THE BODY OF A WOMAN AS A BATTLEFIELD IN THE BOSNIAN WARby Matei Visniec Translated from the French by Alison Sinclair Characters KATE DORRA 1 Copyright © 1987 by Matei Visniec All performance rights, including professional, amateur, stock, motion picture, radio, television, recitation, public reading, etc. are strictly reserved. All inquiries should be addressed to the author's agent: SACD (Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques) 11 bis, rue Ballu, 75009 Paris, France Tel. 33 - (0)1 40 23 44 44 Fax. 33 - (0)1 40 23 45 58 E-mail:
[email protected] First performed at the Studio des Champs Elysées, Paris, November 1997 directed by Michel Fagadau Original title in French: DU SEXE DE LA FEMME COMME CHAMP DE BATAILLE DANS LA GUERRE EN BOSNIE (published by ACTES SUD PAPIERS, Paris, France 1997) 2 SCENE 1 KATE reads extracts from her diary. KATE: Slavonski Brod Hospital, Croatia, May 1994. (A beat.) In inter-ethnic wars, the body of a woman becomes a battlefield. Witness Europe at the end of the twentieth century. The penis of the modern fighter is soaked in the screams of raped women, just as the knight’s blade was once soaked in the blood of his enemy. (A beat.) An attempt to apply psychoanalytical concepts to the autopsy of horror. This inter-ethnic violence could perhaps be better understood by the use of Freudian terms. Certain Freudian notions that belong to the world of primal urges, can shed more light on this world of nationalist violence than a more conventional terminology. See if the following concepts can better explain the sources of ethnic violence in Bosnia: Nationalistic libido. Libidinous nationalism. Infantile ethnic sadism. The fantasy world of a national minority. Nationalist neurosis. Narcissistic neurosis of the ethnic majority. Obsessive neurosis of the ethnic minority. The nationalistic imperative: the urge to dominate, the urge to threaten, the urge to destroy. SCENE 2 KATE enters DORRA’s room. DORRA sits motionless on a chair. She stares vacantly. KATE: Hello. DORRA: … 3 KATE: It’s me, Kate. DORRA: … KATE: It’s a beautiful day. DORRA: … KATE: Some people are walking in the garden. DORRA: … KATE: If you’d like to go into the garden, I’ll come with you. DORRA: … KATE: I’m not asking you to talk to me. DORRA: … KATE: But, if you’d like to go into the garden, I’ll come with you. DORRA: … KATE: Or you could go by yourself if you’d prefer. DORRA: … KATE: Do whatever you like. DORRA: … KATE: I’m going to open a window. DORRA: … KATE: Can you feel the Spring? SCENE 3 KATE reads from extracts from her diary. KATE: Doboj Camp, Bosnia, June 1994. (A beat.) Are those ethnic groups who have never had their own nation state most vulnerable to such atrocity? Are they more at risk than others of becoming caught up in the primitive sadism? Amazing parallels exist between nationalistic sadism, and Freud’s description of infantile sadism. (A beat.) Do members of ethnic groups who have never had their own nation state react in a similar way to those people who have never sublimated their sexual urges? First thought: the manifestations of nationalistic frustration have much in common with the manifestations of sexual frustration. Following this logic, the nationalist explosion could be analysed from a Freudian perspective, as an urge born frustration. (A beat.) See if the following concepts can explain something: Growing anxiety in the ethnic group. Nationalist explosion. Nationalist depression. Depressive nationalism. 4 Dorra? DORRA: … KATE: Goodbye. DORRA: … KATE: I’m not asking you to answer me. DORRA: … KATE: It's a pretty name. DORRA: … KATE: I’m Kate. DORRA: … KATE: You’re Dorra. DORRA: … KATE: What would you like for lunch? DORRA: … KATE: Would you like me to read the menu? DORRA: … KATE: There’s soup… zucchini soup… cream of vegetable soup… cabbage lasagne… I like soup.The neurotic phobia of ethnic groups who share the same territory. The neurosis of destiny and the neurosis of failure. but I do like vegetable soups… I’ll leave the menu for you here on the table. DORRA: … KATE: I feel you can hear me. Hello Dorra. KATE: I know you can hear me. DORRA: … KATE: I’m Kate. 5 . DORRA: … KATE: That’s why I’m talking to you. Dorra. Dorra. The ethnic neurosis of abandonment. You can tick off the dish you’d like… And the dessert… Is that okay. DORRA: … KATE: I’m not asking anything. DORRA: … KATE: Hello. DORRA: … KATE: Because I know you can hear me. I'm no totally vegetarian. SCENE 4 KATE enters Dorra's room. Dorra. amputated his country. even college. can get by in German. the West has betrayed him. can have a proper conversation in Russian. he hasn’t been given a country. (A beat. The break-up of self. Frustration inherited from his ancestors. Fascinated by western wealth. The distortion of a dream. He doesn’t have a clearly defined battlefield. who have never had a country. The fantasy world of the “soldier”. And the West is always to blame: the West has forgotten him. (A beat. people have stolen his country from him. the West hasn’t kept its promises. but also full of nostalgia for the communist past because it was “stable”. He can be obnoxious. the West is a whore. Nations on the brink of disintegration. they’ve occupied his country. His dream: to move to Germany or the States. KATE: Modrica. He feels depressed when he has to admit to himself that he has no country. August 1994. often to the level of high school certificate. educated. But.) And what if nationalism is nothing but a suicidal impulse? Are there nationalities more disposed to melancholia? Nationalistic hysteria. Identifying with the aggressor. The sexual impulse and nationalistic libido can be useful concepts when we try to understand the incidents of rape that take place in ethnic wars. Defensive ethnic hysteria. Bosnia. He speaks a little English. He’s anti-communist. Literate.) The frustrations of history. he can be melancholic. 6 . A portrait of today’s Balkan “soldier”. humiliated his country. Drinks a lot: anything he can get his hands on. he doesn’t really know who his enemy is. Let’s see if these concepts can explain something: Seeking refuge in horror.SCENE 5 KATE reads extracts from her diary. He fights in the name of his people. knows a few words of Italian and French. Mass hysteria. I hate you. I hate you… She is silent for a moment.The “soldier” finally finds his ideal conditions in frustration and. nevrose traumatique. The state of the subject: mental confusion. I hate you. It would appear that there was no neurological harm done. KATE: Observation number 1. I hate you. I hate you. in war. I hate you. The subject doesn’t respond to any external stimuli. pours herself a glass of water and drinks it. traumatic paralysis. I hate you… SCENE 7 KATE enters DORRA’s room. In German. This is exactly Freud’s analysis in the case of frustrated subjects who become ill just at that precise moment when they achieve the object of their desire. The subject is suffering from traumatic neurosis. DORRA: I hate you. I hate you. permanent exhaustion. goes to the bathroom. so. She goes back to bed and covers herself with the blanket. I hate you. 7 . I hate you. DORRA: I hate you. I hate you. crosses the room. nevrosa traumatica. this is called traumatische Neurose. I hate you. DORRA is alone. I hate you. turns on the tap. I hate you. as if praying. in French. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. SCENE 8 DORRA kneels. curled up in her bed. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. Then she sits up. I hate you. The root cause of this trauma is the rape to which she was subjected about two weeks ago. I hate you. I hate you. gets out of bed. in Italian. Her determined refusal to answer my questions makes me think that she understands everything I say. under the blanket. SCENE 6 Night. I hate you. I hate you. She speaks in a quiet voice. truth has been buried along with heaven. In German. No. Time can’t heal wounds that are unhealable. Lord. KATE: Observation number 2. of the weak over the strong. modificazione dell’io. Lord. of the poor over the rich. there is no victory of good over evil. No. because your will brings only blood and fire and madness. I cannot describe my suffering. because your house. this is called Ichveränderung. I don’t believe that there is sense in everything we hear. Lord. Lord. Lord. in Italian. don’t tell me that time heals everything. Lord. I don’t believe that we can understand everything. in French.DORRA: I hate you… I hate you… I hate you… No. altération du moi. It just can’t. I don’t believe that we can speak about everything. Lord. I don’t believe that time can heal everything. No. of the believer over the non-believer. SCENE 10 8 . For her. yes. SCENE 9 KATE stands by DORRA’s bed. Every attempt to communicate with her is perceived by the subject as an act of aggression. of life over death. No. you are not the truth. Time can only do what time can do. The subject seeks refuge in silence and offers positive resistance to every attempt at communication from the outside world. No. a house of the dead. we can’t accept your will be done. Lord. I don’t believe that there is any sense in what I am saying. This behaviour is simply a defence mechanism. No. you can’t give us our daily bread. you can’t forgive us our trespasses because we don’t ask to be forgiven. the evil does will never be punished and what’s more they will go on to inherit the earth. The subject is suffering an alteration of the ego. you can’t deliver us from evil. Lord. is now a house of the dead. which is dead like you. of beauty over ugliness… No. No. because we can’t forgive you. the rape continues. nothing more. No. because truth has been murdered. fills a glass of water. It’s the Freudian revenge of peoples who have never had a country to call their own. She looks at herself in the mirror. he knows his enemy’s habits. the body of the wife of his best friend whom for nearly half a century he has called “brother”. She gets up. In short. He doesn’t have to expose himself to the dangers of bullets. the body