Bang Bang Bang (5 page)

He clears the stuff away.

SADHBH. You didn't.

Stops him by handing him an empty tray with the remainders of pizza crusts.

STEPHEN. See, Mathilde – it's taboo for a humanitarian to say that they lost the plot.

SADHBH. What?

STEPHEN. Here's a bedtime story for you.

I finish a three-month contract in Congo. Sadhbh stays on. I arrive home. Back to normal. Pay the bills. Shopping in Sainsbury's. (
Dumps the rubbish into the bin and returns.
) Find myself standing at the fridge section for an hour in front of fifty kinds of yogurt – I've just come from a country without a fridge or fresh milk and don't let's even start on the meat counter. And this night – I'm woken by someone sitting on my bed. I realise that the bedroom is full of men, women, children. Some with splintered skulls.

MATHILDE. What did you do?

STEPHEN. I couldn't get out. The room being full.

So I have to pull the door. Really hard.

Maybe I even hurt people. Go for a piss – come back –
the fuckers are still there.

I can barely get back into the bed.

MATHILDE. And then?

STEPHEN. I discover that if I blink people disappear –

But only two or three per blink.

After a month I had a fully blown tic.

MATHILDE. But you're not blinking now?

STEPHEN. I went to see a shrink. Got some pills. Left my job.

Haven't looked back.

MATHILDE. You're joking with me?

STEPHEN. No. Yes. No.

MATHILDE. Oh dear, I must be drunk.

Silly. Silly. I can't tell if what you say is real.

The next-door neighbours resume hostilities.

STEPHEN. It was real.

BIBI
notes the disturbance.

BIBI. And I thought this was a nice neighbourhood.

SADHBH. So did I.

STEPHEN
and
MATHILDE
smile at one another.
SADHBH
is irritated.

Can't we turn on / some music?

SADHBH
pours wine for
BIBI. STEPHEN
puts on some music.

MATHILDE. We go to Congo on Monday – you've welcomed me.

Warned me. Thank you.

SADHBH.
Tu es ici chez toi.

BIBI. I feel enormously reassured to hand over.

STEPHEN. She's the best.

SADHBH. Oh, come here.

She gives
BIBI
a hug.

STEPHEN
tops up
MATHILDE
's wine glass.

STEPHEN. Everyone looks for something in Congo.

MATHILDE. What?

STEPHEN. I hope you find it.

I didn't.

SADHBH
raises her glass.

Mathilde's adventures.

They drink.

SADHBH. Bibi in New York.

BIBI. Home sweet home. I'll drink to that.

They drink.

And to Sadhbh and Stephen.

Together you still –

glow.

They drink.
STEPHEN
and
SADHBH
look at one another.

MATHILDE.
L'amour.
I'll drink to that.

They drink.

The music is turned up.
STEPHEN
leans and kisses SADHBH.

I want to remember this.

Music. The row echoes through the music.

Three

North Kivu.

Democratic Republic of Congo.

MATHILDE
steps outside the compound.
(
A gated area, which houses a number of NGOs.
)

A
WOMAN
in a bright headscarf carrying a sick baby accosts
MATHILDE.

She is speaking Swahili – and very fast. They speak across one another.

WOMAN.
Dada, dada, tafazali, Unisaidie. Mume wange ni mugunjwa sana na motto wangu naye pia. / Sijuwe nifanye nini. Ninakuomba, dada!
[Madame? Madame, please? You must help me. My husband is very sick and now my baby is sick. I don't know what to do. Please help me.]

MATHILDE.
Tu parles français?

WOMAN.
Tafadhali, Tafadhali Saidia uyu / binti wangu.
[Please. Please. Save my little girl.]

MATHILDE.
Je comprends pas.

Francais? English?

WOMAN.
Dawa kwa binti wangu? Dakitari, dakitari?
[Medicine for my daughter. Doctor. Doctor?]

MATHILDE.
Pardon, je comprends pas.

WOMAN.
Dawa, dawa! Medico? / Medico?
[Medicine. Medicine?]

MATHILDE.
Medico? Je suis pas medécin!
[Medico? I'm not a doctor.]

WOMAN.
Tafadhali. Nisaidie. Dola, / dola.
[Dollars. Dollars. Please help me.]

MATHILDE.
Dola? Tu veux dire dollars?

