To hell and back : the life of Samira Bellil / Samira Bellil ; translated by Lucy R. McNair ; introduction by Alec G. Hargreaves.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bellil, Samira.

Series:

France overseas

Standardized Title:

Dans l'enfer des tournantes. English

Language:

English

French

Subjects (All):

Bellil, Samira.

Rape victims--France--Biography.

Rape victims.

Muslim women--France--Biography.

Muslim women.

France.

Genre:

Biographies.

Autobiographies.

Physical Description:

xxiii, 207 pages ; 22 cm.

Place of Publication:

Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, [2008]

Summary:

Every now and then violence erupts in the banlieues of France allowing the world a glimpse into the grimmest corners of these multiethnic suburban ghettos. From such a corner comes the story of Samira Bellil, who by raising her voice and telling her tale broke the "code of silence" imposed by many in her immigrant community and the willful ignorance of society at large. In this book, Bellil describes her life in the Parisian suburb of Seine-Saint-Denis. The child of Algerian parents, she was fostered by a Belgian family until the age of five while her father was in prison. Bellil returned to a violent home and grew up to rebel against an increasingly repressive environment. Gang-raped at fourteen and then raped again some years later, she maintained her silence until she discovered that two friends had shared her fate at the hands of the same gang.

Against the threat of reprisals, Bellil decided to pursue her attackers through the French legal system, earning the rejection of her family and the indifference of her lawyers and the media. To Hell and Back relates her struggle to recover, to create a new culture of support and compassion, and to offer hope to others who suffer in silence. Painful and disturbing, Bellil's tale helped inspire a national debate on women's rights and the multicultural image of France today.

Contents:

1 Jaid and K. 1

2 Alone 14

3 K. 20

4 "Cellar Sluts" 25

5 Two Families 29

6 The Charge 36

7 Mathieu 46

8 Runaways 53

9 The Grind 60

10 Shelter 67

11 Algeria 79

12 I remember ... 87

13 Confrontation 101

14 That Damn Bag! 107

15 Hell-bent 112

16 Saint-Denis 121

17 My "Trial" ... 126

18 The Fight 133

19 Grilled 147

20 Insaf, Barry ... 164

21 Therapy 172

22 Let's ... Drop It 181

23 "First, I Want to Thank the Honorable Judge ..." 192

Epilogue: My Book 199.

Notes:

"Bisbon Books."

ISBN:

9780803213562

0803213565

OCLC:

192042200