of the wife of his old schoolmate. Having secured shelter for his own wife. KATE enters. he knows all the members of his enemy’s family. mother and sister. In today’s ethnic conflicts. and he thrusts himself into it regarding rape as a weapon of war. And what precisely is this new battlefield for this new “soldier”? It is the body of the wife of his ex-neighbour. daughter. KATE: (To the audience) Communism: the force that obliged everyone to be “brothers” is a time-bomb. Throughout the following monologue DORRA continues to look at herself in the mirror and to sing. his enemy having once been his “brother”. For him. rape is a kind of blitzkrieg. he knows what these sources are. alone. A woman’s body symbolises resistance. She washes her face. More than half of the women raped in ethnic wars are victims of aggressors whom they know personally. this is the real powder-keg in the Balkans. and also of greatest weakness. turns on the tap. he knows that the women surrounding him are at one and the same time his enemy’s source of greatest strength. He merely has to expose himself to the screams of a woman. mother and sister. daughter. She sings to herself. and nothing can destabilise the enemy more than the rape of his women. because today’s “soldier” prefers to destroy the sources of his enemy’s strength rather than have a face to face confrontation with that enemy. shells or tanks. night. and the modern Balkan “soldier” rapes the wife of his ethnic enemy in order to smash that resistance and to strike a coup de grâce at this enemy. or whose paths they have crossed frequently within a radius of 60 kilometres or less.DORRA. goes to the bathroom. the “soldier” goes in pursuit of his enemy’s wife. Around 9 . out of which has grown this national frustration. And. rape has the taste of total victory. The body of a woman who is his ethnic enemy becomes a battlefield in its own right. Because once he was the neighbour of his enemy. The words are just about audible. Nowhere does this ethnic hate manifest itself more strongly than in the new “battlefield”. and these only inspire him to serve his country to his last breath. Dorra. KATE Hello. Kate. Almost a quarter of the women we questioned are able to give the name. just ring. I’m not here as a doctor. were raped by men of the same ethnic group as themselves. if you’d rather I stay with you here. rape is a form of military strategy aimed at demoralising the enemy. just say.half the women whom we were able to question state that the men who raped them came from the same village. If you’d like me to come up and sit with you. DORRA: … KATE: You have a little bell here. or names. So. as punishment for entering into a mixed marriage. rape fulfils the same purpose as the destruction of the enemy’s houses. his places of worship. OK? DORRA: … KATE: I’m not a doctor. or from a neighbouring village. or out of sexual frustration. It seems that many women. DORRA: … KATE: Do come down if you’d like. DORRA: … KATE: It’s me. 10 . of their violators. DORRA: … KATE: Or. Dorra. I’m not here to force you to get better. SCENE 11 KATE enters DORRA’s room. married to men from a different ethnic group. DORRA: … KATE: Do you like an open fire? DORRA: … KATE: I think it’s really beautiful. his cultural heritage and his values. DORRA: … KATE: Would you like to go down? DORRA: … KATE: If you’d like to go down. DORRA: … KATE: They’ve lit a big fire in the drawing room. In today’s ethnic wars. DORRA: … KATE: We’re all down there. Dorra. these “soldiers” don’t rape for animal pleasure. DORRA sits motionless on her chair. For them. you know you’d be very welcome. She doesn’t understand why he suddenly starts to question the meaning of life. Balkan man suddenly becomes sad. 11 . then it’s OK. Your wife who is nothing but a childbearing machine. in the evenings. The only thing she knows is how to nag her husband from the moment he comes in. a sense of honour is very strong in Balkan man. And you drink till midnight. Hey. he has a hangover. In the evenings. if you’re mates . No. Or with your wife. having spent time drinking with his friends. Or two. DORRA: … KATE: Bye-bye then. he’ll just get angry and knock back another bottle. we haven’t seen each other for three weeks. So. His soul feels pain. Dorra. if his wife oversteps the mark with her nagging. oh. she doesn’t understand anything at all. And you drink till the small hours. she doesn’t dare say too much. dear. let’s go and have a drink. And that’s why the husband comes home late and goes out early. from about 6 o’clock till about 10 o’clock. that’s a long time. That’s really the best moment for his wife to have a go at him. And he’s going to vomit.DORRA: … KATE: I’m here because I need you. that’s unbearable. a meaningless shit-hole. In the evenings. He begins to get obsessed and tortured by great metaphysical questions.in the Balkans. In the evenings. Where do we come from? Where are we going? The world is a shit-hole. She doesn’t understand that her man has been struck by a melancholia passed down to him by his ancestors.you can’t bear not to see each other for three whole weeks. All he can do is piss and cry. the thing to do is to go drinking every day after work. To make the separation of friends bearable. In the Balkans. every single day. having knocked back several dozen bottles of beer with his friends. Or three. that’s a long time. tears for the helplessness of humankind in the face of the mystery of the universe. He pisses tears of anxiety. Because. In the mornings. so let’s go and have a drink. SCENE 12 DORRA: (To the audience)The Balkans. then you can go home. Because . just a bit. you have to drink. You don’t understand the first thing about history. my dear. tears of sorrow. Any excuse to booze till five in the morning. it’s like this: an emotional time-bomb. and spend a few minutes with the kids. Balkan man starts to despair at the sheer inadequacy of language. we really know how to drink. In the evening. Haven’t seen you for a week. not till around 3 in the morning. They’ve faked our history.) Aaaargh… (Pause. a swindler. cosmic tears… He lays his head on his wife’s breast because this breast. you no longer even recognise yourself… Look at the state you’re in. we’ve never been independent.) Yes. me and the children. look at your trousers all torn. He’s in 12 . a swindler. you have to make absolutely sure that the labels haven’t been faked. you don’t understand at all.) Do you? Shit. we’re the scum of Europe. Balkan man is a fragile creature. He needs her warmth. we don’t even know where we really come from. We’ve never had a proper country. who always had faith in him… In the arms of his wife (though he thinks she’s a bitch) he hopes to find the security he felt nestled in the arms of his mother. because he hasn’t seen his mother since his sister’s wedding. we don’t… (“Balkan man” vomits. why. Because everybody’s a crook. transcendental. look at the state you came home in. we’ve never been free. communism has changed us down to the very marrow. because his mother has grown old. we don’t stand a chance. you’re unrecognisable. one you have to deal with gently. his mother. everybody’s a crook. because his mother left him when he was only five… Do you realise what kind of a childhood I had? Deprived of a mother’s love from the age of five? (DORRA once again becomes “Balkan man”.though not just yet. because his mother has been dead for ten years. And his soul is bleeding. But his wife can get at him later. If you want a decent beer. reminds him of his mother… Oh. (DORRA becomes “Balkan man”. because his mother has been dead for two years. when the pain in his head becomes unbearable because those bastards have made the beer with rotten malt. That’s why this country will never get out of the hole it’s in. look at the stains. all you want to do is take my pay packet every week and shut me up in this house… (Change of tone. as he shaves lethargically in front of the mirror in which he doesn’t even recognise himself. we’ve missed the boat. Look at you. why are you doing this to me.) At 3 in the morning. why are you doing this to me? Because of his hangover he finds it hard to answer. at 3 in the morning. we’ll never free ourselves of communism. otherwise his soul will be in danger of breaking into a thousand pieces. because his mother is far away. so warm and sweet and welcoming. That’s when she can get at him. we’re a nation of gypsies. look at your shirt. you don’t care do you. the only person in the whole world who always understood him. in fact he doesn’t answer. he needs her to caress him while he sheds his bitter. when he’s getting ready for work. it has to be foreign. And even then. you don’t care. they’ve faked our future. he lays his head on his wife’s breast.) And in the world of business. DORRA becomes herself again. Because everything is fake nowadays. who always loved him. But you do work for the clinic. You come from Boston. I am American. hardly even looking at his children. I don’t want you to tell me anything at all. And you’re called Kate. but he doesn’t eat anything because when you’ve got a hangover like that you can’t face eating… And then he goes off to work without saying a word. I don’t want to know. you want me to tell you how they raped me. not least his own. No. Then he drinks a coffee. I don’t want to know. a reproach that she has stuck to his skin. you want me to tell you in detail how they raped me. You come from Boston. There were five of them. but I’m not making a report for the Boston Psychiatric Clinic. as if in a bubble separating him from the outside world. you’re making a report for the Boston Psychiatric Clinic. very black and very strong. Soon you’ll be going back to Boston. without looking at his wife. it’s for your report. SCENE 13 DORRA. Dorra. all clean and freshly ironed. I’m not making a report. extremely uncomfortable in the shirt his wife has made him put on. Yes you do. Dorra. Yes you are. I do live in Boston. I’m not making a report for the Boston Psychiatric Clinic. And you’re