United Nations for their whole lives, schooled by NGOs and submitted to workshops on democracy, gender mainstreaming… — Ben Rawlence Copy Share Image
“The place where Guled had come seeking sanctuary was, according to Oxfam, a ‘public health emergency’, and had been for several years. It was… — Ben Rawlence Copy Share Image
