About

Ouahiba Boudiaf is a London-based poet originally from Algeria. Writing in English, French, and Arabic, she uses poetry to express grief, motherhood, exile, and her long pursuit of justice for her son, Karim, who was killed in 2009.

Her work draws on memory, faith, and resilience, using vivid imagery and quiet rage to confront personal loss and societal silence. She writes under her real name, and shares her poetry through her Facebook page Justice for Karim.

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For Karim

These poems are written in memory of her son, Karim, who was killed in Tottenham in 2009, aged eighteen. He had finished his A-levels and was about to begin a law degree. No one has been brought to justice.

The family's campaign, Justice for Karim, still calls for his case to be reopened. In 2017 his killing was raised in the House of Commons by David Lammy, the family's Member of Parliament for Tottenham, who told the House that during the trial Karim's mother had shared her anguish through the recital of poetry. Her poems are part of the record of his case.

The debate in the House of Commons Justice for Karim