The people at the Courtyard by Marriott Downtown Detroit have been absolutely lovely, providing me with hot tea, clean clothes, snacks, food, and just a general sense of care.

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That reality permeates every aspect of Mauritanian life from the dark-skinned boys who serve mint-flavored tea at restaurants to the clothes people wear.

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Designed by fashion icon Betsey Johnson, the pink paradise is complete with pink-and-white striped wallpaper, a table set for a fancy tea party and a closet stuffed with dress-up clothes.

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Um Ahmed's daughters and their friends fill the tent with their stories -- of children's dirty clothes, of not showering in more than four weeks, of water too muddy to even make tea.

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