American. Yes. Yes. KATE DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: Do you want me to tell you how I was raped? No. Dorra. No. Dorra. Dorra.a stupor. There were five of them. All day this clean shirt will be his wife’s silent reproach. Yes you do. a sort of cage which will remind him with every move he makes that he is a prisoner for life and that he has all those mouths to feed. No. heavy to bear. Yes you do. Dorra. and I am called Kate. Dorra. impossible to forget. I don’t. 13 . but I won’t be going back there for a while. everyone speaks SerboCroat. Go back to where you belong. DORRA: … KATE: May I put them on the table? DORRA: … KATE: I’d really like us to talk. Dorra. DORRA: … KATE: I’ve brought you some tulips. Kate. It is absolutely imperative that somebody is with her every single minute in order to absorb her negative energy. DORRA: … KATE: Tomorrow is the longest day of the year. DORRA: … KATE: I’d like us to be friends. The subject suddenly comes out of her state of torpor. That doesn’t mean she’s getting better. Dorra. and the shortest night… DORRA: … KATE: It’s the summer solstice… DORRA: … KATE: There’s going to be a party… DORRA: … 14 . KATE: Hello. Dorra. She’s just trying to come to terms with the world by means of aggression. or Croats or Serbs. KATE. Good-bye. You can call me whenever you want. You have to put in your report that I don’t know whether they were Muslims. Dorra. in Bosnia. I have to go now. Dorra. Dorra. SCENE 14 KATE: Observation number 3. SCENE 15 DORRA. (In tears) Go back home.DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: There were five of them. DORRA: … KATE: I’d like to talk to you. or Croats or Serbs. DORRA: … KATE: I hope you like tulips. You see. But I don’t know if they were Muslims. Too many stones. they’re all good for nothing. there are just too many stones. I know you left Ireland. So. DORRA: … KATE: It’s a very beautiful lake. what does that mean? It means McNoil. But I wasn’t called Europe. what is Ireland? It’s a stone country. SCENE 16 KATE: (Looking at her collection of rare stones) Daddy. And that’s when I said stop. a country made of stones scattered like this. And I counted them for 10 years. And why did the McNoils leave Ireland? What!? Well. what is Europe? It’s just a pile of old stones. not as black as Betty. And McNoil. (She describes the horizontal plane with her hand. enough. Go and ask him and let me be! Grandpa. But aren’t there stones that are good for something? No. How could my name mean nothing? Well. And I started to cry.) Just stones. Daddy. what’s an old stone like? Much bigger.999 stones. It’s called Lake Constance. I picked up about 100 stones… That’s about 36. That’s Europe. but not as black as she was. And so we went to America. Too many stones.999. that’s a lump of cement. is that an old stone? No. 15 . How many were there? One day I started to count them. After 10 years. why did you leave Ireland? Because there were too many stones on my land. Every day. You should have called her Europe. and almost black… Black like Betty? No. she started to laugh. When I told Betty my nanny that Europe was full of black stones. You’ve got a very smart daughter here. Dorra.000 every year. it means Kate. Mrs McNoil. or old stones? Stones that are good for nothing. Grandpa. sure it does mean something. I’d picked up 99. Mommy. we could go for a walk by the lake. but why? Why did you? Grandpa told me that all the McNoils left Ireland.KATE: Everyone’s going down to the lake… DORRA: … KATE: If you like. I was called Kate. what does the word ‘Kate’ mean? It doesn’t mean anything. Nothing? Nothing. DORRA: … KATE: Good-bye then. Too many stones. And I haven’t seen them for six months. You’re mad. that’s Europe: one day. SCENE 17 DORRA and KATE KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: Hello. I do need you. What’s Boston like? It’s beautiful. Dorra. it was corpses. But at the foot of this mountain there was something else: a little garden with two or three little. This was the first image I conjured up of Europe: a huge mountain of stones. You lied to me. All I know is that I had a breakdown. I do. Every one of us McNoils is a born digger. I’m not. You don’t need me. withered trees… and that’s where I used to imagine my grandfather. I never lied to you. on his knees. What are you trying to understand? I don’t know. Do you have children? Two girls. I think it’s this image that made me go to Bosnia. I was suddenly struck with this image of my grandfather digging up stones. though. she has already begun to sink. armed with a pickaxe. Dorra. running on the spot) Actually. Do you have any photos? 16 . it wasn’t stones. Yes I do. What do you want to know? I don’t know. Dorra. she will sink under the weight of all those stones. For me. You don’t. scratching out 100 stones a day from his little piece of land. No. (KATE does her daily jog. When I was told that I’d be helping specialist teams responsible for locating mass graves and exhuming their contents. a sort of iceberg made of stones gradually sinking on the other side of the ocean. But I’m not interrogating you. And I hate being interrogated. DORRA begins to methodically pull the petals off the tulips that KATE brought on her last visit. You’re all the same. blah. you Americans: obsessed with psychotherapy. I said to myself.KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: Of my daughters? No. But I’m not interrogating you. You have to. Yes you are. No. I’m not sure. You have to go on living. Why should I care what you think. Dorra. Kate? I don’t know. DORRA: You couldn’t force me to live if I didn’t want to. even though I don’t really believe in him. I hate him. And it’s brute force that’s stronger than anything. I won’t. Yes. no. Dorra. they just make me laugh. 17 . And that’s what keeps me hanging on. blah. Do you understand. so much evil. of Boston. Kate? No… Yes… Because I discovered that God does exist. your clever therapy. Dorra. Kate. blah. I’ll bring them to show you tomorrow. Death is stronger. that only makes any sense if God exists and this is what he wants for us: to feed us on a diet of atrocities. But after. I hate being interrogated. Yes. I hate him so much that I cannot let myself die. I’m not sure. And since then. Quite simply. I can’t die because hate is keeping me alive. You make it seem as if you’re not interrogating me. Life isn’t the strongest force. Kate? Do you believe in God. Dorra. Do you know why I’m still alive. but what you’re actually doing is torturing me with all your clever techniques. And I hate him. Don’t try and sell me all those old clichés about a better life. Kate. Before. I’m not sure. You’re all so obsessed with psychotherapy. I swear to you. You and your clever techniques. I don’t think I want to. Kate. Kate. I didn’t believe he existed. that I’m not here as a doctor. A.KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: I know. KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: Hello. that I’m actually starting to like you. What? You know. Dorra? … Do you know there’s a t. one day before… SCENE 18 KATE: Observation number 5. You can look at them when you feel like it. downstairs? You can watch it if you want. These apparent whims are actually a good sign. because you’re so nice. But. Kate. DORRA: … KATE: Would you like me to show them to you now? DORRA: … 18 . a sign that she is in fact capable of entering into some kind of new relationship with the outside world. when I’m going to die. Kate.v. And. I know exactly how I’m going to die. When? I’ll tell you soon. one can only assess her ability to recall by patiently employing various psychological techniques. SCENE 19 KATE and DORR. And. Would you like to see them? DORRA: … KATE: (Putting the album on the table) I’ll leave them there. You’re so naïve. …. Dorra. Because you’re an intelligent woman. DORRA: … KATE: I’ve brought some photos of Boston. I really think I like you. I’m going to tell you. Yes. At this stage. and only you. … How are you. because I like you so much. It’s too early to submit her to questions about the circumstances that provoked her trauma. I haven’t yet decided when I’m going to. you’ll understand why I can’t go on living like this. I’m going to do something for you. Kate. The subject’s mood swings from outward aggression to periods of complete self-absorption. Kate. Dorra… How did I get here? You were transferred here because you were very ill. So. What is this place. for the sick. DORRA: And what’s on the other side of the lake? KATE: Still Switzerland. that’s Switzerland.KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: I’ll show them to you whenever you want. DORRA: Are you sure? KATE: Yes. that’s Germany. On the left. Kate… Yes… That lake. For the insane? No. is it really Lake Constance? Yes. I’ll show you. we’re in Germany. You can see Switzerland and Germany from it. And why are the letters “USA” stamped on everything? Where’ve you seen that? (Turns the chair round) Here. not for the insane. KATE: Can you see those houses there. America has sent a chair for me. I want to leave here now.” There’s also an inventory number: 6632D. “USA. Yes. DORRA: Where? KATE: Come here. Is that in Switzerland? No. Kate… Yes. I always wanted to see Switzerland… And Germany… And now you can. a hospital? It’s a sort of convalescent home. And here. KATE leads DORRA to the window. … 19 . You can actually see Switzerland from the window. DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: Kate… Yes. number 6632D? It’s because this used to be an American army medical centre. On the right. at the foot of the hill? That’s Switzerland. I like this window. It’s funny. it’s in Germany. But the Swiss border is only a few hundred yards away. A moment’s silence. They go back a long way. those same old clichés. year in year out. Dorra? SCENE 20 DORRA and KATE are eating together. she really enters into the skin of “the Balkan man” who churns out. but at the same time light-hearted and joyful. wherever he can get pissed. those same over-used insults and those same