J'ai pas de dollars sur moi, mais.

WOMAN
. Unaweza kunipeleka kwa dakitari? Mtoto wangu apa hatari ya kufa. Anaitiji matibabu. / Dada anaitaji Dawa: Kwa nini huwezi nisaidia?
[Can you take me to a doctor? My daughter is dying. She needs medicine lady. Why will you not help me?]

MATHILDE.
Pardon. Je comprends pas, mais si tu viens avec moi. On pourra trouver quelqu'un qui parle Swahili. Juste la au portail. / Médecins? La? MSF. Tu comprends?

WOMAN.
Kamata motto wangu. Hakuna namna ingine ninaweza mufanya. Umusaidie. / Umupe maisha mema.
[Take my baby. You must take her. There is nothing I can do for her. You can save her.]

MATHILDE.
Peux-tu venir avec moi? Viens avec moi.

The
WOMAN
pushes the baby into
MATHILDE
's arms.

Non. Non. Toi tu tiens ton enfant: moi – je vais chercher de l'aide.

MATHILDE
tries to give the
WOMAN
her baby back but the
WOMAN
steps away.

WOMAN.
Hapana. Hapana shika / mtoto wangu. Msaidie.
[No. no. You must take my baby. Make her better.]

MATHILDE.
Oh mon Dieu. Ton bébé tremble. Ca fait combien de temps qu'elle est? Oh mon Dieu!

WOMAN.
Mungu atakusaidia. Msaidie. Ni motto mzuri sana.
Hakuna kitu niwezacho fanya.
[Bless you. Be kind to her.
She is a very good daughter. There is nothing more I can do.]

The
WOMAN
moves away.

MATHILDE. Hey!
Tu vas où? Reviens!

The
WOMAN
runs away.

Hey! Come back!

MATHILDE
looks at the baby.

Petite princesse.

MATHILDE
listens to her heart.

Ah non! Mon Dieu.

She tries to resuscitate the baby. She fails.

She takes out her VHF handheld radio.

Sierra Kilo. Sierra Kilo. This is Mike Romeo over.

SADHBH. This is Sierra Kilo. Mike Romeo send.

MATHILDE. I'm outside the compound. There's a sick baby.

She's dying. I need help.

SADHBH. Hang in there. We're moving. Over.

MATHILDE. I think it might be too late.

SADHBH. We'll be right there. We'll be right there.

MATHILDE
listens to the baby's heart. The baby is dead.

MATHILDE.
Oh, non. Non!

MATHILDE
closes the baby's eyes and whispers in her ear.

Chut, chut, chut. Là, là! Chut, chut.

She stops.
SADHBH
runs on.

She's dead. I'm sorry.

SADHBH. It's okay.

SADHBH
tries to take the baby from
MATHILDE.

MATHILDE. I'm sorry.

SADHBH. Give me the baby, Mathilde.

SADHBH
takes the baby from
MATHILDE
and helps her to stand.

MATHILDE. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.

SADHBH. It's okay. It's okay.

They exit.

Four

Night. A tropical night. A shot in the far distance.

The compound.

SADHBH
is sitting on a wooden crate working on her laptop. She's sipping a glass of whiskey.
MATHILDE
approaches her.

MATHILDE. Emailing Stephen?

SADHBH. When I'm here I want to be there and when I'm there I want to be here.

MATHILDE. You did not eat this evening.

SADHBH
shrugs.

But you drink whiskey?

SADHBH. I can always drink whiskey.

SADHBH
passes her a bottle and a glass.

I was expecting you.

You okay?

MATHILDE
shrugs. She pours a drink and drinks it back.

Atta girl.

MATHILDE
pours another and sits beside
SADHBH.

You shouldn't have left the compound today.

MATHILDE. So we gate ourselves in here?

SADHBH. Yeah. We do.

MATHILDE. And we travel to the camps –

They're crowded – they're awful.

We listen to the stories and then we come back to our nice compound again.

SADHBH. And we don't go out the gate.

Not by yourself anyway.

MATHILDE
takes a sip of whiskey.

MATHILDE. I thought I heard a gunshot.

SADHBH. When?

MATHILDE. Oh God. It
was
a gunshot.

SADHBH. There's been a pocket of fighting about thirty kilometres away but MONUC have reassured me that it's minor.

