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by Clare Bayley

  Do you want some chewing gum?

  MARIAM. Chewing gum?

  ASHA nods. MARIAM takes a piece.

  Thank you.

  ASHA. Why are you sick?

  MARIAM. I’m not sick.

  ASHA. But you were sick.

  MARIAM. It’s my secret.

  ASHA. Tell me.

  MARIAM. Secrets are not to be told. You know that.

  ASHA. You are my friend. I will tell you my secret.

  She starts to rummage in her bag.

  MARIAM. No. It is best not to know other people’s secrets.

  ASHA. Where is it? It must be here.

  MARIAM. What is your name?

  ASHA. Asha.

  MARIAM takes her by the arm.

  MARIAM. Asha, no. Don’t tell your secrets.

  ASHA. It is here.

  She takes out a letter.

  MARIAM. I don’t want to know.

  ASHA. You have a baby in your belly. That is your secret.

  MARIAM. How do you know?

  ASHA. I know. My auntie thinks I am stupid but I know some things.

  Did your husband know you had a child?

  MARIAM nods.

  Then he will watch over you and keep you safe to London.

  A beat.

  MARIAM. Don’t tell them. I don’t want them to know.

  ASHA. I promise. But I will tell you my secret. Then it is fair.

  I have a letter. See? A letter.

  ASHA produces a letter.

  This letter is for the Queen of England.

  MARIAM. The Queen?

  JEMAL stirs, starts to wake.

  ASHA. I know a very important man. He is a king in my country. And he wrote this letter to tell Her Majesty I am a good girl and I work hard and I will make a good servant for her.

  MARIAM. Asha!

  JEMAL wakes and listens.

  ASHA. He is a very important man. I think he has met the Queen already. And so I will give her this letter and she will give me a job.

  MARIAM. Why do you want to be a servant, little sister? You can be more than a servant.

  ASHA. But a servant to a queen . . . !

  MARIAM. You must go to school. In England, you can go to school.

  ASHA looks dubious.

  Then you can learn to write your own letters.

  ASHA is unconvinced.

  ASHA. Can you write your own letters?

  MARIAM. Of course! I am a teacher.

  ASHA. A teacher!

  MARIAM. I was a teacher. Before they stopped me.

  ASHA. Who stopped you?

  MARIAM. It doesn’t matter now.

  ASHA. Tell me. Then I can learn something.

  MARIAM. There are powerful men back there, in my country, who won’t let women be teachers. We thought they had gone, but they came back. They punish girls who try to go to school. They kill teachers to stop them teaching girls. That shows you how important it is to learn. In England, no one will stop you.

  ASHA. Yes. First I will give this letter to the Queen of England. And she will give me a job. And then I will go to school.

  JEMAL starts laughing.

  ASHA swiftly hides the letter away.

  JEMAL. You’re going to be a servant to the Queen of England?

  ASHA. I am not talking to you.

  AHMAD has also woken.

  AHMAD. What?

  JEMAL. She says she’s going to work for the Queen of England.

  MARIAM. Shhhh. Don’t laugh at her.

  JEMAL. She thinks the Queen’s going to give her a job.

  AHMAD laughs too.

  ASHA. Don’t laugh. You don’t believe me, but I have it here, see.

  JEMAL. What, and this man, the man who wrote your letter, he thinks that the Queen –

  MARIAM. Leave her alone. She has a letter. She doesn’t want her mother to know.

  ASHA. You don’t know me. You don’t know who I am.

  JEMAL. OK. OK! I believe you. The Queen of England.

  AHMAD. Why don’t you want your mother to know?

  ASHA. It’s my job. My letter. Don’t laugh at me.

  AHMAD. I won’t tease you. Give me some water.

  AHMAD drinks. ASHA puts her letter away.

  JEMAL. Hey! Not so much water.

  FATIMA starts to stir.

  MARIAM. Shhhh.

  AHMAD. I need to drink. I don’t feel good. I am very hot.

  JEMAL. We’re all hot in here.

  AHMAD. I hope I am not sick like this woman.

  FATIMA. Asha. Have these men been talking to you?

  ASHA shakes her head.

  JEMAL. She doesn’t like talking to us. I think she has a secret.