spiteful comments directed at his “Balkan brothers” of another nationality. Ljubliana or Skopje. don’t get me wrong. Come on. In the seediest bar. they steal horses. DORRA: (As “Balkan man”) I do like gypsies. I don’t want chair number 6632D from the Americans. In the following monologues. it’s the word that makes ordinary conversation take a sudden turn into subtle diatribe. chickens. it isn’t really DORRA who speaks.DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: Did you hear what I said. but her memories and her life experience. to top it all. The atmosphere is relaxed. Or perhaps it’s DORRA who starts to sing a snatch of a gypsy tune. No. and a bottle of rosé. I’ve really got absolutely nothing against them. Kate? … Kate? … Kate! Yes… (Hysterical) I want to leave here now. gypsy. number 32507F. Gypsy music. I want to leave here now. sheep. and now. brimming with love for his nearest and dearest. gypsies are really great. they have something about them that’s deep and mysterious. Bucharest. children. they’ve both got a bit tipsy and there’s a real complicity between them. And he starts to judge the whole world using the philosophy of “but”. There are flowers on the table. Athens. they’re even stealing our own sacred folklore. But is the mirror of Balkan man’s thinking. I don’t want this blanket. Where to. this minute. you can’t take your eyes off them for a minute. Tirana. it’s the key to his soul. our own most beautiful 20 . give me a song. (Tearful) I want to go away. Balkan man all of a sudden becomes an internationalist. But. they’re all thieves. a sense of history is awakened in Balkan man. let’s face it. Sofia. whether it’s in Zagreb. Each time. DORRA: (Eating) As soon as he’s had a drink. Cheers! KATE: Cheers! Bulgarian music. don’t get me wrong. And the Bulgarians have great taste… and their roses… they’re simply fantastic. You should have seen the gherkins he had. making millions of dollars… Their game continues. I’ve got an Albanian colleague at the university. And. even today. speaking of his “Balkan brothers”) The Bulgarians. But then they fell out with everybody. and the whole world had them knocking on the door: the Yugoslavians. especially those from the north. don’t get me wrong. letting herself go more and more. They wanted the whole of Macedonia to grow their gherkins in. I really like the Albanians. They’re really good gardeners. I really like the Bulgarians… But. those Bulgarians. it’s Albanian music. have you ever tried it? It’s wonderful. and the yoghurt. they’re really nice. look what happened to that idea… They clink glasses. they’re a disappointed and frustrated race. let’s face it. Luckily. He’s quiet. That’s the Bulgarians for 21 . They wanted a country bigger than they actually needed. keeps himself to himself. Yes. It’s they who started the Balkan war in 1913. they say that Macedonians are really Bulgarians. No. the Russians. DORRA: (As yet another “Balkan man”. This time. I can’t say I’ve got anything against the Albanians. They’ve bulgarised the names of all the Turks who live in their country. my university colleague actually came from Kosovo. the Chinese. clicks her fingers and sings. And their rose petal jam. My mother only ever bought vegetables from a Bulgarian greengrocer. oh the Bulgarians. Enver Hodja really dumped them in the shit. people fed them. like wanting to annex Kosovo. Yes. the Albanians. They’re probably the oldest race in the Balkans… But. even their ideas are poor. DORRA. let’s face it.songs that they bring out on western CDs. they’re really good people. is careful with his money: he’s done really well. Bulgarian yoghurt really is the best in the world. who are Catholics. so he’s not really Albanian at all. and you have to admit that in today’s Europe the Albanians are the lowest of the low. and now they’re the poorest people in Europe. I mean. they’re not even Europeans. And on top of that. it can’t be right that they put our own bakers out of business. it’s Turkish. they don’t understand the meaning of the word “border”. a Turk opened a bakers’ shop near where I live. them coming in with their electric cookers that they’ve bought in the west with our money.KATE: you. They do most of their business with us now. yes. Jewish music. Amazingly every single Turk managed to get work. Never underestimate the Turks! This spring I went to Istanbul. Yes. It’s amazing what you can buy there. I really like the Jews… Some of my friends are Jews. And they still have a huge empire. I don’t actually have any Turkish friends myself. Cheers! Cheers! They clink glasses and kiss. They clink glasses and drink. and yet they’ve been accepted into NATO. you can only get along with them if you keep them in their place. still – don’t get me wrong . DORRA starts the game again. One foot in Asia. and now I only ever eat Turkish bread. let’s face it. You’ve seen how many there are in Germany.I do respect them as a people. They really are a force to be reckoned with. And it’s those same Turks who’ve looted our country for four centuries. People will think we’re no longer capable of making our own bread. KATE fills up their glasses and enters more and more into the spirit of the game. Five centuries actually. because the French. So. I’m not in favour of that. and once I had Jewish neighbours… 22 . and just you wait. one foot in Europe. the Italians and the English are too far away. There are 4 million unemployed in Germany but not one of them is a Turk. you’ll see. the Turks… (As yet another “Balkan man”) The Turks. the Turks are really good workers. and they’re all in work. And the Turks just barge in wanting to show us how to do it. Turkish music. But. Honest to God. they’ll soon worm their way into the European Union. KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: It’s Turkish! Yes. now I do respect the Turks. a few months ago. it’s really good. KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: That’s… Jewish… Oh. the Turks. The Turks will come back to the Balkans bit and bit. what’s more . let’s face it. personally. and .wherever they go the economy flourishes… But… Ah ha! You learn quickly… But.000 Jews. and when I started to learn the violin. No. my wife’s a Serb. personally. I think it’s a shame that the Jews have left our country over the years. the Serbs are actually rather attractive. Now I really like the Serbs… Actually my wife is a Serb.000 of us. KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: So what’s next… The Serbs… Ah. Did you know that? But. In the town where I was born. But… But. not the least bit grateful that those same countries had given them their nationality. we mustn’t forget that it was the Yids that crucified our Lord Jesus Christ. when they saw that communism wasn’t really working in the east and that the quality of life there was getting worse and worse. unpredictable…. and so was the dentist my mother used to drag me to. there were 5. I used to play with Jewish kids who lived near us… Yes. that has often made the world quake over the centuries. wild side to them. at high school.000 Germans. and there were only 4. don’t get me wrong. They’re completely crazy. And then nearly all of them went to Palestine. because all the Jews were businessmen or intellectuals. they left en masse. So. I saw nothing wrong with that. Their blood sometimes literally boils. My history professor. they’re nationalists through and through. And it’s strange how charming they can be. They’re bloody great drinkers. the woman who taught me was Jewish. between the two world wars. and I should know.. But they can be hot-blooded. he was a Jew. They’re full of surprises. Cheers! Cheers! Serbian music. Of all the Slavs in the Balkans the Serbs are the toughest. off the wall. They always have to be on the move. the Jews are OK.KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: When I was little. They’ve got no concept of moderation. the Serbs. don’t get me wrong. They have a very primitive. considering that by nature they’re rather morose. 5. All they 23 . they exaggerate all the time. they’re always restless. And. they have an annoying tendency to exaggerate everything. let’s face it. the Serbs. They have a melancholy that’s been in their veins for generations. and they’re bloody great fighters. They did well to get rid of the Cyrillic alphabet and start to write in Roman letters. Now they’re just pig-farmers. the Croats. they’re Slavs but they’re westernised. they’re sharp. I’ve had them up to here. It’s so clean. the Holy Roman Empire. yes. Because that’s what they’re like. dreaming of a Great Serbia. all of them in the end. here’s to the Greeks. No. let’s face it. You must have seen the cathedral they’ve got in Zagreb. so beautiful. DORRA: (Dancing) Ah. Germany’s their real country. lost in the 14th century by the way. don’t get me wrong. Oh.think about is their empire. eat and drink. Oh. my ex-wife who was a Serb left me for a mother-fucker of a Serb. And even today they’re thick as thieves with the Germans. the Croats are great. they went over to the Nazis. The Croats have first-class minds. DORRA makes dancing movements whilst still seated on her chair. the Croats… Here’s to us! To us! KATE: DORRA: KATE: Greek music. nobody can hurt you like your own brother. Latin. I adore the Greeks… DORRA: You can really have a good time with the Greeks. for a good for nothing mother-fucker of a Serb. But they haven’t done much since then. all except Tito. they’re like our twin brothers… (Stuffing her mouth) But… But. the spirit of Venice. And what’s more. KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: (With her mouth full) That’s… (With her mouth full) The Croats… The Croats. the Pope. they’ll stab you in the back. that put them a hundred years ahead of everybody else. this shows they’re Catholics. they’ll betray you as soon as look at you. The game continues. I like the Croats… It’s lovely in Croatia. You saw what they did in ’41. I know that. Zorba the Greek… KATE: The Greeks. KATE: Have you seen them playing their crazy bazoukis? 