by Adam Brace
Kat (leaping up to be Lumumba) What am I like?
Stef Great man – but
Anne-Marie The Mandela of our country – who the Americans killed before he could bring change.
Tony The Americans killed him?
Anne-Marie CIA and Belgian special forces. After three months in government
Stef Yes, look, he was really killed by the Belgians and the CIA with some Katangan / Congolese
Tony Not a conspiracy theory?
Stef No, they’ve admitted it
Tony Jesus wept.
Anne-Marie Killed for minerals – this time uranium
Intern Well, Lumumba’s political naivety, wasn’t it?
Anne-Marie Lumumba was a martyr for Congo and a true hero!
Intern Lumumba asked the Soviets for help: dead man walking.
Tony What do you know about it?
Intern I did History at LSE
Stef Some interns know a frightening amount
Intern My dissertation was / on Mobutu and Cold War proxy
Stef Except when to shut up.
Tony I do know a bit about Mobutu
Stef Tell us.
She gestures to Intern: ‘Get up and be Mobutu.’
Tony Leopardskin tea cosy on his head, paid for the Rumble in the Jungle
Anne-Marie Renamed the country Zaire
Stef Relevance to today: he ruled for thirty-odd years, stole from the country and never improved the infrastructure.
Anne-Marie American puppet. They installed him.
Stef Well, they tolerated him
Intern Until I, Mobutu, lose American support under Clinton. I mean Bill. Obviously. Sorry.
Stef And then when the Rwandan Genocide happened in ’94
Kat We really need to let them in.
Tony This is the bit I actually need!
Stef This is where I wanted to start!
Kat We’ll stall them
She gestures to Intern to follow her. They leave.
Anne-Marie Listen – there is too much, but. After the genocide in ’94, when huge numbers were displace into Congo. Many killers. And Rwanda chase the killers into Congo, slaughter many innocent people – which we never hear about. Mobutu is overthrown, by Kabila senior, father of the President now, all backed by Rwanda.
Stef Please be careful talking about Rwanda.
Tony The genocide?
Stef No, the country.
Anne-Marie The warmongering country – the Israel of the region.
Tony Oh so they’re what – the only multicultural democracy?
Anne-Marie No, a small country with great aggression.
Stef (to Tony) D’you think we’ve got time to do the Middle East as well? Anne-Marie if you can bring yourself to be diplomatic about / Rwanda
Tony Quickly: bring me up to date.
Anne-Marie So now forty militias fight in the east, with Congo army just another militia. Phones, laptops, PlayStations drove the price of the minerals very high. That is why they fight.
Tony Coltan, right? What’s / coltan?
Stef Oh / Jesus
Anne-Marie Coltan is columbite tantalum. So your phone can be so small and light. Thin dielectric layer. (Shrugs.) It’s a superior element.
Tony Well, I see you have a science background.
Kat enters.
Kat We can’t hold them any longer, we may lose people.
Stef Good luck, guys, I’ll watch the live stream.
Tony Well, this hasn’t been that helpful, but we’ll get through it. Hold on. I’m bound to get asked about the rape, why is there so much rape?
Anne-Marie
Some think it’s a way to express power passed down from colonial times.
Stef Militia near a mine will attack local villages and rape the women as a combat strategy.
Anne-Marie Mainly it’s to break down the family. Destroy communities
Stef Because of ethnic rivalries, or to can gain access to the mine
Anne-Marie Yes. But it’s also more than this.
It’s a problem everywhere. Twelve per cent of the Congolese women have been raped. It is normal. Not only in war. I was raped by my husband, before I left Congo. So. Many of us have had this.
Kat Sorry we. We do really need to let them in.
Stef touches Anne-Marie on the arm and leaves before the doors open.
EIGHT
THE LAUNCH
Conference room.
The press launch is near its end. Tony and Anne-Marie are seated on the raised platform.
Tony Thanks very much for listening. Maybe two more questions. Yes.
Luis slips in at the back of the room. Anne-Marie sees him, Tony does not.
Journalist 1 Anne-Marie, how much do you put the troubles of Congo down to Rwandan interference?
Tony Obviously tensions with Rwanda exist. But it’s incredibly important a festival like ours is allowed to make a positive contribution, raising awareness without providing easy answers for a complex problem.
Journalist 1 Thank you, but I did direct that to Anne-Marie.
Anne-Marie All Congolese have opinions about the problems at home. But this festival is not about my opinion.
Tony Absol—
Anne-Marie But Rwanda is a big problem.
Tony Absol— Uh, yeah. One more question.
Luis How do you react to the idea that this festival is betraying millions of dead in Congo?
Tony I’d say you’re wrong and I’d say I didn’t point to you for last question
Luis Because of this British Parliament, who back the criminals of Rwanda and Congo governments?
Anne-Marie I don’t know how this man get in here. He is part of a violent group called Les Combattants.
Luis I have press accreditation.
Anne-Marie From?
Tony Alright, let’s move / on
Luis AfricanBugle website.
Anne-Marie It doesn’t exist.
Luis Check the website.
Tony Okay, last question, over here?
Luis You not take questions from Congolese?
Tony Not from you, fella, you’re in a pressure group that makes death threats. Don’t act all surprised about it.
