City Of Thorns Essay

“City of Thorns” Is a clear and tragic sight on the failure of refugee camps. Rawlence used the word thorns (a rocky hard place) to describe the camp; he strongly suggests the truth about the poor conditions that refugees face and live. His stories implicate many pieces of information about the distressing struggles that refugees go through in the camps. Such as, the overpopulation, the lack of resources and famine that results in more problems for them. For example, in chapter 12, Rawlence mentioned a history passage about the famine in southern Somalia. He said, “It was the worst famine in the region for decades. Up to 1.2 million people were at risk of starvation and 12 million needed food aid” (Rawlence 102). Refugees are dependent on the government when it comes to food supplies, there is no …show more content…
In chapter 12, he stated, “ Half of the children and over a third of the adults arriving from Somalia were seriously malnourished, and one of five was on the brink of death. And then measles struck in N zero… The air inside the green and white buildings was thick with the cloying smell of malnourished flesh and the earthy rot of death” (Rawlance 102). The overcrowdedness in camps causes the spread of many diseases, there is no hospitals or enough medical care inside the camps, because camps are temporary, they are meant to hold refugees for a certain period of time, or until the end of the conflict in their country. However, according to the UNCHR information and statistics, millions of refugees have been detained there for more than 16 years (Copeland). The effects of the horrendous conditions on refugees are debilitating. These consequences can be seen in the Syrian refugees that live in Al-Zaatari camp in Jordan, during an interview with one Syrian refugee, the journalist described his condition saying, “His misery, shame, anger, and isolation seem complete: he is beyond