Faysa Iddle breaks the silence after growing up in the gang war

In the middle of the gang war, a young girl, Faysa Idle, stands with one foot on both sides of the conflict and in an environment where the rule is often to keep quiet.
– Being brave means that you risk your life, says Faysa.

For a few days at the end of July 2015, something happened that would change the lives of large parts of the population in the Stockholm suburbs of Tensta and Rinkeby. Two young boys are murdered and overnight old friends become enemies. A conflict which will become one of the bloodiest in Swedish criminal history and which is still ongoing today. Faysa Idle, who lived close to the gang environments, tells what life looks like for young girls in those gang environments and what happens when they try to make themselves heard.

– We have built another Sweden in Sweden. We have our own cultures, our own rules. It is a different country in Sweden and what is reported in the media is usually about the gang criminal guys, she says.

“Even I was silenced”

In 2015, Faysa was in the ninth grade when her best male friend, one of the young boys, was shot dead in a gang conflict. On the other side of the conflict was one of her brothers, which led to her ending up in the middle of the chaos that ensued.

– I was also silenced because of all the threats and everything that comes with it. Then you will also be quite ostracized if you choose to walk away from things that have lasted for several generations.

Book debuts

Faysa believes that it is usually about the gang criminal guys when gang environments are reported in the media. Now she makes her book debut with “A word for blood” where she writes about the girls’ history in the shadow of the gang war to break the culture of silence and give the girls a voice.

– We were never allowed to talk, never allowed to have a voice, never allowed to have an opinion or a say in the whole thing. It’s always the man and he has a big place where I come from.

She continues:

– It means a lot to me to finally dare to take that place. I am a tough woman who dares to stand up for myself and we women should be able to have our say.