Bang Bang Bang Read online

  2008 Augus – Heavy clashes erupt in the east of the country between army troops and fighters loyal to rebel leader Laurent Nkunda.

  2008 October – Rebel forces capture major army base of Rumangabo; the Congolese government accuses Rwanda of backing General Nkunda, a claim Rwanda denies.

  2008 Thousands of people, including Congolese troops, flee as clashes in eastern DR Congo intensify. Chaos grips the provincial capital Goma as rebel forces advance. UN peacekeepers engage the rebels in an attempt to support Congolese troops.

  2008 November – Campaign by Tutsi rebel leader Laurent Nkunda to consolidate control over east prompts new wave of refugees.

  2008 UN Security Council approves temporary increase of troops to bolster the strained UN peacekeeping effort.

  2008 December – Uganda, South Sudan and DRCongo launch joint assault on Ugandan Lord’s Resistance Army bases in north-east DR Congo. Hundreds of civilians are killed in backlash attacks.

  2009 January – Launch of joint DR Congo-Rwandan military operation against Tutsi rebels led by Laurent Nkunda. Campaign lasts five weeks. Nkunda is displaced by Bosco Ntaganda and arrested in Rwanda.

  2009 February – Médecins San Frontières accuses UN peacekeepers of failing to protect civilians from LRA rebels.

  2009 April – Hutu militia re-emerge after end of joint DR Congo-Rwanda campaign in east, prompting thousands to flee.

  2009 May – Kabila approves law giving amnesty to armed groups as part of deal meant to end fighting in east.

  2009 June – International Criminal Court orders ex-vice president Jean-Pierre Bemba to stand trial on charges of war crimes for his troops’ actions in Central African Republic between 2002 and 2003.

  Series of mutinies by soldiers in the east complaining they haven’t been paid.

  2009 July – Swiss court rules that frozen assets of ex-president Mobutu Sese Seko be returned to his family.

  2009 August – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Goma, promises $17 million aid for victims of sexual violence.

  Head of MONUC Alan Doss declares five months of joint army-UN operations against Rwandan rebels – “Kimia 2” – to have been “largely positive”.

  2009 September – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay suspects

  October–November 2008 violence in North Kivu may amount to war crimes committed by both the army and CNDP militia.

  2009 November – Germany arrests two alleged FDLR leaders on suspicion of war crimes in eastern DR Congo.

  2009 December – UN extends mandate of MONUC for shortened five months, as a step to full withdrawal by mid-2010.

  2010 May – Government steps up pressure for UN peacekeepers to quit before elections in 2011. UN’s top humanitarian official John Holmes warns against premature departure.

  2010 June – Prominent human rights advocate Floribert Chebeya found dead a day after being summoned to meet the chief of police.

  Celebrations mark 50 years of independence.

  2010 July – $8 billion debt relief deal approved by World Bank and IMF.

  New electoral commission launched to prepare for 2011 elections.

  2010 July–August – Mass rapes reported in North Kivu province. UN envoy Margot Wallstrom blames both rebels and army.

  2010 June–August – Operation Rwenzori against Ugandan ADFNALU rebels prompts 90,000 to flee in North Kivu province.

  2010 October – UN report into killing of Hutus in DR Congo between 1993 and 2003 says they may constitute “crimes of genocide”. It implicates Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Zimbabwe and Angola.

  2010 November – UN agencies report widespread rapes during mass expulsion of illigal migrants from Angola to DRCongo.

  UN report accuses networks within army of promoting violence in east to profit from mining, smuggling and poaching.

  Ex-DR Congo vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba goes on trial at International Criminal Court accused of letting his troops rape and kill in Central African Republic between 2002 and 2003.

  Paris Club of creditor countries scrap half of DR Congo’s debt.

  2011 January – Constitution changed, which some say boost President Kabila’s election chances.

  2011 February – Court sentences Lt-Col Kibibi Mutware to 20 years in jail in a mass rape case in eastern Congo. This is the first conviction of a commanding officer for rape in eastern DR Congo.

  19 killed in coup bid against president, police say.

  2011 May – Rwandan Hutu rebel Ignace Murwanashyaka goes on trial in Germany for alleged crimes against humanity in DR Congo.

  For Anneke, Miriam, Max.

  Acknowledgements

  My grateful thanks to:

  Dominic Cooke, Mel Kenyon, Ruth Little, Rachel Taylor, Nic Wass, Graham Cowley, John Blackmore, Patrick Sandford, Miriam Nabarro, Gerard Feehily, Paul Hickey, Giles Cooper, Lucy Briars, Babou Ceesay, Aoife McMahon, Mickey Sumner, Mia Soteriou, Mel Corker, Brian O’Connell, Nigel and Hilary Stafford-Clark, Claudia Seymore, Zoe Marriage, Ann McFerran, Anneke Van Woudenberg, Tom Porteous, Daniel Nelson, Gaby Smith, Aisling Swaine, David Thacker, Philip Wilson, Ian Gilly, Amy Ball, Lotte Hines, Veronique Aubert, Scilla Ellworthy, Victoria Brittain, Mike Dixon, Olivia Blanchard, Anna Wilkins, Mohamed Osman, Marcus Bleasdale, Susanna Bennett, Lucy Ashken, Vickiesha Chabra, Chris Jameson, Jon Bradfield, Panda Cox, Chantelle Staynings, Chris Campbell, Kamau Wa Ndung’u, Steve Crawshaw, Emily McLoughlin, Des Kennedy.

  And as ever – to Max Stafford-Clark – more than a legend in his own lunchtime.

  S.F.

  July 2011

  French translation by Miriam Nabarro

  Swahili translation by Charles Mampasu

  Note on the Text

  A forward slash ( / ) in the text indicates the point at which the next speaker interrupts.