24 . ustashi. The women kiss each other. they have insight. They sided with the Nazis and massacred the Serbs. Croatian music. the Croats: bastard collaborators. and their martyred king. it’s Greek. they’re like the Adriatic Sea: open. King Stefan. That’s what they’re like. you can tell they’re part of the Roman civilisation. those Hungarians. Even so. Hungarian music. It hasn’t got any Latin in it… It hasn’t got any Slav… It hasn’t got any Greek… Certainly no Turkish! No German. They had a bloody nerve. they’re just an unscrupulous nation of shopkeepers. but they wanted to throw out communism as far back as ’56. you know. They start to drink the champagne. And they’ve certainly left their mark on history. KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: The… The Hungarians… Oh. They’re indomitable. they’re not like anybody else. The game continues. let’s face it. The alcohol is clearly going to their heads. that makes me laugh. you can’t understand a word. the Greeks. born leaders. I love the Greeks… But… (She stops dancing) But. Have you heard the language they speak? It’s not like any other language at all… Right. crazy but beautiful. And they paid for it. he’ll give you everything. It’s all just… Hungarian! That’s the thing about the Hungarians. more small businesses. The second a Greek becomes your friend. the Greeks nowadays have absolutely nothing in common with the ancient Greeks. proof that big brother Russia had more respect for his little 25 . the Hungarians. they lived better than we did. don’t get me wrong. Have you seen those stupid little outfits their National Guard wear… Peasant costume! Ah. after that.DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: But they are crazy. You remember how they had the audacity to rise up against Moscow in ’56? It’s crazy. even though they believe they’re the direct descendants of Pericles. I love the Hungarians… They’re real originals. So. the Greeks. even under Janos Kadar: more freedom. Ha. Now they’re starting to build motorways with money they wheedled out of the European Union… (Starts to open a bottle of champagne) No! Yes! The sound of the cork popping. they’re absolutely unique. they laid the foundations of civilisation as we know it. the Greeks. don’t get me wrong. you know. The Turkish whores are even starting to learn Romanian so that they can pass themselves off as Romanians in Istanbul. their language is riddled with Slavic words. When you hear them speak. and actually they’re servants of the Austrians. actually. their virility…. And between the two wars. I admire their strength. that the Balkans stop at the Danube. there are rather a lot of us in the Balkans. So they’re traitors?! Actually. they’re all doom and gloom. don’t get me wrong. with his idea of KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: 26 . So. And then Tito came along. I really like the Romanians. They deserve a country of their own. Last century. you’d think it was French. they’re actually just Slavs who’ve converted to Islam. is there more? Well. throughout history… So. and megalomaniacs. tough as old boots. and they’re really two-faced. it’s… The game continues. take my word for it… (Egging DORRA on to speed up the game) The Muslims… The Bosnian Muslims? They’ve really had their share of suffering. you know. I really like the Romanians… But… … but. Romanian music. Do you remember how they held out in Sarajevo? I take my hat off to them. They’ve got guts. they’re profiteers. And their women! It’s amazing what a hit Romanian whores are now in Turkey. And.KATE: DORRA: Hungarian brother than he had for his other little brothers. that their empire was going to last for a thousand years? It’s their arrogance that ruined them. but there’s nothing more Balkan than a Romanian. I really like them… But… … but. the Bosnian Muslims. their unbelievable arrogance. What did they think. let’s face it. don’t get me wrong. do you know what they called Bucharest? They called it “little Paris”. or Italian. They say they’re not really Balkan. let’s face it. let’s face it. They always somehow manage to pop up on the winning side. these Hungarians. But… … but. That’s the Hungarians for you. KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: Oh no. it’s hard to know what to call them. people called them “Turks”. Yes.. The Romanians… (Feigning exhaustion) I like the Romanians a whole lot… They’re the Latins here. The blacks are great. very decorative… DORRA: But… KATE: But… DORRA: But… KATE: But it’s better when they’re deeeaad! A good Injun is a dead Injun! DORRA: Shiiiiit! KATE: Oh. yeah. the blacks did. the Saudis protested… KATE: (Now completely drunk. And then there’s the Mexicans… DORRA: Not in the Balkans…? KATE: But… DORRA & KATE: The “Balkan but” gets everywhere… 27 . something that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world. And they’re terrific boxers… DORRA: I like the blacks. They invented the blues. this but . honey… Come to my country one day if you want to hear the “Balkan but” sung to an American tune…. the blacks are really. We have to be politically correct here… Because they are “people of colour”… But they’re uncultured “people of colour”… and they stink… and they’re violent… and they’re always causing riots… and they’re trouble-makers… and they’re drug-dealers… There! And don’t think it’s just the goddamn fucking niggers who fuck us up… No… there’s also… DORRA: (More and more drunk) The Indians… KATE: That’s riiiight! The “Native American Indians”… DORRA: Who are rather beautiful… KATE: … with their feathers and things. they’re not like us… DORRA: (Pretending to “fall in” quickly) Because they’re black! KATE: No. you’re wrong there. frankly. The blacks’ blues! And they invented gospel music. At the time. DORRA: “A black question”… KATE: Because. too… KATE: But… DORRA: But… KATE: But… DORRA: But… KATE: But the problem is… there’s “a black problem”. I like the blacks.it’s everywhere. Do you think this Balkan “but” is really only found in the Balkans? No. really great. KATE: Yes. but… DORRA: But… KATE: But.inventing a Muslim nation. Music seems to run in their veins. it’s amazing. and victorious) The blacks… DORRA: Who? KATE: The blacks… DORRA: There aren’t any blacks in the Balkans. And their bloody kids are a burden on our education system and on our health system. Every day. banging her fist on the table) I’ve had the bloody Puerto Ricans up to here. taking jobs away from honest Americans. in my United States of America. That’s fucking it… They’re fucking Aztecs… DORRA: Just like the… KATE: The Patagonians… DORRA: The Patagonians. the goddamn fucking Mexicans. those bastard Mexicans. the Puerto Ricans… DORRA: I like the Puerto Ricans… KATE: But… DORRA: But… KATE: (Now acting like a full-blooded racist. I like the Aztecs… DORRA: Yes. yes… KATE: The Patagonians… they’re nice the Patagonians… DORRA: But… KATE: But… DORRA & KATE:They’re Patagonians! Shit! Rock music. but… DORRA: But… KATE: But… DORRA: But they’re Aztecs! That’s the problem! KATE: That’s it. they’re nice. they make me puke! DORRA: Then there’s the… KATE: The… DORRA: The Aztecs… KATE: Oh. what about the Mexicans? I like the Mexicans… Yes. They dance. every single day. my God.DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: So. thousands of them sneak across the border to come and work illegally in my country. the Aztecs… KATE: Yes. they all want is to come and live in my country. 28 . DORRA: Then there’s the Puerto Ricans… KATE: Oh yes. and they don’t even bloody try to learn our language… Oh. building up to dancing rock and roll. the Mexicans are nice… They wear big hats… They’re called sombreros… And they have ponchos… And guitars… But… But… But… But. Depending on how many layers of earth there are. the person doing this work carries an enormous responsibility. He has to work in stages. I took a course in the excavation of mass graves. after all. a lawyer. There are. then he’ll make an evaluation of his mental state and advise 29 . and a psychologist. The fourth stage involves the preservation of the excavated materials. If he is not perfectly trained to do this work. at one and the same time. very often. So. he is in danger of covering up the very evidence of murder that he should be uncovering.SCENE 21 KATE: When you open up a mass grave. He must make an inventory of every single thing. stone. for example bullets if the victim (or victims) were shot. making sure not to damage anything. and on their composition (earth. a photographer. he has to intervene and remove him from the site. dig up the body of the victim (or victims) and yet not actually touch anything. He will discover not only the body (or bodies) but also. there are certain techniques you have to use. You can’t just go into one and rummage around. evidence of how the crime was committed. If he notices that a member of the team is no longer in a fit state to continue. The psychologist is there to make sure that the other members of the team don’t break under the stress. concrete etc. laws governing such excavations. down to the last detail. Under no circumstances must he separate the corpse (or corpses) from personal effects that could help identify the victim (or victims). and the way in which the various layers cover the body (or bodies). The second stage is to record the layers of earth. Every single object found in the vicinity of the victim (or victims) in a mass grave has a legal significance. a doctor. and identify any potential mass grave. The first stage is to survey the area. because it could help reconstruct the crime and reveal the context in which the crime was committed. The fifth stage is the interpretation of what’s been found. This work is always done by a team.) he has to choose the right tools for that particular excavation. The third stage is the excavation itself. experts to examine the military context in which the victim (or victims) were killed. The person undertaking the job is in the same position as someone who uncovers a murder. He must. Consequently. an archaeologist. In every team there’s a topographer. sand. SCENE 22 DORRA rings the bell. in the name of justice. it could be.him (or. I’m unclean. Another moment’s silence. And so I became an excavator myself. KATE arrives) DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: I want an abortion! Yes. I don’t want it to start moving. a graduate from Harvard University. Dorra… Now! Whatever you want… A moment’s silence. Kate McNoil. It won’t move. DORRA stares into space. I should be ashamed of myself. in the name of the Allies. 