Serching for Hope

                 Searching for Hope

                        A Collection of Monologues About Darfur

                                    By Marley Grey Utzig

Character list (In order of appearance):

Young Fatima Terab

Thomas James

Amina Terab

Samir Wek

Dr. Simon

Older Fatima Terab

 

 

 

                                                Act 1 Scene 1

 Fatima Terab

Small Child's view of how life was before the Janjaweeds.

 So this is for a doc-o-men-a-try? (Pause small smile) Sure I will tell you about my life in my village. I run and get water for my family in the morning I am up the earliest and my mom likes to say it is an easy way to get me out of the way (small chuckle) Then mommy has me come home and boil the water for clothes. She lets me play with my two brothers Samir and Bakit. We play hide and seek with the other kids and tag but my brothers are always able to catch me because I am younger then them but I am also smaller so I can hide much better, so when we play hide and seek, I have my favorite spot its under a tree. I see my eldest sister Amina near the tree most days when I am hiding there. She picks the twigs that are good for the fire off the ground. When I was younger and confused as to why you did not take the wood from the branches of the tree my mommy explained that it was a sin to hurt the tree. So they would go in the forest and pick up twigs and stuffs. Hmmm where was I? Umm oh yeah! My day. So I play with my brothers and the other kids in the village. Mid-Afternoon we go back home for a bit I help mom with boiling clothes and sweeping. Mom keeps me in the house for the rest of the day to help with more chores and making dinner. My daddy comes home later he is one of the leaders of our village. We sit down to dinner … umm yeah that’s about it of my day. Bye Miss! (Hops up from position and goes to run off stage looks back like interviewer asked question) Yes umm... (Looks in camera with a stern face) My name is Fatima Terab I live in the Kass village of Darfur, Sudan. I am 7 years old. (Pause squints face then big smile) Sure I will do your introduction. This is a film by Tiffany Strauser this interview was filmed in 2002. (Pause) Okay bye miss.

 

 

 

Act 1 Scene 2

Thomas James

(On the street near a street corner with a white binder his NGO is labeled on the front and he is trying to get people to donate)

Hello sir, spare a moment to talk about the genocide in Darfur? (Pause) Miss, do you know about the genocide going on right now? (Pause) Excuse me Sir, (Pause) Yes, hi. Do you know about the Genocide in Darfur? (Pause) No? Okay well basically the Sudan government has hired a group of men called the Janjaweed whom are killing people in Darfur. (Pause) You have a good day sir. (Pause *SIGH*) Ms! Hi would you spare a moment to hear about the genocide in Darfur? (Pause) Cool, so the Sudan government has hired a group of men called the Janjaweed who are killing villages in Darfur. The U.N. estimated 200,000 dead and around 2.5 million displaced. If you make a donation it will help us put more political pressure so that we can help Darfur. (Pause) Yes thank you Ms, have a nice day. (Pause) Hello, do you know about the crisis in Darfur? (Pause) Currently genocide is underway there. See most people don’t care what’s going on in Darfur … or anywhere in Africa for that matter. As far as most people are concerned Africa is a country always at war with itself so why should we care? BUT that’s the point! We should care in 1994 there was a mass genocide of at least 800,000 people but no one cared! There is a movie on this horrible event as there are with most horrible events movies that barley brushes the surface of the media while movies about Facebook make millions in the box office and make already rice people richer. People are DYING but no one cares as long as it does not bother him or her. Makes you wonder if the US really even cared about the genocide in WW2 (Pause *Horror stricken expression*) Oh goodness I am so sorry that I went off like that, please sir have a good day. (*Turns around* Talking to himself*) In the words of H. Jackson Brown, Jr. “The greatest ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about” (Sigh again Turn around look shocked) Hello, again sir I am so sorry (Pause) Oh! Ah thank you so much for your donation. Good afternoon sir.

                                                Act 1 Scene 3

Amina Terab
(Dirty girl around 18 dirty dress and sitting in her hut she shares with several other women)

Yes hello, I understand you are interviewing me for a project. (Pause) My name is Amina Terab and I am telling you my story from a displacement camp in Darfur. I am going to tell you of how my village was attacked. (Pause) (Deep breath)
It was a massacre, one that we should of expected. (Pause) The Janjaweed had already attacked the Shatia. Who, who were we to think that Kass was safe? That our homes, and farms would be left alone? (Pause) I was not at the village when it first happened I was gathering water, I heard the machine guns (shakes as saying this next bit each bang is a body jerk) bang bang bang bang. Then came the screaming. I could see the glow of fire as it ignited a building. My friend and I ran into the forest trying to hide. The Janjaweed were there they grabbed my friend and ...and began to strip her of her clothes (pause) I feel terrible to say this, but I ran, again, I left my friend and ran back to the village. The houses were on fire. Little kids were running around scared, confused, and crying. The Janjaweed had gotten off their camels and were beating men in the street; the women were getting it worse. I kept running I did not stop running. No one noticed me and if they did I did not notice them I just kept running. I was able to make it to this displacement camp. Two days later, some other people who had escaped from my camp and I walked back to our village.
It was (Pause) horrible... I … I can hardly describe what I saw. I looked for my little brothers and sister … I found my brother Samir … well I found his head cut off from his body. (Swallow) I … I am sorry this is hard to talk about. (Deep breath) My family we owned a small house with some land behind it where we grew Karkadeh, the plants were ripped from the ground. Our water supply was nothing, people were dead buildings were burned down … anything with any worth was gone. I … I could not stand to look at it … I am sorry that is all of my story I do not want to scare you but that is just a small bit of what we go through everyday, no one … no one can ever say they know what I am going through. Because we, we have no hope. We must fight for ourselves.

