{"product_id":"to-hell-and-back-the-life-of-samira-bellil-9780803213562","title":"To Hell and Back: The Life of Samira Bellil","description":"Every now and then violence erupts in the \u003ci\u003ebanlieues\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e 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. \u003ci\u003eTo Hell and Back\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Samira Bellil\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Bison\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/01\/2008\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 168\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.62lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.56h x 5.46w x 0.49d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780803213562\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/15\/2008 pg. 851\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/15\/2008 pg. 8\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMulticultural Review\u003c\/i\u003e 07\/01\/2009 pg. 60\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSamira Bellil (1972-2004) was born in Algiers and raised in France by her immigrant parents. After prosecuting her attackers, she won a small measure of justice and became a youth worker and an advocate for minority ethnic women's rights. She was chosen to represent one of the \"Mariannes of Today\" in an historic exhibit remaking this iconic figure of the French Republic. She died of stomach cancer at the age of thirty-one. Lucy R. McNair is the translator of \u003ci\u003eThe Poor Man's Son\u003c\/i\u003e, Mouloud Feraoun's Algerian classic. Alec G. Hargreaves is the director of the Winthrop-King Institute for Contemporary French and Francophone Studies and Ada Belle Winthrop-King Professor of French at Florida State University.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Bison","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":40138414522483,"sku":"9.78E+12","price":21.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/products\/img_12b5f467-dbff-434e-97a9-82e9664f31bb.jpg?v=1654349205","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/products\/to-hell-and-back-the-life-of-samira-bellil-9780803213562","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}