35 years old. That’s how I came to Bosnia: to work as a psychologist with the teams of people excavating the mass graves. becoming more and more desperate. 30 . excavate. a specialist in obsessional neurosis and psychoanalysis. Dorra… Now… Yes. Me. to excavate mass graves in Bosnia in the name of the United States of America. Kate McNoil. She rings several times. I don’t want to wait. in the name of truth. KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: But you’ll have to wait just a little. in the name of western civilisation. excavate. It’s hard to carry such a burden on your shoulders. I haven’t seen my family for six months and I don’t have time to think about them much because there’s now something else that’s taken over my life: to excavate. It’s moving already! I can feel it. Kate McNoil. I’m unclean because of this thing inside me… Yes… Kate. her) to take a break from the excavation for a while. me. but you’ll never be able to regain your balance of mind unless you understand why. in the name of the past and of the future. author of a 770 page doctorate thesis on Freud and his concepts of child narcissism. married and a mother of two daughters. in the name of the UN. You just have to wait one more month… Kate… Yes? I want something to drink. bigger. And I don’t want it to… I want someone to get it out. And who’s that? It’s your Uncle Sean. DORRA barely listens to her. I can feel it pushing. I don’t believe you. Everything she says resembles more a kind of therapy than a confession. Something strong. bigger. look at this boat.) (To DORRA) My grandfather used to tell us the story about when he first came to the States at least two or three times every year. trying to console DORRA. he was then. As big as this room? No. hardly pausing for breath. she doesn’t listen at all. As big as the house and the garden and the chicken-shed put together. But it can’t be him. Look. KATE: Grandpa. As big as this? No. Or. And she’s sweating. how did you get to America? We came on a big boat. As big as this house? No. when the family was gathered together at Thanksgiving. her tone is not a normal tone. And that’s your Uncle William. even littler than you. perhaps.DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: KATE exits. in a state of great agitation. Tell me. or at New Year’s. And 31 . And that’s your great-grandmother. Right. on the third class deck. SCENE 23 DORRA. (She describes the vertical plane with her hand. So. Dorra. Yes. that’s me. KATE stands by the bed. She shudders and trembles. Some vodka. (She gets out an old photo) Here. And that’s your father. As big as the whole street. what is America? America is a pile of stones built like this. even bigger than that. She talks. he’s even littler than me. her belly swollen. Yes. here. at Christmas. Well. Grandpa. And that’s your Uncle Simon. lies on her bed. Kate! Yes it does. He was always convinced that the stones from Ireland and the stones from America had joined forces to trap him. You’re its mother. And that’s your Aunt Elizabeth. But you must let me tell you how my grandfather became a stonecutter. So then we took the boat to Manhattan. (Almost delirious) No! No! No! Once he got to America. what will I say? Who is its father? War. It will never be my child. my angel.DORRA: KATE: that’s your Aunt Molly. And that’s your grandmother who died last year. These stones from his land that he’d gathered all those long years. She speaks in her grandfather’s voice. As we were Irish and spoke good English. all pursued him to the United States. Yes it does. Good stone workers wanted. my grandfather became a stonecutter. It doesn’t exist. the boat isn’t made of stones. Then we had to go into the Immigration Office. War is its father. we got off at Ellis Island. And why aren’t I there? Because you weren’t born yet. Another silence. How could I tell it that? How could you say to a child: “Listen.” 32 . my precious. The stones never forgave him. we were accepted straightaway. I could never tell a child that. war is your father.”? No child could understand that. And its father? Who will be its father? If it ever asks me who its father is. And the minute we arrived. It’ll have your name. And the boat? What about the boat? Is the boat made of stones too? No. I knew that we’d have to look clean and neat and make a good impression. DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: This child doesn’t have a father. It’s moving inside you. I saw a man waving a placard that said: “Woolworth Building Company. This child doesn’t have a mother or a father. It will understand one day. A moment’s silence. as well as those he hadn’t. I didn’t want it. First of all. This child doesn’t have a name. But it will have. Nobody wanted it. for floors. I’ll stay with you. No! No! No! But I only had 10 dollars in my pocket. somewhere in the west. and I decided to take my chance. “In my garden.” And the man thought my answer was good enough and he offered me the job at 50 cents an hour.” I replied. and my children. 33 . It’s always hungry. I worked on the Woolworth Building. arches. There’s nothing to worry about. for every skyscraper in New York. All I wanted was to find a little plot of land with no stones in it. which was 787 feet high. none of whom knew where we were going to sleep that night. and then the Irving Trust Company Building and the Rockerfeller Centre and so on and so on… I cut thousands of stones. the little beast. I’ll stay with you. And I looked behind me and I saw that there was already a queue of about twenty men who wanted to cut stones. A moment’s silence.246 feet high. I can feel it pushing… It’s climbing up my insides… And it’s hurting… I can’t stand it… I feel sick… You have to get it out. which beat the Woolworth Building because it was over 1. pillars. It was the first offer of work that I stumbled on when I got to America and I was frightened that I wouldn’t find another one. Then I worked on the Empire State Building. lobbies. stairs.” And he asked me: “Have you ever cut stones?” And I said “Yes. it’s devouring me from the inside. which was 1. And I cut stones for twenty years. It’s always hungry.DORRA: KATE: I’d never been a stone worker. Kate. It’s eating too much. and to work it with my family. I can hear it munching… I’m here. I looked at my wife. And then I worked on the Walter Chrysler Building.050 feet high.” And he said: “And where was that?” “In my garden. So I went up to the man and I said: “I like stones. decorations. It’s eating away at me. For thirty years I placed like this (she describes the vertical plane with her hand) all those stones I had picked up like that (she describes the horizontal plane with her hand) in Ireland. DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: Kate! Yes? It’s moving! Are you sure? It woke me up. balconies. And I said “OK”. and my mother. terraces… That’s what I did. ceilings. for the emergency transport of a kidney to Springfield. It’s cold like a snake. He fell straight to sleep. after every “delivery”. with the telephone by his bed. Sometimes. It’s making me cold. Daddy? I had to deliver a heart. I can’t sleep any more. he only managed to get two or three hours rest. blood. I only ever saw him sleeping. I’m cold. looking out of the window. and the quality of the organ depended on the speed at which the two unfortunate people could be brought together in the same operating theatre. Usually. Another moment’s silence. maybe two or three times a year. I saved him. one of whose organs was going to be speedily sewn into some other poor creature who needed a lung or a pancreas or a liver. he used to say rather enigmatically: for the emergency services at the biggest bank on the East Coast! That was his little joke. and it’s making me cold. I’m shivering. But there were. A donor usually meant someone who’d been smashed to pieces on the freeway or somewhere. My Dad would look up at the stars and say: Tonight it’ll be quiet. or Worcester or Fall River or anywhere else in Massachusetts. he would say at breakfast. KATE continues sotto voce. or an eye-transplant. he wouldn’t have to go anywhere. even at 2 o’clock in the morning. He actually worked for a donor bank! And they could wake him at any time of the day or night. So what did you deliver last night. All through my childhood. he’d say. I’m here. He hardly ever got the chance to sleep a whole eight hours. into the black night. DORRA is in a restless sleep. marrow… But how do you know that tonight’ll be quiet. 