On Black Sisters' Street [Paperback]

Chika Unigwe who lives and writes from Turnhout in Belgium. Ms Unigwe is a very talented writer and this is her second novel. Her first one, De Feniks was published in Dutch/Flemish but is also available as 'The Phoenix' in English. Unfortunately, you have to walk through Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos to obtain a copy or simply ask your Nigerian friends or relatives to get it for you. Her second book though is available via Amazon.co.uk. I ordered and got mine and have not regretted buying it. Ms Unigwe writes about the lives some of our sisters live in Europe. Exactly. Prostituting or better still, being sex workers. She breathes life into their existence; as most of them are not registered as citizens at all. 'Persona non grata', that is their status. So that when they die of some act of violence, they end up being buried like paupers in a country which never embraced them.

Sisi, Efe, Ama and Joyce alongside with their Madam who doesn't walk but barrels through rooms and spaces are the inhabitants of the flat on Zwartezusterstraat, which is the Black Sisters' Street in Dutch. Madam is a modern day 'Slaventreiber', a female pimp who has lost the spirit of compassion towards other human beings, especially black women. She is an excellent business woman though. Excellent in the marketing and selling of human bodies, preferably black female bodies. Ms Unigwe excellently tells of the lives of these women before Belgium and we eventually find out that they all, alongside with many other women have a common 'pimp' in Lagos Nigeria. When we see men or women of extreme wealth in Lagos and we do not see them sweat for it or go to a 9-5 job daily, we should beware. The reader gets to know the women by and by and it is thanks to Ms Unigwe's first class story telling that the book can be categorized as 'unputdownable'. I sure couldn't do anything else in my free time but continue reading until I came to the end. Although one of the women dies, the lives of the others went on to become something useful to their different societies from their countries of origin.

The lesson learned here is 'never judge a book by its cover' We shouldn't judge our sisters in the sex trade until we have walked a mile or two in their shoes. Pick up this book today, read it during your summer break and you will discover that it is money well spent.

Excellent book that pulls no punches. Most definitely a thought provoking read that gives a voice to African prostitutes - unlucky enough to be 'working' in the seedy bars and streets of Europe. The female characters stir empathy in the reader and make one feel sympathy at the plight of these victims of the sex-trade. One can only hope that the men who use them read this book and are made aware of the issues regarding the traffiking of people into Europe; to be used as sex-objects for the pleasure of men. I suspect, though, that they are the last people who would pick up this original and disturbing book. If you like this I also recommend another book about the Nigerian experience in Europe (England), although from a more positive angle: One Love Two Colours: The Unlikely Marriage of a Punk Rocker and His African Queen by Margaret Oshindele (my wife). This is the true story of how a Yoruba woman can marry an Englishman (me!)and make a success of a marriage.

A book such as this is not simply a work of fiction. As such, it is hard to judge it purely in those terms. The author clearly has the ability to write prose and choses a contemporary and heartbreaking topic but somehow fails to move the issue on from what most people who watch documentaries or read newspapers are already aware of.

I am well aware of the trafficking of women into wealthy countries (not just Europe) for the sex trade. This has gone on all over the world for probably as long as the world has existed. The women traded are usually from desperate situations either from poverty or war and are therefore vulnerable and easily exploited. They don't all get tricked into it, some go with their eyes open as to the 'work' that awaits them. However, few realise the slavery they have signed up to in repaying their pimps for the supposed 'opportunity' of a brave new life in a wealthy country. The majority are in the countries illegally and therefore have no protection and are totally at the mercy of those exploiting them. Many Eastern European suffer this fate within the UK, sometimes as total prisoners inside buildings. None of this is new. There have been many articles and documentaries covering these; complete with filmed interviews of the victims (often in silhouette to safeguard their identity) and their stories and backgrounds are heartbreaking. Those that control them are dangerous and think nothing of disposing of them at the drop of a hat, safe in the knowledge that nobody will expend much effort defending those that technically dont exist.

This is my point about this novel. It doesn't really show us much beyond what we should already know and in many ways shows us rather less. The depth of emotion and anger I have felt over press reports has been much greater. The characters in this book are given a past and, in some cases a horrific past but somehow the author doesn't develop this sufficiently or get us sufficiently involved with the characters to have the intended effect. For instance one of the girls sees her family murdered and is gang raped by rebels but soon after finds herself in a Sudanese refugee camp and falls in love with one of the peace keepers and ends up back in his tent where they develop a relationship...Eventually the relationship does go wrong but somehow this all happens rather fast and casually. Somehow the deep damage both physical and mental that she has suffered is not covered or (is assumed) and this makes the follow on relationship seem somewhat unlikely. Her feelings are not discussed, it's almost as if she's just had a bit of bad luck but she's over it soon enough.

The plot is very predictable.....maybe because it is not news.

If you are unaware of what goes on, then this is well written and certainly worth reading but it is not as deeply gut wrenching at it should be because somehow we dont get close to any of the characters for long enough. Time moves rather randomly back and forth and the developing closeness between the girls is somehow not demonstrated or credible. I think this is why the book doesn't quite hit the mark.

Not a bad book at all but not quite satisfactory for purpose.