Luis Strange strange ideas.
Tony Let’s draw things to a close. Thanks for listening.
Luis You listen to nothing – this is the way with your white festival.
Anne-Marie You shame Congo. I want security to take them out.
Tony I’m sure it’s not necessary.
Anne-Marie No, I want security please.
The security man on the door speaks into his radio and approaches Luis.
Luis Wait.
Anne-Marie I don’t feel comfort with violent criminals in here. Security please.
Luis cooperates with security, but continues speaking with force.
Luis The press have to know that this woman supports the criminal government of Congo. Like dem she silence any voice against her!
Anne-Marie I do not! I just do not support you!
Luis is gone.
Tony Alright, let’s slip that last question in shall we? Yup.
Journalist 2 Is Congo for you a story of – sorry to be reductive but – a story of globalisation in which mineral wars, for our technology, are the main cause of the conflict and the rapes?
Tony Uh, Anne-Marie?
Anne-Marie For me Congo is not a story. It is a place. People live in it. People like you and me but who are never safe and is not their fault. Women most of all. But if Congo is a story, it must be the worst story in history. Because no one ever wants to hear it.
Tony Mmm, absolutely. It’s worth mentioning Congo has long been exploited for its resources whether that be rubber or palm oil, right back to Portuguese slave traders in the fifteenth century.
He looks briefly smug.
Thank you. Any further questions can be sent to Stephanie Cartwright whose email is at the bottom of the press release.
Outside Westminster tube station. Stef is typing on her smartphone.
Oudry Successful press launch of Hashtag CongoVoice Fest. We guarantee Congolese voices in our decisions. Any Congolese interested contact ASAP.
Tony and Anne-Marie enter.
Stef Well done well done. The live stream was really clear. You both dealt with everything brilliantly.
Anne-Marie Thank you.
Stef I can’t believe the main guy from Les Combattants managed to get in.
Anne-Marie Luis. His name is Luis.
Tony Should we all perhaps go for a drink?
Anne-Marie I must go to my father.
Stef Of course.
Anne-Marie leaves them.
Tony Can you believe what she told us, before the launch?
Stef The problem is, Tony, that I can.
Tony What do you want to do now?
Stef I dunno. Cry.
Tony Why?
Stef I dunno.
Will you kiss me?
Tony I shouldn’t, I mean
Stef No, you’re right of course.
Tony Yes. I will.
Stef No, you’re right.
Tony I will. I’d like to.
Stef No, you’re absolutely right, it would’ve solved nothing.
Tony It could’ve been nice.
Stef No, it would’ve solved nothing.
I’m gonna go and try to wash this stuff off.
Stef kisses him on the cheek and is about to leave.
Thank you. For today. Tomorrow we make a start on the acts.
Tony Well. Good luck.
Stef And you’re not coming.
Tony I said I’d help with the press launch.
Stef Yes.
Tony Not book the
Stef No.
Tony
Although
Stef Yes?
Tony What time tomorrow?
Stef Just pop your head in at eleven.
Tony Stef? Are you absolutely sure?
Stef It can be midday / if you want
Tony You know what I mean.
Stef I do.
Tony gestures to the red on her face.
Tony This whole. Today. Are you absolutely sure it’s worth it?
Stef I am actually.
Yes.
She leaves.
NINE
DOCTOR CHICKENBONES
A hut in a village in South Kivu, East DRC.
Oudry (no hat) plays his thumb-piano by the bed of his daughter Patience, about twelve.
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
He leans in to kiss her, she ignores him.
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience turns away from him and buries her head.
Then you know where it’s going.
Maybe you’ve met a trader? If you’ve met a trader, don’t keep it to yourself.>
Oudry gets up to go. He sits back down.
Patience bounces back up.
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience <‘The wasp who ate his own face’?>
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience <‘The kind brothers who came back from the mine with a necklace for Patience.’>
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
And after I’ll fall straight asleep.
Probably before the end even.>
Oudry
Patience
She pretends to fall suddenly deeply asleep. Oudry gets up to walk out.
Patience springs up.
<‘Babies.’ Well. Many years ago, many many years before I was born.
Or my brother Cedric was born.
Or my brother Ben.
Or Mama Beatrice was born. Or>
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry slaps her.
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
But if he saw a mother would not love her baby, he would choose this baby to be eaten. Then he would tell the mother that it was a spirit had taken the baby. And the doctor would throw all the little bones in a pile and say they were chicken bones.
So everyone came to call him Doctor ChickenBones.
One day a woman came to the doctor and gave birth to a baby that was very strange and weak. This mother was very sad, but she loved her baby.
Doctor ChickenBones was so hungry that he took it away and ate it anyway. It tasted very, very good.
The mother was so upset she carved a wooden figure, a Nkishi with a straw headdress, for a spirit to live inside.
When she asked the spirit why it took her baby, it did not reply.
Instead the Nkishi waited u
ntil Doctor ChickenBones went on a long walk to look for herbs. Papa, how far do Cedric and Ben walk in one day?>
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
The story of how Papa grew too tall for the mine but not broad enough to carry rocks.>
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience
Oudry
Patience