34 . The donor was either dead or dying. my Dad would have to provide transport for the “receiver”. or dashing out.KATE: DORRA: KATE: It’s too soon. he’d get home just when we were having breakfast. nights when things were quiet. I’m the size of a barrel… It’s taking up more and more space… I can’t stand it any more… Go to sleep. he’d say. not for a skin graft. That meant that nobody would need him that night. or coming home and sitting straight down at the table where my Mom would give him something to eat. So what did you have to deliver last night. a kidney. Daddy? I delivered a “donor”. as if some unseen messenger was giving him a secret sign that tonight everything would be OK. KATE: When people asked my Dad where he worked. Daddy? I just feel it. a heart. and his face reminded me of the face of a priest just after his Sunday sermon. staring into space. Other days. 35 . It’s the scream of a woman being raped. “Yes you can”. SCENE 24 DORRA alone in the darkness. “If you don’t give me something to eat. We hear a horrible scream. I will never be your mother. I’m here. You’ve already eaten my flesh. Scream then! I want to hear you scream. Go to sleep. You have no mother. You’ve even emptied my soul. You have to give me something to eat”. DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: I saw him! What do you mean you saw him? In the darkness! When? Just now. What do you want? Go away. just a… A what… A mouth… He was just a gaping mouth. What else can I give you? “I’m hungry. I didn’t want to be your mother. I’m not your mother.” I’ve got nothing left to give you. “I’m hungry”. No face? No. And you’ve emptied me. No! No! For God’s sake. He was bending over me. No! No! Stop it! We still hear the scream. “Yes I do. You’ve eaten all of me. DORRA: “I’m here. What did he look like? He didn’t have a face. Dorra.” Who are you? “It’s me”. I’ll scream”. stop it! Stop it! These are perhaps the words of a woman being raped. You’re my mother. So what? “You have to give me something to eat”. and you have to give me something to eat. What else can I give you? “You have to give me something to eat”. Who? “Me”. You’re my mother. I can’t see you. I’ve given you every drop of my blood.DORRA wakes up suddenly. You are a child of horror. Stop it. if you bring it into the world and give it to me.No! No! Help! Help! Stop it! Just kill me! Kill me! A few seconds of silence. KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: I’m here. I will. sitting up in bed. The terrifying scream of a woman being raped. 36 . “I’ve stopped. don’t. but I don’t want to… Why is it screaming like that? Tell it to stop screaming. I can’t take it now. You know exactly who I am”. if you don’t bring me into the world. or I’ll start screaming again. “You don’t have any choice. No.” No. if you don’t want this child. I’ll never bring you into the world. Dorra. staring into space. I’d like to have it. I’ll scream”. You don’t have any parents. No. No. Either you give me something to eat. You don’t exist. And it’s you who are going to bring me into the world”. I’ll give you something to eat. No I don’t. Who? “Me”. I don’t. take it now. You’re a war child. She eats. Who are you? “It’s me”. You’re my mother. I don’t want to bring this into the world. But take it now. But. give it to me. you have to”. “Stop pretending. I don’t know who you are. You were born of horror. I’ll give you something to eat… SCENE 25 DORRA. I don’t have to bring you into the world. I will. “Yes you will. If you really want it. “What’s your problem?” Stop it. I don’t know you. with jam and butter on her lips and on her chin) DORRA: “I’m here”. She sobs as she eats. I do exist. please. this minute. her mouth too full. And it’s a mother’s job to bring a child into the world”. You don’t have the right to be brought into the world. OK?” What do you want? “I’ve already told you. All right. hunched over a plate of food. I want something to eat. “Yes I do. then I’ll take it. “Listen to me. KATE enters. take it now. She is devouring a huge breakfast. Dorra… I don’t want to bring this into the world… It’s asking me to bring it into the world. We hardly recognise her. I’ll take it now. A diary lies open on the table. burnt black. DORRA enters. DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: (Without looking at KATE) And is that why you had a breakdown? Yes. with the pouches where you keep the grenades ripped off a postcard of the Eiffel Tower with a few lines written on the back which are completely illegible. KATE: What do you do if you’re in a forest near Srebrenica and you find the following objects in a clearing. Come on. Her stomach is now much bigger than when we last saw her. SCENE 26 KATE is smoking.KATE: All right then. Her face looks twisted. She takes DORRA in her arms). that’s why I had a breakdown. After how many mass graves? 37 . (She lies down next to DORRA. scattered in the grass over an area of about 10 yards: two hundred and forty seven cartridges a bicycle wheel a teat from a baby’s bottle a beret with the letters UN barely decipherable pieces of a stretcher three packets of Drina cigarettes eleven empty cans of Croatian beer a broken alarm clock a squashed tube of toothpaste a piece of barbed wire about three and a half metres long a rifle butt a plastic bag full of rotting potatoes an Elvis T-shirt a leather belt. because I was the team’s psychologist. there’s a 50/50 chance that you’re in the vicinity of a mass grave. But nobody knew anything about it. If you’re in a forest near Srebrenica and you find these things scattered around in the grass. let’s go to sleep. No. KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: Sedamnaest. And everything you’d learnt about excavating corpses made you feel ashamed? Yes. in the psychotherapy treatment of women in Bosnia who’ve suffered rape.” Shut up. Seventeen. I can’t cuddle you. So. I don’t want to hear you again.” I don’t want to cuddle you. DORRA kisses her. You could no longer bear to read the inventories they attached to each body they dug up. your cathartic method. and I want you to cuddle me. the trowels and the crowbars that were beating and digging and grating and sweeping. I need to rest. here: to apply a new method. KATE is motionless. perhaps in tears. but I’m frightened. what do you want now? “I don’t know. I want you to cuddle me a bit. on the verge of tears) Yes. I’ve given you something to eat.” I can’t cuddle 38 . For example… Yes. No. I’m frightened. “I can’t shut up: I’m frightened. “It’s not. Leave me alone. that’s enough. the state of their decomposition. (Looking at KATE’s open diary. (Coming towards Kate and taking her by the shoulders) So you asked to be sent somewhere else. No. we have to know that DORRA has already read it) For example. DORRA: “I’m here. For example. rule number one for the excavator: you have to keep the site clean.” I don’t want to hear from you again. “Yes. a frequent sweeping of the site is one of the best methods for guaranteeing proper observation of an excavation… (Smoking. You could no longer bear to hear the sound of the pickaxes. I want to rest.” I want to go to sleep. SCENE 27 DORRA is alone in the darkness. shut up. And the preservation of the “excavated matter”.” What do you want? I’ve given you something to eat. I’ve given you something to eat. you weren’t able to deal with any of that either. the handling of the corpses. “I want you to give me a cuddle. No. You’ve got a family. Stop acting as if you had the whole of America’s subconscious guilt on your shoulders. So it is because you love children? Yes. You’re not the President of the United States. I’m not. but Ireland. “If you don’t cuddle me. You’re American. you have roots in Ireland. You’re mad. it’s just an island. You’re not the Special Envoy of America’s guilty conscience. Why do you stay here? You’re not responsible for this. Kate? Are you mad or something? You’ve got two children already. it’s not up to you to come here. It’s almost not part of Europe at all. Kate. No I’m not. Do you want it for your Freudian experiments? No. DORRA: Why do you want this child. And you have a husband. Are you sure? No. Your own children. Can’t you have any more of your own? Yes I can. Another moment’s silence. KATE enters. Why do you want this child. too. beating your breast with mea culpa. OK. it’s because I love children. Kate? KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: Because I do. Kate? I don’t know. And I’m frightened. A moment’s silence. You weren’t even born in Europe. DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: Why do you want this child. You weren’t born here. Your life is somewhere else. waving the American flag. you’re not guilty. Kate? 39 .you. it’s a world of its own. So. You were born in the United States. why do you want the child. Anyway. I’ll scream…” SCENE 28 DORRA is alone. I don’t know how to. So. rotting… But. Dorra. KATE: (Speaking to and for DORRA. there’s someone alive… Someone asking to be let out… I’ll never let you kill your child. (Calm again. your baby is a boy. that nature doesn’t acknowledge rape. in your country. staring into the distance) Your belly is a mass grave. Dorra. swollen. as it always was. You’ll never have it. Dorra. I’m not a representative of the American government. I see a pit full of corpses. And it has to be saved. mysterious and full of beauty.KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: Why? I’m not going to give it to you. at the bottom of this pit. I had the insane hope that I’d find just one survivor… This child is a survivor. his inhumanity. Kate. Nature. dried up. there are more boys born than girls. She pursues her work relentlessly. it has to be pulled out. Dorra. Why not? I’m not giving this child to the United States. that the laws of nature have nothing to do with the impulses behind man’s barbarity. but not addressing her directly. Dorra. My roots are in Ireland! I’d rather it died than give it to the United States. despite the evils perpetrated by mankind. That’s it… It’s as simple as that… We have to rescue it from the mass grave… The noise of an aeroplane about to take off. I have the right to go back home with this child! Stop it. I’m going home soon. Kate. I’m not the President of the United States. is impervious to man’s stupidity. a suspended moment) How can I explain to you. I’m not the United States. And every time I excavated one. I came to your country to learn how to excavate mass graves. I’m going back to my children. SCENE 29 KATE(A letter in her hand): 40 . When I think of your belly. And her work remains. (At breaking point) I want it! That’s all there is to it! After all the corpses I’ve dug up here. Dorra. As always seems to happen after a war. there’s something moving… A living being… Amongst all the dead. that nature abhors a vacuum. I would like to return to my post in the Boston Psychiatric Clinic. the report on my activities in Bosnia over the past twenty-two months. but not addressing her directly. That I don’t want to go back there. That in fact I no longer have a country. I don’t want to know if my family is still