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Olfa Hamrouni does not know much about her granddaughter; Neither his favorite toy nor food – is it pasta that the child’s mother likes, or something else?
Tunisia’s grandmother doesn’t even let her mind go there. “I do not want to know. What about more heartache?” He said.
At the moment, she fights only for 8-year-old Fatma. The girl has spent almost all of her life with her mother and aunt – Hamrouni’s eldest daughters – who grew up in detention in Libya, where women are imprisoned after leaving home as teenagers and joining extremists with the Islamic State group. Had happened.
The real-life story of Hamrouni and her children is the focus of “Four Daughters,” an Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Feature Film. On camera, Kaouther Ben Hania’s film has many layers: it’s about the radicalization of two teenage girls; An intimate portrait of a chaotic and often chaotic family life; and reflections on generational trauma, patriarchy, motherhood, and adolescence.
Off camera, it’s more than just a family story.
The names change, the details vary, but it’s a nightmare familiar to few others in Tunisia, where many once left conflict zones abroad to join terrorist groups including the Islamic State. Militants have also attacked targets in Tunisia. Today, families like Hamrouni’s are a living reminder of that complex legacy, the unresolved issues and difficult questions that remain even years later.
“This… is an open wound in my country,” said actor Hend Sabri, who appears as Hamrouni in some scenes in the film. “Until we talk about it, we won’t heal.”
Hamrouni hopes the film’s high profile will boost advocacy for her daughters to be returned from Libya, where they were sentenced to prison, and stand trial in their home country. In Tunisia, as in other countries, some people are suspicious and fearful of returning due to security concerns.
Hamrouni wants Fatma to be freed from the limitations of her existence. “What is his fault in this? He has not chosen his father or mother.”
Ben Haniya, who wrote and directed the film, echoed the demands. “We are working hard to put pressure on the Tunisian government,” he said. “A country is responsible for its citizens.”
The film experiments with format. Hamrouni and her youngest daughters, Eya and Tayseer, appear as themselves. In addition to Sabri, the actor plays Ghofran and Rahma, the daughters who left, as Ben Hania reconstructs the family’s past in search of clues to their radicalization. (The film offers theories but no concrete motive, especially with the real Ghofren and Rahma captured in Libya.) In some scenes, the actors reenact key moments with family members; In others, they raise questions, challenge or reflect. Ben Hania said that his role as a filmmaker is to understand and analyze, not to judge.
According to the film and family statements, the daughters grew up in a tumultuous household with very few children. Father was absent most of the time and drank too much; Mother was extremely burdensome and harsh.
Hamrouni, in the film, focuses on maintaining the sexual purity of her daughters for marriage. She is quick to dish out insults and accusations and punish perceived or actual infractions – a waxed foot, a diary entry about a first kiss – with severe beatings.
There was some rebellion, there was a Gothic stage, there was a guy with a motorcycle. Then the changes that took place in Tunisia after the pro-democracy movement of the Arab Spring more than a decade ago brought another change thanks to the influence of various currents, including fundamentalists and extremists. A preaching tent went up in the family’s neighborhood.
Ghofren and Rahma, whose mother says they grew up with only basic religious knowledge, were introduced to strict interpretations. His radicalism went deeper – in the film, Rahma is said to have whipped younger sisters for skipping or delaying prayer, blaming herself for things like gossip, and having sex outside marriage. Daydreamed about stoning the woman who made it.
According to the film, when Ghofren left almost a decade ago, Hamrouni asked for help from the police to stop Rahma from following him. She accuses the police of taking less action.
The family fell apart. Hamrouni mourned the departed daughters and worried about the remaining daughters. One, at that time a child, loved Rahma and had absorbed his sisters’ beliefs. The other, Eya, was settling.
The young girls were placed in a government facility, which they credit with helping them rebuild their lives. But the family says life outside was difficult and neighbors and relatives had shunned them.
Mohammed Iqbal Ben Rejeb, of the Association for the Rescue of Tunisians Stranded Abroad, said some people found themselves in similar situations, leaving their family members behind, sometimes to protect those who were stranded. There were leftovers. Others fight for the return of their loved ones. Some do not know whether their relatives are dead or alive.
He said his organization does not protect bloodied Tunisians, but advocates the rehabilitation of others and, in particular, the rescue and reintegration of children taken by parents to conflict zones or born there. Advocates. But he also says Tunisia may lack adequate capabilities and argues that officials often appear to be dragging their feet.
She and other activists are particularly concerned about the rights and future of children. They warn that inaction could prove dangerous.
“The normal place for children is … extended family, school,” said Mustafa Abdelkebir, head of the Tunisian Observatory for Human Rights. “After spending long periods in prisons and camps… they will become angry with society, become ticking bombs.”
Abdelkebir called on Tunisian authorities to find solutions and especially to bring children home from abroad, but said the issue of repatriation is often entangled in diplomatic, political, financial, legal or logistical challenges.
Nevertheless, according to Abdelkebir, some Tunisian women acquitted by Libyan courts were deported back to Tunisia, where they were detained. Many children have also been returned – including orphans, he said. The children have been given to relatives or placed in government social care facilities, he said. Tunisian government officials did not comment, or respond to questions, on the sisters’ case and the larger repatriation issue at the time of publication.
Sabri, one of the Arab world’s most famous stars, said her heart breaks for Fatma – but she finds it hard to sympathize with Ghofren and Rahma. She also emphasizes the importance of accountability for Tunisians who join such groups.
During filming, Hamrouni saw a mirror to her own life.
Hamrouni, who herself had a difficult childhood, said she acknowledges where she has erred as a mother, and that her mistakes do not justify her daughters’ decisions. But she also blames the political environment and government policies for their radicalization at an early age and says both now regret their choices.
Hamrouni’s voice softened when asked about Fatma. Her eyes sparkle even before tears begin to form.
She worries: How will Fatma learn manners? Who will teach him about his country? How will she grow up to love Tunisia, how will she know how to behave with others?
If Fatma ever moves in with him, there will be no fighting, said Hamrouni, who has remarried and now lives outside Tunisia. “I will teach him right from wrong but let him make his own choice.”
But nothing is certain. She feels for Fatma, because of how little she knows about the world, how the world may treat her.
“He has a dark past,” Hamrouni said. “Only God knows what awaits him.”
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