Haven and Hell

In the world's largest refugee camp, Somalis fleeing drought and famine find conditions little better than those they left behind

Jehad Nga for TIME

At a processing center in the Dadaab complex, newly arrived Somalis wait for some clothes, cooking pots and food

The world's biggest complex of refugee camps, in Dadaab, Kenya, is already so full, there are about 70,000 people living outside it. Mostly women and children, they shelter from the elements in domelike huts made from sticks, plastic sheeting and discarded cartons from aid packets. Toilets are scarce, and water is delivered periodically by truck.

The conditions in Kenya's far east are all too familiar to the refugees, Somalis fleeing drought and famine in the Horn of Africa. Hawa, 40, who arrived here recently after a 23-day trek with seven children, is disappointed. "What I found is that there is little...

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