living. That I no longer have a God. either collectively. that I hate my country? One can’t hate one’s country. in Massachusetts. I confirm that. this place will stay cursed for a long time to come. May I remind you briefly that I was a member of the mission evaluating medical needs in Croatia and Bosnia. It’ll be haunted by the cries of victims. this hell… I don’t want to see my home again… Because I don’t have a home. the people who live there will rack their brains to try and understand how all this could have been possible. by hatred and by shame. another suspended moment) How can I tell you. For years and years.Dear Chief Commander. DORRA: KATE: DORRA: KATE: (To herself) How can I tell you. that I hate my country. That all I want is to get as far away as possible from this accursed nightmare place. and that at my request I was transferred to a NATO medical centre in Germany. How can I tell you that I no longer have a country? We’re all born somewhere. Even if the war ends. Kate. I’m sending you. as requested. sink to such a level… Another moment’s silence. that I then became part of one of the teams responsible for identifying the mass graves in the Krajna and Srebrenica areas. Kate. 41 . Kate McNoil. Thanking you for your understanding. or individually. Till the very end of time. as from the 1st of April. they’ll ask the same questions: Who started it? Who was responsible? Who was the most evil? How could people. DORRA: (Speaking to and for KATE. A moment’s silence. The drink is called a fighting cocktail. KATE: You will find the need to believe again. DORRA: There’s nobody left alive in my heart any more. DORRA: How can I tell you that my country no longer has a God. My country is an old peasant who looks at the soldiers entering his village and asks them: “Are you on our side?”. then spits on the corpse of the man whose throat he has just cut. then goes to take his position in the trenches. my people killed Him.DORRA: How can I tell you that I never want to go back there.before leaving her house . and any other alcohol he can put his hands on. where I was born.old daughter. and who . wine. DORRA: I don’t have a home anymore. My country is a mother who notices that her dead son’s uniform is missing a button. KATE: You will one day. KATE: There must be an image of your country that you’ll always carry with you. The image of my country is that of an old man leaving a column of refugees to lie in the grass for a rest. My country is a father who spends all his time making a doll for his 7-year. who dies in a village in Hungary where there is no Muslim cemetery and where nobody knows how to bury a Muslim. My country is a residential district of Vukovar renamed “Burnt Tank Avenue”. He knocks it back.kisses the porch. whiskey. My country is a soldier who mixes in his glass cognac. grass that hides an antipersonnel mine. DORRA: Do you want to know what image of my country I carry with me? Do you? It’s the image of a drunken soldier. KATE: One day you’ll want to know if your family is still alive. this hell… KATE: One day you’ll see your home again. She hurries to sew one back on before he’s buried. My country is three soldiers pissing on the embers of a house they’ve just torched. one day. with a rather surprised expression on his face. raki. puts it back in its sheath. DORRA: How can I tell you that all I want to do is to get as far away as possible from this accursed place. who’s been dead for 346 days. My country is a Muslim refugee. who wipes his dagger on his trouser leg. My country is a grandmother who has to flee from the approaching soldiers. 42 . My baby is fine. Two weeks later. My country is a peasant who hides in the forest because “chetniks” or Muslims “fighting for Islam” have arrived in his village. you wanted to know the precise moment at which I decided to keep him. but who can only get his hands on three rounds of ammunition a day. because he can no longer bear to hear their bellowing… My country is a soldier writing on a door with red spray-paint: THIS IS SERBIA. As I walked. THIS IS A POST OFFICE! My country is an inscription written on a tree in Sarajevo: HELLO! I’M STILL ALIVE! SCENE 30 DORRA writes a letter. just like on those packets of instant soup. I don’t want to go to America. When you last called. saying: THIS IS CROATIA. I don’t really know what I’m going to do now. I’ve filed applications for emigration at the Canadian. writes: CUT HERE on his neck.My country is the inscription you see all over the place in Sarajevo: PAZI! SNAJPER! BEWARE! SNIPERS! And the taste of my country is the soup handed out by the Red Cross. He weighs 13 pounds now. for a joke. even newer words say: IDIOTS. I went for a walk by the lake. He’s killed three days later when he decides to go home to feed his starving cows. DORRA: Dear Kate. a notice nailed to a tree caught my eye. I’ll tell you. A few days after that. My country is that young Karlovac who wants to become a sniper to defend his people. and this is what I read: WE WOULD LIKE TO INFORM YOU THAT THIS TREE IS DEAD. 43 . even when the town is besieged by Serbs on one side. just after you left. new words cover the old ones. Australian and South African embassies. I looked at the trees and the water… All of a sudden. My country is an American tv series that nobody wants to miss in Mostar. I went to take a closer look. One day. IT WILL BE CUT DOWN WEEK COMMENCING APRIL 2ND. and by Croats on the other. My country is an 18-year-old soldier who. Ljubim-te.IN ITS PLACE. And that’s when I decided to keep my baby. Signed: THE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS & GARDENS. THE END 44 . AND FOR THE ENJOYMENT OF ALL VISITORS TO THIS PARK. then several times more. I read this once. Dorra. WE WILL BE PLANTING A SAPLING. then again. France. inspired by the Bosnian crisis. The author has nonetheless made use of some eye-witness reports (for example "Chronique des oubliés". remains a work of fiction. 45 . by Velibor Čolić) both for the description of the uncovering of mass graves in Scene 26 and the "image" of Dorra's country in scene 29. because. Edition La Digitale. This play. reality beggars the imagination.Author's Note: This play was written in residence at La Chartreuse de Villeneuve-lez-Avignon in November and December of 1996. 1994. with horrors like these. United States. Bulgaria. . poet and journalist.THE SPECTATOR SENTENCED TO DEATH. Romania. .Avignon.Paris. Moldavia . 33 . Morocco.WOMAN AS BATTLEFIELD. . Holland. Studio des Champs-Elysées. . Compagnie Pli Urgent .THREE NIGHTS WITH MADOX.POCKETS FULL OF BREAD. . Germany. Romania. performed in: France. rue Watteau 75013 Paris FRANCE Tel. and he has received French nationality. During the following ten years he wrote some 20 plays.Marseille. Germany.(0)1 47 07 31 89 Mobile. Since then he has been writing mostly in French. Hungary. performed in: France. Turkey. In September 1987 he was invited to France by a literary foundation. Since then. Fax. Denmark. Switzerland. Romania. Compagnie Nice-Théâtre Vivant . Italy. performed in: France. .OLD CLOWN WANTED was performed in: France. Moldavia.playwright. Romania. etc. Island. but all of them were banned by the Romanian censors. In Romania he studied history and philosophy before starting writing for the theatre in 1977.). Italy. . Russia.HOW TO EXPLAIN THE HISTORY OF COMMUNISM TO MENTAL PATIENTS: United States. Germany. Belgium. After the fall of communism in Romania. with more then 30 plays put on in Bucharest and other towns. Belgium. . Romania. 33 – (0)6 19 66 05 98 E-Mail: visniec@yahoo. Brazil. Russia.La Rochelle. Théâtre du Rond-Point de Champs Elysées . Théâtre de Lenche and Théâtre de la Minoterie . performed in: France. in December 1989. Matei Visniec has had more then 20 plays performed in France (Théâtre Guichet Montparnasse. 46 . Poland. His international audience as a playwright started in 1992. with the play "Horses at the Windows" performed in France. Hungary. Switzerland. performed in: France. performed in: Canada.Lyon. Matei Visniec became one of the most performed playwrights in the country. and "Clown wanted" at the BONNER BIENNALE. France.DECOMPOSED THEATRE. Romania. Sweden.fr Matéi VISNIEC . and he asked for political asylum. Moldavia. Belgium. In October 1996 the National Theatre of Timisoara organised a "Matei Visniec Festival" with 12 companies presenting his plays. Canada. now settled in Paris. born 29 January 1956 in Romania. Great Britain.Nice. Austria.Address: 10.THE STORY OF PANDA BEARS TOLD BY A SAXOPHONIST WITH A GIRLFRIEND IN FRANKFURT. working as a journalist at Radio France Internationale. Finland. Moldavia. Théâtre de l'Utopie . Italy. Switzerland. Great Britain. performed in: France. Romania. Romania.HORSES AT THE WINDOW. Théâtre Le Jodel . France. Germany. in Bulgaria by the theatrical review "Panorama" Plays by Matéi Visniec available in English .Old Clown wanted .Drama Award of the Academy of Romania 1995 and 1996 .Drama Award of the Romanian Union of Writers 1998 . the Rat and the King's Fool 47 .The Body of a Woman as a Battlefield in the Bosnian War .How to explain the History of Communism to Mental Patients .Horses at the Window .AWARDS 2002 . the best play of the year in 1991 in Romania Plays published in France by "Les Editions L’Harmattan". in Germany by "Editions Palais Jalta".Award Avignon-off at the Avignon Theatrical Festival 1994 .Award of The Romanian Theatrical Society for CLOWN WANTED.The Chekhov Machine . in Hungary by "DUNA pART".National Drama Award of the Romanian Ministry of Culture 2002 and 1999 .The Story of Pandas told by a Saxophonist with a Girlfriend in Frankfurt . for the play THE STORY OF THE PANDA BEARS TOLD BY A SAXOPHONEPLAYER WITH A GIRLFRIEND IN FRANKFORT 1991 . in Belgium by "Les Editions Lansman".Pockets full of Bread . in Poland by the theatrical review "Dialog".The King.Award of The French Society of Authors and Composers. in Romania by "Cartea Romaneasca" and "Expansion Armonia". "Les Editions Crater" et "Les Editions Actes Sud Papiers".Three Nights with Madox .