  He and AHMAD laugh.

  FATIMA is going through her bags.

  FATIMA. Did someone touch these bags when I was sleeping?

  ASHA shakes her head.

  AHMAD. What have you got in there you’re so worried about?

  FATIMA. Nothing. I have nothing.

  JEMAL. There’s a lot of nothing there.

  FATIMA. If you have rice and water, you can always survive. When I left my house I didn’t think about my television or my clothes or my furniture. I just took my gold and then I went to the kitchen and I took rice and sugar and water. In the camp we survived on only rice. For all these years.

  JEMAL. Are you going to cook us all some rice in here? Good. Because we’re all hungry. So cook us some rice.

  FATIMA. If I had a pot –

  JEMAL. Yes.

  FATIMA. If I could light a fire –

  JEMAL. Yes?

  FATIMA. If there was water –

  JEMAL. Yeah, but there isn’t, is there? No pot, no fire, no water. So shut up about your bloody rice.

  AHMAD. I was sitting close to her. I think she made me sick.

  He goes to the bucket, takes it behind some boxes for privacy.

  JEMAL. Some people say the Queen of England doesn’t go to the toilet.

  FATIMA. What is wrong with this man?

  JEMAL. If she doesn’t go to the toilet, she must be full of shit.

  He laughs.

  FATIMA. He is disgusting.

  JEMAL. Full of shit.

  FATIMA. What about you?

  JEMAL. Eh?

  FATIMA. Tell us. Come on. Where are you coming from?

  JEMAL. Me?

  FATIMA. Yes. You. You know so much. Tell us something.

  JEMAL. None of your business.

  FATIMA. You don’t want to tell us? But you always telling us what to do. I know what you not telling us.

  JEMAL. Go on.

  FATIMA. You speak his language, him out there. You’re working with him, aren’t you? You’re not like us.

  JEMAL. Working with the agent?

  FATIMA. Yes. That’s why you won’t tell us.

  JEMAL. You’ve got it wrong.

  FATIMA. Why don’t you tell us where you’ve come from?

  JEMAL. I speak his language, yes. I speak Turkish. But he’s a Turk, and I’m a Kurd. That’s the difference. Do you see?

  FATIMA. I asked you a question.

  JEMAL. In Turkey, Kurds speak Turkish. You know why? They used to put us in prison if we spoke our own language. In Turkey, the prisons are still full of Kurds.

  FATIMA. I can tell when I can’t trust someone.

  JEMAL. He’s the one you shouldn’t trust. He’s an agent. I’m a refugee. That’s the difference. You understand? Because that’s an important difference. I know about agents. This is the third time I’m trying to get into this fucking country. That’s why I know about it. OK. OK?

  FATIMA. OK. OK.

  The lorry jolts and comes to a halt.

  MARIAM. We’ve stopped.

  They wait. AHMAD comes hurrying back from the bucket, pulling up his trousers.

  FATIMA. Are we at the border? Is this the border now?

  AHMAD. He’s going to bring us some food at last.

  JEMAL. Shhhh.

  A silence. They wait, rea
dy to hide if the doors start to open.

  MARIAM. The French police have machines that can see inside of lorries. They can see the warmth of your body. They can see your heart beating.

  FATIMA. That’s not true. How could they?

  JEMAL. The British test the air to see if people are breathing inside.

  MARIAM. Sometimes they use dogs.

  FATIMA. Dogs? I don’t like dogs.

  JEMAL. Keep quiet.

  AHMAD. I told you. It’s time to eat.

  They wait.

  FATIMA. Why doesn’t he come?

  JEMAL. Maybe the driver has to rest. Maybe to get petrol. Just keep quiet.

  FATIMA. They must bring us some food!

  MARIAM. I can hear voices.

  She has her ear to the side of the truck. JEMAL comes over and listens too.

  FATIMA. Something is wrong. What’s going on?

  JEMAL. Shhhh!

  They wait.

  MARIAM. I heard of some people. They were in the back of a lorry. They couldn’t get out. Someone took the front off the lorry and left the back behind and forgot about them.

  JEMAL. Shut up, can’t you? Shut up. It’s nothing. It’s nothing. You’d rather be in here than back where you were, wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t you?

