To Hell and Back: The Life of Samira Bellil

Samira Bellil made headlines in France with this book, a memoir of her days growing up as a Muslim girl in the so-called banlieues (suburbs) of Paris. Originally published in France in 2002, this book is now finally available in the US. "To Hell and Back" (230 pages) brings the gut-wrenching tale of Samira, the Muslim daughter of Algerian parents living in Paris. Gang-raped at the age of 14 by other Islamic youth, her parents basically turn a deaf ear on her, and she is left to cope with the consequences by herself. Eventually, Samira is convinced by friends to file a police report, which incredibly neither of her parents has any interest in. "Not a comforting word or look or bit of attention. I was alone amid a sea of indifference with that huge weight on my chest." Eventually, Samira runs away from home and lives the life of a homeless youth among the drugs and violence-infested banlieues. Further tragedies happen, and it is at times almost impossible to keep reading this hard-hitting memoir. Not for anyone faint-hearted. Samira makes clear that the main reason for writing the book is to bring attention to the plight of young people growing up in the impossible environment that are these banlieues, and to shatter the myth once and for all that the women subjected to these unspeakable crimes are "asking for it". This book caused a major sensation in France upon its release, and I can only hope that the publication now in the US will continue to amass much needed attention to these huge problems. Just as it seems that Samira is getting her life in order as she goes into her mid-to-late twenties, the excellent 20 page introduction to the book by Alec Hargreaves mentions that Samira passed away in 2004 at the age of 31 due to stomach cancer. By writing this book, Samira has made sure that she will not be forgotten, ever.