Newsweek

Trump’s Travel Ban Stranded Somali Refugees in Kenya

A Somali refugee woman with her child stand in their compound at Hagadera sector of the Dadaab refugee camp, north of Nairobi, Kenya, on April 29, 2015.
Somali refugees

After decades scraping by in dusty refugee camps in Kenya, Muhumed Mohamed Abdi was finally on his way out. He had fled the fighting that erupted in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, after rival militias overthrew the government in 1991. After more than two decades of waiting in refugee camps, he and his family of four had secured seats on a flight due to leave Nairobi for Missouri on January 30; the U.S. had accepted them under the U.S. refugee resettlement program. The 38-year-old had sold off everything he owned in Dadaab, the sprawling camp complex where hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees have lived since the early 1990s, and arrived in Nairobi, ready to start a new life.

But on January 29, the day before his flight, Abdi

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Newsweek

Newsweek1 min read
Shadows and Light
The solar eclipse, seen here behind the Statue of Liberty on April 8, helped brighten up the U.S. economy. New York City, which was not on the path of totality, enjoyed 90 percent coverage as the moon passed in front of the sun. The Perryman Group es
Newsweek7 min read
The Secret to Being an ADHD Whisperer
Penn and Kim Holderness are widely celebrated for their entertaining viral parody videos (singing included!) on topics ranging from parenting and helping kids with homework and masking up for the pandemic (to the tune of the Hamilton soundtrack) to “
Newsweek1 min readPolitical Ideologies
Polls Panic
A soldier guards electoral kits on April 10 ahead of Ecuador’s referendum. Voters go to the polls on April 21 in a bid to reform the constitution and tackle security issues as the country struggles to control organized crime. Mexico has called for Ec

Related Books & Audiobooks