  Silence.

  AHMAD. We don’t know where we are. We could be anywhere. We could be on a boat heading for Africa. We don’t know.

  FATIMA. They say when you are in the bottom of a big ship, then you can’t hear nothing. For days and days you hear nothing.

  JEMAL. Don’t be stupid. When she got on we were where we should be.

  MARIAM. It was like this before. There were twelve of us in the back of a truck and we stopped for a long time and suddenly they came in with dogs and chased us out into the woods.

  JEMAL. Don’t think about it. We are going to get to England. OK?

  MARIAM. I don’t want to go back to Milan.

  I escaped from those men but if I go back there they will find me. They will make me – [work for them.]

  JEMAL. Listen! Someone is coming now. Someone is coming in. Hide!

  They hide. The AGENT enters, holding a cloth to his nose because of the smell and carrying carrier bags containing bottles of water. He is agitated. When they see him, they come out from hiding and take the bottles he’s handing out.

  AGENT. They call me evil. You know that? They call me evil because I want to help people. You people!

  AHMAD. Is this all! Where is the food? We need food to eat!

  AGENT. I help people like you who are being tortured in prisons, people whose houses are being burned, people whose children are being shot in front of their eyes, people who have nowhere to live and nothing to eat and who would be killed if they stayed behind. All these things happen every day. It’s always the same story. I know, believe me. I hear these stories from the ones who live it. I help people from all over the world, the same story. And they say I am evil.

  Do you think I’m evil? Eh?

  I’m on your side. You know that.

  Drink. It’s fresh water. Drink.

  JEMAL. Is there a problem?

  AGENT. Is there a problem? A problem? Yes, there’s a problem. The problem is the governments who don’t want to help people like you. That’s who I’ve got a problem with. They try every way to keep you people out of their countries. So, if you take a plane, they fine the airline. You take a boat, they fine the company. You get in a truck, they fine the driver. I try every way, every way I can think of, to get you in. It’s like a game. They shut this door – I go round the side. They stop me. I climb over. They stop me going over. No problem. I go underneath. You see what I mean? I get pleasure every time one truckful of you people gets in, because then I know I fucked them over one more time.

  FATIMA. Why have you brought nothing for us to eat?

  AGENT. And it costs, of course it costs. Because some people want to try to exploit the situation, do you understand? Because they know our weakness. We have plenty of weakness, and money is our only strength. It’s not businesslike, what these people do. They want to take the money but they don’t want to fulfil their contract. You see? And they say I’m evil.

  JEMAL. Who? Who are these people?

  AGENT. Everyone. Everyone is trying to take your money and fuck you over. I’m the one who is trying to help you and fuck those bastards over.

  AHMAD. So help us then. Food and water, you said. We’ve paid. Where’s the food?

  AGENT. Don’t worry about the food. Your problem is not the food. If we get moving again I will bring food.

  A beat.

  JEMAL. What do you mean?

  AGENT. I’m the middle man, you know. I risk my own life helping you. What do you think they’ll do if they catch me? They put all the blame on us to distract from who’s really to blame. The more people get through, the more mad they get. So they lean on the drivers. And the drivers take advantage.

  AHMAD. Are you saying there’s a problem with the driver?

  MARIAM. He’s going to make us get out? Is he going to make us get out?

  AGENT. Stay calm, OK. We’re going to sort this out, OK?

  JEMAL (in Turkish). Şoför sorun mu çikariyor? [Is there a problem with the driver?]

  AGENT (in Turkish). Daha fazla para istiyor. [Yes. He won’t go any further unless you all pay him again.]

  JEMAL sits, head in hands, cursing silently.

  MARIAM. He won’t take us?

  JEMAL (in Turkish). Ne kadar? [How much does he want?]

  AGENT (in English). Fifty dollars each.

  Everyone understands.

  FATIMA. No no no no no. We paid you. We paid you what you asked. So.

  AHMAD. Ten thousand dollars I paid!

  AGENT. He won’t go no further without more money. He says it costs him nothing to go to the police now. But if he’s caught, with you inside his truck, big fines for him, prison, maybe. So he wants fifty dollars. Each.

  FATIMA. We already paid. This driver, you hired him, you pay him.

