I Have Before Me A Remarkable Document Given To Me By A Young Lady From Rwanda

Sonja Linden

• Publisher: Aurora Metro Books
• ISBN:
  9781911501008
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Drama
• Index: Literature

Inspired by the real life experiences of Rwandan refugees in the UK, the play tells the story of two people from entirely different worlds who meet at a Refugee Centre in London: Juliette is a young Rwandan asylum seeker, detemined to write a book on the genocide that killed her famiily; Simon is a middle-aged failing novelist, whose job is to help people write. The play follows their funny and touching relationship and tackles issues that face many refugees who live in the UK today.
Nominated as Time Out Critics' Choice, the play has been broadcast by the BBC World Service and was toured nationally by iceandfire in Autumn 2004 with the support of the Arts Council England.

I Have Before Me
A Remarkable Document
Given To Me By A Young Lady
From Rwanda

Sonja Linden

First performed at the Burton-Taylor Theatre, Oxford, July 2002.

Characters:

Juliette	A young Rwandan woman in her twenties
Simon	A British poet in his forties

Time and Place:

1999 – five years after the Rwandan genocide. London.

Author’s note:

Rwandan language is indicated by [ ]

Phonetic spelling to aid pronunciation is indicated by *

A stroke (/) marks the point of interruption in overlapping dialogue.

Prologue

Juliette (offstage)

They came to our house in the morning. Some of them were our neighbours. The president had been killed in the night. There was a curfew. On the radio they said nobody can go out or they will be shot. My father was very worried. We all stayed together the whole night. And in the morning there was a knock at our door. We saw it was our neighbours and my father thought this is maybe good, they will help us hide. Then we saw the others, eight or nine of them, with machetes. “What’s going on?” he said. Our next door neighbour, he said, “Now is the time for all the Tutsi cockroaches to die.”

Scene 1

Juliette is waiting tensely in the reception area of a Refugee Centre in central London, clutching a super-market carrier bag protectively to her chest. Simon is in one of the offices at the Centre. Both are wearing casual western clothes. Simon looks a bit scruffy and Juliette very neat. They speak straight out to the audience.

Simon

Not a bad little room. Bit institutional. It’s got a window at least. Not a great view. Never mind. A desk, two chairs and an empty book-case. So… wonder what she’s going to be like?

Juliette

I’m early. I’m always early. I want to make a good impression. It’s important. I had to take three trains to get here. I don’t really mind that. I don’t mind the trains. It’s the tunnels I don’t like when you have to change from one line to another. I get scared if I’m alone in those tunnels. Anything could happen.

Simon

My first client. An African. (Reads) Juliette Niy… rabeza. Juliette spelled the French way. Of course, it was a French colony. Better look that up.

Juliette

I wonder what he will be like? Glasses. For sure he will wear glasses. Probably those little ones at the end of the nose. So he will look down at me like this. And he will be dressed in a smart suit, navy or black, and a white shirt and a tie. Maybe his old university tie. Oh, he must be so educated! His English will be perfect – perfect grammar, perfect spelling. I don’t mind how strict he is, I need to learn. It is an opportunity for me. When he sees my book, he will see how serious I am. I will say to him, “Mr. Simon, can you help me please.” And I will take it out of my bag and put it on his desk. And he will take one look and he will pick up his phone to speak to his secretary. And he will say, “Miss Smith, get me the best publisher in London please. I have before me a quite extraordinary and remarkable document given to me by a young lady from Rwanda,” and he will look down his glasses at the first page and he will say to me…

Simon

Juliette…?

Scene 2

Simon’s office at the Refugee Centre.

Simon (indicating chair)

Please. Well, it’s really nice to meet you, Juliette. You’re my first customer. I’m really looking forward to working with you. Have you come far?

Juliette

Barking.

Simon

Barking. That is a long way. So… perhaps you’d like to tell me a bit about yourself. How long have you been here? In the UK?

Juliette

Five months.

Simon

And did you come here alone or…?

Juliette

Yes.

Simon

That must be difficult… to be here all alone, new country, new language, new customs, must be hard. The nearest I ever got to it was when I spent a few months in India. Backpacking. Of course it wasn’t the same… naturally.

Juliette

You don’t have a phone.

Simon

Er… no, no I don’t, do I? (Beat) Anyway, you’ve been here five months and you live in Barking and you’ve come to see me about…

Juliette

My book.

Simon

Your book! Well! May I see? Ah, it’s written in…?

Juliette

Kinyarwanda.

Simon

Kenya…?

Juliette

Kinya-rwanda. That’s the language we speak in Rwanda.

Simon

Kinya-rwanda. And what is your book about? Is it a novel?

Juliette

It’s about the genocide.

Simon

Of course. And… is it a personal account?

Juliette

It’s a history of my country and what happened in 1994.

Simon

1994 being the year…

Juliette

… of the genocide against the Tutsis.

Simon

I’m sorry. I didn’t know the exact date. And you were there, I mean…?

Juliette

Yes. I was there.

Simon

So… it’s a… first-hand account.

Juliette

It’s about what happened.

Simon

Right. And is it finished?

Juliette

Almost.

Simon

That’s very impressive. It’s a lot of writing.

Juliette

I did much research. I went to libraries.

Simon

Right. (Leafs through the document then hands it back.) That’s quite an achievement.

Silence.

Juliette

You are a big writer…

Simon

Well…

Juliette

So you can help me to get my book published.

Simon

Ah. You want me to help you get this published. But the book isn’t written in English, so…

Juliette

Someone is translating it for me.

Simon

I see. Good. I’ll be able to read it then. (Beat) Well, Juliette perhaps I should tell you a bit about what I do here at the Refugee Centre. My job here is to help people like you with their writing. Some people may want to write poetry or short pieces about what happened to them in their countries, some may want to write stories…

Juliette

How do you speak to your secretary? If you don’t have a phone.

Simon

I don’t actually have a secretary.

Juliette

But who types your books for you?

Simon

Well, it’s mostly been poetry. And then I tend to just scribble down lines as they come to me…

Juliette

I don’t understand.

Simon

Scribble, you know, dash things down. Write things down quickly. I only type it up when I’ve got the final draft of a poem.

Juliette

You type it yourself?

Simon

Oh yes, all by myself. With these two fingers.

Juliette

I thought you were a book writer.

Simon

Well, my poetry has appeared in books. I’ve had a few collections published.

Juliette

OK.

Simon

And I’ve got a couple of novels sitting in the drawer.

Juliette starts to pack away her book into the carrier bag and stands up.

Juliette

Thank you for your trouble.

Simon

Not at all. Are you sure there isn’t anything else I can…

Juliette

It was nice to meet you.

Simon

Well, it would be nice to meet again. Perhaps when you’ve had it translated and then I could…

Juliette

The first part will be ready next week.

Simon

Why don’t you bring it to show me? Then I could get some idea of your book. How about ne...