Kaoutar Harchi Livres

Enfermée depuis toujours dans la "maison des femmes" - où maris, frères et pères mettent à l'isolement épouses, soeurs et filles coupables, ou soupçonnées, d'avoir failli à la loi patriarcale -, une enfanta grandi en témoin impuissant de l'aliénation de sa mère et en victime de son désamour. Le jour où elle parvient à s'échapper, la jeune fille aspire à rejoindre enfin son père dont elle a rêvé en secret sa vie durant. Mais dans la pénombre de la demeure paternelle la guette un nouveau cauchemar d'oppression et de folie. Entre cris et chuchotements, de portes closes en périlleux silences, Kaoutar Harchi écrit à l'encre de la tragédie et de la compassion la fable cruelle de qui tente de s'inventer, loin des clôtures disciplinaires érigées par le groupe, un ailleurs de lumière.

In this thoughtful coming-of-age memoir, a young sociologist reflects on her Moroccan immigrant parents, their journey to France, and how growing up an outsider shaped her identity. Imbued with tenderness for her family and a critical view of the challenges facing French North African immigrants, Kaoutar Harchi’s probing account illustrates the deeply personal effects of political issues. Mixed with happy memories of her childhood home in eastern France are ever-present reminders of the dangers from which her parents sought to shield her. When they transfer her to a private, Catholic middle school—out of fear of Arab boys from their working-class neighborhood—Kaoutar grows increasingly conscious of her differences, and her conflicted sense of self. Notable events in her teens—the passing of a law in 2004 banning religious symbols from public schools; the 2005 deaths of Bouna Traoré and Zyed Benna, which sparked riots against police brutality—underscore the injustice of a society that sees Muslims not as equals but as a problem to solve. With elegant, affecting prose, As We Exist charts Kaoutar’s political and intellectual awakening, which would become the heart and soul of her work as a sociologist and writer.