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Mourad Benchellali
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| JOURNEY TO HELL |
| Voyage en Enfer |
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| Memoir | 250 pages | Original Publication Date: Fall 2006 | Material Available: Manuscript in French, extracts in English | Original Publisher: Editions Robert Laffont |
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Sometimes it takes just one mistake…
…to take you to hell.
And then, you have to find your way home.
In the Summer of 2001, French-born Mourad was 19. He lived and worked in a suburb of Lyon and was planning to get married. He was a ‘quiet’ Muslim and there was nothing wrong about his life except for its routine. So when his elder brother spoke, he listened.
Hakim, eight years his senior, always seemed to be travelling to mysterious places. “You should take a break”, he said, “go to Afghanistan, it’s a beautiful country of mountains and rivers… I have friends there, they will help you…” Hakim never preached or spoke of jihad – it was all about beauty and adventure. So when Mourad finally gave in, he just asked: “Why can’t I tell Mom and Dad?” Hakim smiled, and said, “Don’t you see it’s more fun?”
Mourad travelled to the Pakistani border and into the Afghan mountains. But the holiday his brother had mentioned turned out to be an Al-Qaeda training camp. Stuck in the middle of the desert, surrounded by gun-loving fanatics, Mourad was trapped – all he could do was to endure his sixty days and hope he would get home in one piece. Then came a visit by an important Sheikh: his name was Bin Laden and he was surrounded by fanatical fervour, preaching the Holy War against the Infidels. As Mourad watched on, he was grasping the magnitude of his mistake being there. But it was too late.
As soon as his time was up, he set off home, the same way he had come. Mourad was a few miles away from the Pakistani border when he heard about 9/11. With the border sealed, the troops of the Northern Alliance marching against the Taliban, the Americans bombing, he was engaged in a mad escape through the mountains of the Hindu Kush. “I’ve never committed a crime”, he kept repeating to himself, “I’ve never carried a weapon and never fought against anyone.” When he eventually reached Pakistan and freedom, he was taken by the Pakistani army, and handed over to the Americans.
Held in custody, firstly in Kandahar and then in Guantanamo, Mourad was subjected to endless interrogations, manacled, tortured and beaten at the whim of the guards. But in this most inhumane of situations, he also shared moments of humanity, with guards and fellow prisoners alike. (Ironically it was in Guantanamo that he first studied the Koran seriously, and learned Arabic and English.)He was not anti-American before; he is not anti-American today. And perhaps more than ever he believes that violence is not a solution.
A gripping and eye-opening story that is in turn terrifying and moving -- a modern day Midnight Expres
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