French author Faïza Guène is calling for an end to the generational trauma that has been inflicted on the descendants of people from France’s colonies. Guène’s words come after the recent shooting of Nahel Merzouk, a French teenager of Algerian descent, by a police officer.
“They killed him as if he wasn’t a child – or even a human being,” Guène says. “This is not the first time this has happened, and it won’t be the last. We need to break this cycle of violence and trauma.”
Guène is no stranger to this kind of violence. She grew up in a working-class neighborhood in Paris, and she saw firsthand the discrimination and harassment that people of color face. Her own family has been affected by police violence.
“My father was stopped by the police many times,” Guène says. “He was never arrested, but he was always treated with suspicion. It’s a feeling that I know all too well.”
Guène believes that the media coverage of Merzouk’s death was also “overtly racist.” She says that the headlines often focused on his race and ethnicity, rather than on the circumstances of his death.
“This is just another example of how the media contributes to the dehumanization of people of color,” Guène says. “We need to demand better from the media. We need them to tell the truth about what’s happening to our communities.”
Guène is calling for an end to the generational trauma that has been inflicted on the descendants of people from France’s colonies. She says that we need to start talking about this issue, and we need to demand change.
“We need to break this cycle of violence and trauma,” Guène says. “We need to create a future where our children are not afraid of the police. We need to create a future where they are treated with dignity and respect.”
Guène’s words are a powerful reminder that the fight against racism is not over. We must continue to speak out against injustice, and we must demand change. We must create a future where everyone is treated equally, regardless of their race or ethnicity.
