Ensaf Haidar looks drawn when you meet her in Outremont: she has just returned from a tour that took her to Germany, Texas and Rouyn-Noranda, where the documentary Waiting for Raifpresented in its world premiere at the Festival du cinéma international en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, received an enthusiastic reception.
This two and a half hour film traces her eight long years of struggle in the hope of freeing her husband, Raïf Badawi, sentenced in 2012 to 10 years in prison and 1000 lashes in Saudi Arabia because of his opinions. policies. The blogger will finally be flogged 50 times rather than 1000, but his ordeal remains traumatic for him, his wife and their three children.
The documentary shows everything: photos of a happy family in their country of origin, the arrival in Sherbrooke in 2014 of the 35-year-old refugee mother with her children, learning French, the 376 vigils of unwavering activists and friends of Sherbrooke for the release of the political prisoner, the public humiliation of the 50 lashes in Jeddah, the young woman’s tours all over the world, her political commitment with the Bloc Québécois, the hopes, the doubts, the tears and the release of Badawi on March 11, 2022, after 10 years of imprisonment, not a day less — despite (or because of) international pressure.
Above all, we see a mother of unfailing determination, who never gives up the battle even in the darkest hours. For example, when her husband, exhausted after three and a half years in prison, whispers to her in a dejected tone on the telephone, in one of their short conversations (under surveillance by the Saudi authorities): “You are too optimistic. »
So, therefore, the fight continues: Raif Badawi is released from prison, but has no right to leave Saudi Arabia for the next 10 years.
” I’m free. I have no reason to lose hope. I have to move, I have to look for the positive everywhere. And the people who support us give me courage,” says Ensaf Haidar, whom we meet at Luc Côté, co-director with Patricio Henriquez of the documentary Waiting for Raif. The film hits theaters on Friday.
Ensaf Haidar expresses himself in a French that mixes tonic Arabic accents and typically Quebecois “there, there”. Her deep brown eyes light up as she reminisces about the ups and downs of the past decade. She laughs a lot. But tears are never far away.
“Ensaf never acts as a victim. The whole family loves life. They like to party, they have fun, in the Arab tradition of hospitality. They are not just waiting like in a funeral home,” says Luc Côté. “She is always strong, very combative in public. In the film, we saw it in another way. It does justice to his strength, which is built on sadder, harder times,” adds Patricio Henriquez, a committed filmmaker of Chilean origin.
The transformation of a family
The directors had to draw from more than 300 hours of filming spread over 186 days over the past eight years. They made countless round trips on Highway 10, between Montreal and Sherbrooke, in addition to traveling around the world with the heroine of their film. They are now “part of the family”.
The filmmakers witnessed a true transformation of the Haidar-Badawi family. The mother and her children Najwa, Doudi and Miriyam become Quebecers. Quite quickly, the children speak French to each other. Dudi: “It’s flat, go to school. He discovers his father’s true fate by doing a search on Google.
With wet eyes, the boy says he misses his father. “All the stuff we did together. A car ride after school, next to the sea.
Doubt and worry assail Ensaf Haidar when he sees that her husband’s calls are becoming rarer. “Before, he called every 12 hours. Now he can wait a week, two weeks without calling. That, for me, is a change. Before, he was very positive, very courageous. Now, he lets it go, he doesn’t give a damn about things… He’s far away. I don’t want to judge him. »
The film recalls Ensaf Haidar’s association with American blogger and author Robert Spencer, considered by analysts to be far-right because of his views on Islam. “My mission was to free Raïf,” she told the To have to. I am friends with everyone who spoke for Raif’s release. »
Saudi Nightmare
The documentary describes the rifts in Saudi society, which made Ensaf Haidar a fierce activist for secularism – and against the veil. Raif Badawi was denounced by his own father, who deplored the influence of Amnesty International on his son. Raïf’s older sister, Samar, married Badawi’s lawyer, Walid Abu al-Khair, sentenced to 15 years in prison; she was also arrested.
The film does not mention it, but Ensaf Haidar broke up with all his family, who remained in Saudi Arabia. She never saw her father (who died in 2014), her mother, her seven brothers, five half-brothers and three sisters. “They don’t agree with what I did. For them, it’s embarrassing, it’s a scandal. I accepted that. It is their opinion. Me, I chose to be free,” she said in an interview.
The documentary also shows hangings and beheading in public. The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs is indignant at Canada’s pressure: “It is scandalous, in our opinion, that a country lectures us and demands the immediate release [de Raïf Badawi]. Really ? We demand the immediate independence of Quebec. We immediately demand equal rights for the Aboriginal peoples of Canada. You can criticize us about rights [de la personne]. You can criticize us about women’s rights. The United States does it, the State Department reports every year. We can talk about it. But “we demand immediate release”? What are we? A Banana Republic? »
The film also blasts successive governments that have authorized the sale to Saudi Arabia of Canadian armored vehicles that have been used against civilians.
The makers of the Badawi family documentary, human rights activists working with Amnesty International, hope to raise awareness. “Raïf cannot kiss his children until 2032. We cannot remain insensitive and do nothing. If we forget, we become accomplices,” says Patricio Henriquez.