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25 Million Sparks: The Untold Story of Refugee Entrepreneurs

25 Million Sparks: The Untold Story of Refugee Entrepreneurs

By Andrew Leon Hanna
Cambridge University Press, 2022, 232 pp.
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Reviewed by Lisa Anderson

March/April 2024Published on
In This Review
25 Million Sparks: The Untold Story of Refugee Entrepreneurs

25 Million Sparks: The Untold Story of Refugee Entrepreneurs

By Andrew Leon Hanna

Cambridge University Press, 2022, 232 pp.
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Sweetly inspirational and aiming to counter the dismal and often dismissive portrayal of refugees around the world, Hanna tells the stories of the small businesses founded by three women in Zaatari, the large Syrian refugee camp in Jordan. After being chased out of Daraa, one of the earliest Syrian towns to revolt against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad in 2011, the three find themselves housed in cramped trailers, grateful to be alive but disoriented, destitute, and worried about their families and their future. Soon enough, however, Asma opens an afterschool program, Malak opens an art gallery, and Yasmina restarts her bridal services business. They help support their families while finding dignity and friendship in their newly productive lives. For Hanna, these women also serve as exemplars of the grit and determination of refugees around the world. These are feel-good stories; Hanna breezes over many of the challenges of life in the camp, including the troubles faced by people with disabilities or major medical problems. But the book accomplishes its purpose: it is a salutary reminder of the remarkable resilience of the human spirit under duress.


This article was downloaded by calibre from https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/25-million-sparks-untold-story-refugee-entrepreneurs


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