  AGENT. I’m on your side. I said that already. I’m helping you. But it costs me, every kilometre of the road, it costs me. It’s dangerous. It’s getting more dangerous. So it’s getting more expensive. This man, this driver, he knows he has the power. What does he care if the French police lock you all up? Eh? Me, I care. I care because I don’t like to lose my game. And I care because I care. OK? But I can’t pay for you.

  A silence.

  Come on. I know you people. You all got money for your new life. And your new life is so close now. One day and your new life begins. There, in England, you will be safe. If you need a house, you will get it. If you need food, you will get it. If you need a doctor, you can get it.

  So close now. One day away. Fifty dollars to wake up with English sun on your faces.

  A pause. AHMAD fumbles around in a money belt and silently hands the AGENT a wad of notes.

  Good. That’s good.

  JEMAL. Give it to him when we get there. What’s going to stop him calling the police anyway, if he has our money?

  AGENT. No no. He won’t, trust me.

  JEMAL. We did.

  AGENT. Trust me! What other choice do you have?

  FATIMA. I don’t have any money. I have been in a refugee camp so many years. Now this is all I have. You can take it. Take it. I have no money.

  She tries to give him the rice and sugar.

  AGENT. All you people learn to lie. Of course! You must lie, always, to save your lives. You must lie some more when you get to Dover – I’ll tell you what to say. But I know you have money. You have money. Don’t you?

  FATIMA. We already paid you!

  AGENT. You don’t want to pay? You don’t want to get to London? Then you get out here. No problem. Get out.

  JEMAL. I have to get to England.

  AGENT. Then it’s worth fifty dollars to you.

  JEMAL. Tell him we all give twenty dollars.

  AGENT. You crazy? He already as
ked for one hundred, and I told him fifty. That’s his last offer. Come on. Where’s your money?

  JEMAL. OK, OK. Leave it with me. I will get the money from everyone. OK? You come back, I will have the money.

  AGENT. It’s the same to me if you get it all or you don’t. Who pays stays on the truck. You don’t pay, you get out here.

  JEMAL. I’ll get the money.

  AGENT. Be quick, eh? We got to keep moving. The driver can’t be late. We very close now, you people. Don’t be stupid, because we very close now.

  He leaves.

  JEMAL rummages in his shoe and gets his money out.

  JEMAL. OK. We need to get this money now. Come on. Don’t fuck around. This is serious now. If anyone doesn’t pay, we are all in danger. Him, Mr First-Class Businessman, he’s paid. I’ve paid. I know you don’t want him to know where you keep your money. I understand. But he’s gone now. You pay up.

  AHMAD. Why should they trust you? They should pay him themselves, like me.

  JEMAL. Yes yes, they’ll pay when they see we’re all paying. They don’t want to be the ones getting out of the lorry.

  FATIMA and ASHA are whispering.

  We’re heading for the ferry – don’t you see? That’s why we’ve got to be quick.

  Come on. Put your money in. If anyone gets out we’re all in danger.

  AHMAD. Why are you taking all the money? Eh? You give me the money and I’ll take it to him.

  JEMAL. You’ve paid. You don’t need to worry.

  AHMAD. No no no. I know your trick. How much did you put in, eh? Let’s see.

  JEMAL. I’m not tricking. I’m saving time.

  AHMAD. Then you’ll say someone hasn’t put enough in. I see your trick.

  JEMAL. Don’t waste time. I speak his language. Please!

  ASHA approaches JEMAL holding out some notes and a battered old watch.

  ASHA. My mother has only enough for one.

  I have this watch. It’s worth a hundred dollars. Please, take it.

  JEMAL inspects the watch and hands it to AHMAD.

  JEMAL. This? This isn’t worth even two dollars. This isn’t enough.

  ASHA. It’s all I have. Please, sir.

  AHMAD shakes his head and hands the watch back to her.

  JEMAL. Ask your mother again. She’s the one who doesn’t like you talking to me. How come she won’t tell me herself? She’s gone quiet now, hasn’t she?

  ASHA. Take the watch. Please, sir.

  JEMAL. It’s not enough. Don’t look at me like that. It’s the agent who’s going to throw you off.