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Scene One
A container, which appears to be empty except for some pallets. The drone of an engine is heard. As the play begins, the lorry is heard to come to a halt. FATIMA, ASHA, JEMAL and AHMAD emerge from their hiding places behind and under the pallets. They whisper.
FATIMA. What happened? Have we stopped?
JEMAL. Yes.
AHMAD. Why are we stopping? What is going on?
JEMAL. Keep your voice down.
FATIMA. Someone will let us out.
JEMAL. Shhhh.
AHMAD. What?
JEMAL. Iām listening.
AHMAD. What can you hear?
JEMAL. Nothing, if you donāt shut up.
AHMAD. Did you hear something?
JEMAL. Shut up. There could be police outside.
FATIMA. Police? Outside?
JEMAL. Shut up, do you hear me? Shut up.
FATIMA. Iām stretching my legs.
JEMAL. Keep still, canāt you? Youāll make noise.
FATIMA. My leg is dead. I have to move.
JEMAL. Sit down, you stupid woman!
FATIMA. Donāt speak like that to me!
AHMAD. Shhhh. Both of you. You want to get us all caught?
FATIMA. He is so rude, this man!
AHMAD. Just sit down.
JEMAL. Iām trying to hear whatās going on.
AHMAD. Is it police?
FATIMA. Thereās no need to be so rude.
AHMAD. Can you hear something?
JEMAL. Nothing. I canāt hear anything.
FATIMA. Why have we stopped?
JEMAL. Iām not the fucking tour guide, am I? I donāt fucking know why weāve stopped.
FATIMA. Donāt listen to him, Asha. You see? Always so rude. And bad language, too.
AHMAD. Whereās the agent?
FATIMA. Where is the food?
JEMAL. Do you know where we are?
FATIMA. We are moving again. Where is our food?
JEMAL. Did you see the agent?
AHMAD. Did he give you some food?
FATIMA. Yes ā and water. Where is the water?
JEMAL. Do you know where we are?
FATIMA. I think she is sick.
MARIAM. I donāt know the name. The north of Italy. Very north.
JEMAL. Near the border?
MARIAM. With France. We will go through France.
JEMAL. Good. Thatās good. Two, three more days.
MARIAM. How long have you been in here?
AHMAD. Is it three days or four?
FATIMA. My daughter is very hungry. Very hungry.
JEMAL. Yeah, you always say itās your daughter whoās hungry, but then you eat all her food yourself, donāt you? Eh?
FATIMA. Donāt listen to this man. He is a very bad man. Very bad.
AHMAD. How long have you been travelling?
MARIAM. I was in Milan for a month. But I left my country three months ago.
AHMAD. The agent, heās supposed to bring us food, that was the agreement, but he hasnāt brought anything.
JEMAL. Where you from, then?
MARIAM. From Afghanistan.
AHMAD (in Pashto). Pa her ram ghlasp. [Welcome.]
JEMAL. Speak in English.
AHMAD (in Pashto). Hagha khawkh gain chi pam mar sap ho shi. [He likes to know everything thatās going on.]
JEMAL. Weāre all Europeans now. Speak in English.
AHMAD. You donāt like to feel you donāt know whatās going on, do you? She is from my country.
FATIMA. How many more days, then? Two more days?
AHMAD. Could be more.
FATIMA. Weāre supposed to stop. He said we would stop. Why didnāt he let us out? It stinks in here.
AHMAD. He was supposed to bring us food, too. Did he give you food?
JEMAL. See how friendly he is? He only talks if he wants something.
AHMAD. The agent said he would ā
JEMAL. Yes, yes, he said he would bring food, he said he would stop to let us out, he said many things.
FATIMA. He said he will take us to England.
AHMAD. I donāt want to starve to death inside this lorry.
JEMAL. Starve! You! (He laughs.) Starve!
AHMAD. What?
JEMAL. You donāt look as if youāre starving.
FATIMA. He has a good stomach on him.
JEMAL. I canāt see it getting any smaller.
AHMAD. Now theyāre laughing at me. You people. You donāt know what Iāve been through to get here.
JEMAL. Weāre all the same here.
AHMAD. Oh yes? I donāt think we are all the same.
JEMAL. Whatās that supposed to mean?
AHMAD. We are not all the same. I should not be travelling like this. I am a businessman.
JEMAL. Oh, I see. Youāre saying youāre better than me?
AHMAD. All Iām saying is, we all different.
JEMAL. Yes, weāre different. Youāre fat. Iām thin. Weāve got no food. But has she? We donāt know.
MARIAM. I have only a little food.
AHMAD. You have some?
FATIMA. And water? You have water?
MARIAM. I have water. I have some bread. And chocolate.
FATIMA. My daughter is very hungry.
JEMAL. You going to take her food?
FATIMA. Itās for my daughter.
MARIAM. Please, take it.
JEMAL. What are you going to give her for her chocolate, Mr Fat Man?
AHMAD. It is freely given.
JEMAL. You should save some for later. We donāt know when weāre going to eat again.
AHMAD. If youāre not hungry now, let someone have it who is.
JEMAL (to MARIAM). You keep some bread for yourself.
FATIMA. Look at us ā itās a shame! So excited for two little bits of bread and some ch...