MATHILDE. Why didn't you tell me?

SADHBH. What's the point in worrying you?

I didn't want to worry you.

MATHILDE. Well, I'm worried now.

SADHBH. Don't be.

We have Janvier – our security. He's totally on the ball.

Any sign of trouble in this area – we're gone.

I'm not putting anybody's life at risk – including my own.

MATHILDE
gets up and walks away.

We're not in Kansas now.

MATHILDE
flashes
SADHBH
a look.

MATHILDE. My father passed away when I was eight. It made me very aware of life and death. I thought – this work –I could help others.

What a stupid fucked idea that was.

SADHBH. You've been here less than a month. Don't be so hard on yourself.

MATHILDE. Yes. What do I expect but –

Je crois – Je veux croire qu'il puisse y avoir justice pour tout ces gens –

Maybe I can do nothing but bear witness. But do I change anything? / What am I doing? Tell me.

SADHBH. If you wanted to be an instant lifesaver you should have worked for MSF.

MATHILDE. Okay.

SADHBH. Even so – you probably couldn't have saved the baby's life today.

MATHILDE. No. No. I can't think about that.

SADHBH. Mathilde – we believe in justice –

but it takes time –

so –

We write the reports.

Each testimony helps identify the perpetrator.

And someday – it might change things.

Listen –

If you don't want to travel to the camp tomorrow I / absolutely understand.

MATHILDE. Don't try to protect me, Sadhbh. This does not work for me. If there is gunfire don't tell me it is firecrackers.

Don't tell me not to go out the fucking gate because I will anyway. Don't treat me like a stupid kid.

It will be a privilege to hear the stories tomorrow.

I want to be there.

SADHBH
pours herself another drink. She looks at
MATHILDE.

MATHILDE
looks away.

SADHBH. We've got R and R coming up.

We'll go to Goma.

Let off steam. It works for me anyway.

MATHILDE. Sounds good.

A gunshot in the far distance.

MATHILDE
freezes.

What was that?

SADHBH. You heard it as well as I did.

SADHBH
picks up her things and goes indoors.

MATHILDE
tries to brave it for a moment and then runs.

Five

A makeshift hut in an IDP camp.

A dirt floor.
SADHBH
and
MATHILDE
are sitting together.

SADHBH
takes up her writing materials. Throughout the scene she writes down
AMALA
's testimony.
AMALA
is with
MAMA CAROLINA.

MATHILDE
simultaneously translates.

SADHBH. Mama Carolina says you want to tell your story. Is that right, Amala?

MATHILDE.
Mama Carolina dit que tu voudrais raconter ton histoire, Amala? C'est vrai?

AMALA
nods.

MAMA CAROLINA.
Prends ton temps.

AMALA
leans in to whisper to
MAMA CAROLINA.

She wants to know if you will write all of this in your book?

SADHBH. I will. Is that okay, Amala?

MAMA CAROLINA.
Tu es d'accord?

AMALA
nods. She leans into
MAMA CAROLINA
who speaks for her.

Thunder killed my mother.

SADHBH. Thunder?

MAMA CAROLINA (
sotto voce
). Grenade.

The Tutsi rebels – Banyamulenge – they took my brother.

MATHILDE.
Est-ce qu'ils portaient un uniforme?

AMALA
nods.

MAMA CAROLINA. They are wearing a uniform—with a yellow band around the arm.

The rebels fire fire all the houses in the village.

SADHBH. Amala – What happened next?

MATHILDE.
Qu'est ce qui s'est passé ensuite?

MAMA CAROLINA. The thunder is coming – louder – louder.

Me and my mama we run, run, run.

She falls – the thunder comes.

I run but the soldiers catch me.

They say ‘your mother is dead. We are your new family'.

SADHBH. Where did the soldiers take you?

MATHILDE.
Où t'ont emmenée les soldats.

MAMA CAROLINA. We walk a long time. There is a camp. They took me to the Commandant and he says, ‘You are my wife now.'

SADHBH. What is the Commandant's name?

MATHILDE.
Comment s'appelle le Commandant?

MAMA CAROLINA. Everybody knows his name.

Commandant Jerome Mburame.

I am his wife so I cook for him and clean his shoes. He likes his shoes very nice.