 

 

Act 1 Scene 4

 

Samir Wek

(Sitting at a table a bunch of microphones in front of him with the occasional “camera” flash.)

Hello I am Samir Wek. I am with the government of Sudan; we have decided to set up this press conference to talk about the rumors going on about the Sudanese government working with the Janjaweed. Please ask away. (Pause) No of course the government has nothing to do with this group the Janjaweed, this is a complete and utter lie. Another question please. (Pause) No, that is a common misconception, the Janjaweed are not killing because of racism we believe it is over land. Yes you, what is your question? (Pause) Well no it is not labeled genocide. (Pause) Yes the United States has labeled it genocide but they are the only ones. (Pause) 200,000 people killed? No the number is not nearly that high. The U.N. likes to exaggerate things. (Pause) Well yes displacement is common but 2.5 million is much too high. (Pause) No we really don’t have anything to do with this group of people. (Pause, looks worried?) Harun would never associate with this group of people! (Pause) I highly doubt he was seen with the Janjaweed. (Pause) No the government would never give these people money or guns. (Pause) The Sudan government has nothing to do the group Janjaweed. That is the end of this conference!


Act 1 Scene 5

Dr. Simon

(Standing behind a podium with a microphone on it waiting to present his speech to the hall.)

We had to… we had to go in with no fear. No negativity. We had been prepped I worked in a hospital for 8 years. I was not a partier in College and I never had any of my friend’s die or horrors in my family. When you get thrown into the hospital it’s … all rushed. You cant panic you cant have a moment to breath because every moment a life is on the line. You never get a chance to think about what could happen you just do. When I decided to volunteer for the program Doctors Without Borders ... I will be honest it was to impress are girl who worked with the program Save the Children. I know, I know stupid thing to do but I figured I would go to a few meetings donate some money from … lets face it my fortune. I would be done with DWB and get with this girl. I was wrong, I ended up getting really into this program and a bit later I was sent to Darfur. They prepared us for what we were facing. (Pause) And like I said you just get so rushed, you have to do this and that without thinking you have to save this person you don't get a chance to breath its all so fast. It was also … so worth it. I did not even get with the girl whom worked with Save the Children I still talk to her she had to quit when the economy got rough. But yeah these displacement camps are terrible we were taking care of people with bullet wounds and many girls whom were raped. I remember one young girl who was pregnant, she told me how old she was … 15 she was 15 and was pregnant it was terrible how she got like that but many told me worse stories of their villages being attacked. Anyway this girl was in her second trimester, she didn't know whom the father was, I was able to give her things that would help her though carrying her child that she would not of been able to get given the lack of medicine in her village. That was in calm conditions where she would of been able to relax with her family, a family that she tells me now she has not seen since she was 7. I just wanted to tell you these stories and how amazing this program is, Doctors Without Borders changed my life. Thank you.




                                               Act 2 Scene 2
Fatima Terab

(Much more scuffed up and dirty now not as many smiles and looking very sullen older girl with a tummy (pregnant)

Are you with the same lady who was here last time? (Pause) Yeah she came to my village a year back she was doing a documentary on African villages but I suppose this is not any where near my village. (Pause) My name is Fatima Terab. I am 15 now. Living in a displacement camp my cause to be here … is the same reason I am pregnant. My village was attacked about 8 years ago. I was a young girl … I didn't know what was going on mom was dragged from the house by her hair daddy was inside being beaten with the Janjaweeds guns … though at the time I did not know that they were called the Janjaweed. I just knew that they were scary and they were hurting my parents. Samir ran into the house and caught eyes with me he shouted hide... Had he not shouted I would not be here now … but I would never be guilty of the nightmare that happened.. one of the men took a large knife and (Get choked up) his head flew off … my body took over I did not cry I did not scream I just ran. I ran and ran and ran to my tree. There was fire everywhere and so many men on horses. It was so long ago but I remember being curled up under the tree trying not to cry too loud not knowing what would happen to me. I waited until it got quite and even then until dark. I crawled out of my hole under the tree and walked to the village my face hard with tears and dirt. I walked through my village at the age of seven I had seen my brother murdered had no idea where my parents, sister, or my other brother Bakit were. I was alone at the age of 7, I walked for two nights when I stumbled into another village, and a woman there took me in. A month later the village was attacked. The women and I were able to run she took me to a displacement camp with her. I lived there for (thinks for a second) about 7 years. It was hard but the UN fed up grains for the most part. Then a group attacked our camp. I was not lucky enough this time to get away. I was gang raped. And now I am with child. (Pause) A lot has changed from when I was a 7 year old and now I must take care of this child that was forced upon me a child who I do not know the father of. I should have hope for my future. But I don’t, the UN helps us, Doctors Without Borders help us … but we must help our selves … and I must try and find a place I see as safe.