  Characters

  In order of appearance

  SADHBH, Irish, twenty-nine

  MATHILDE, French, twenties

  SOLDIER, Congolese, twenties

  STEPHEN, English, late thirties

  BIBI, American, late thirties

  CHILD SOLDIER

  WOMAN WITH SICK BABY

  MAMA CAROLINA

  AMALA, nine

  FEMALE SOLDIER

  COLONEL MBURAME, twenties

  RONAN, thirty

  VIN, twenty-three

  INNOCENT

  SCREAMING CHILD

  MICHAEL, thirties

  Doubling:

  Sadhbh (pronounced ‘Sigh-ve’)

  Stephen

  Amala / Child Soldier / Screaming Child

  Bibi / Mother with sick baby Mama Carolina Female soldier

  Mathilde

  Soldier Colonel Mburame Innocent

  Ronan / Michael

  Vin

  PROLOGUE

  The DDH compound. North Kivu.

  Democratic Republic of Congo.

  NGO – (Pour La Défense des Droits des Hommes.) DDH.

  June.

  Sand and dirt floor. Plastic chairs and crates shoved against a door. Outside the compound gunfire crackles – a kind of chaos is gathering. Some high windows let in light.

  Threatening shadows against the back wall.

  Two Human Rights defenders – SADHBH and MATHILDE are huddled together.

  MATHILDE. Je veux Maman.

  Je veux parler à ma mère.

  SADHBH. Where is your phone?

  MATHILDE. On the kitchen table.

  SADHBH. C’est très dangereux, trop dangereux. Attend –

  MATHILDE. I need to tell her – I need to talk to her – in case.

  SADHBH. Mathilde.

  MATHILDE. It is nearly one hour and still –

  The gunfire crackle gets closer.

  Ca se rapproche.

  SADHBH. Ca vient d’où?

  MATHILDE. Closer. Closer.

  Are they in the compound? Do you?

  SADHBH. Maybe not. Where did Vin go?

  MATHILDE. He left the compound.


  SADHBH. Pourquoi? Has he got our transport? Did Janvier take him somewhere?

  MATHILDE. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t want to be raped.

  SADHBH. It’s okay.

  MATHILDE. Je préfère mourir plutôt que d’être violé.

  SADHBH. Ça va aller, ça va aller.

  The gunfire – loud and frightening – is now very close.

  There are shouts of panic.

  That’s Janvier.

  MATHILDE (whispers). They’re in the compound.

  SADHBH. Janvier has a gun.

  The nearest safe room –

  MATHILDE. Oxfam. We’d have to run across the courtyard.

  There are shouts and a shot.

  Jésus, Jésus, Jésus. Ils ont tué Janvier?

  A walkie-talkie clicks into life.

  SADHBH. I’ll get the radio.

  MATHILDE. Me quitte pas. Me quitte pas.

  SADHBH. It’s just outside the door.

  Mathilde? Don’t go into shock. Pull back.

  I need to talk to you. Can we be calm?

  MATHILDE. Okay. Okay. Okay.

  SADHBH. Good girl.

  How much money have you got?

  MATHILDE. About nine hundred dollars.

  SADHBH. I have three thousand dollars in my travel bag, which is under my bed.

  MATHILDE. We’ve got five cartons of cigarettes here.

  SADHBH. Two bottles of whiskey.

  MATHILDE. Passports.

  SADHBH. Phones. Our phones. My laptop. Okay?

  MATHILDE. Okay.

  SADHBH. We give them everything.

  MATHILDE. How many are they?

  SADHBH. I can only hear one, two voices.

  Maybe only two at most?

  MATHILDE. Jewellery.

  SADHBH. Okay? We give them everything and we talk to them.

  MATHILDE. Je ne veux pas.

  SADHBH. We talk to them. Humanise yourself.

  MATHILDE. Non. Ne les laisses pas. Je ne veux pas.

  SADHBH. Mathilde? Listen to me.

  You keep them talking but tell them you are a married woman. You tell them you are a mother.

  MATHILDE. This can’t be real.

  SADHBH. You talk about God.

  You tell them they won’t be damned if they leave now.

  You talk about Jesus. This is what you have got to do.

  Let me get the radio.

  The door is kicked. Once. Twice.

  The boxes, chairs and crates scatter. A YOUNG MAN in army fatigues and jeans enters. He is wearing a baseball hat. His nose and mouth are covered with a bandanna. He is jittery and hyped.

  Mon Dieu, pitié.

  SOLDIER. La ferme.

  SADHBH. Je m’appelle Sadhbh, et ça c’est Mathilde.

  Nous avons de l’argent. Beaucoup des dollars.

  Je vous en prie!

  MATHILDE. Nous avons des cigarettes.

  SADHBH. Prenez tout.

  SOLDIER. Mettez vous par terre. Tout de suite.

  Accroupies!

  The SOLDIER knocks everything across the room – kicking the boxes, crates, chairs.

  SADHBH. Nous avons du whiskey. Prenez-le. Prenez-le, buvez le avec vos enfants.

  SOLDIER. Déshabillez-vous.

  MATHILDE. Non, non, je vous en prie. Nous sommes mariées.

  Nous sommes mères.

  The SOLDIER pokes the gun towards SADHBH’s face.

  SOLDIER. Déshabillez-vous.

  MATHILDE. Non, non, non!

  SADHBH. Je peux vous donner l’argent.

  Nous avons presque quatre mille dollars.

  Prenez-le. C’est pour vous.

  Dieu vous pardonnera, si vous partez maintenant.

  SOLDIER. Je prends l’argent.

  Je prends les téléphones.

  Je prends tout.

  Et, ensuite, je vais terminer le boulot.

  The SOLDIER points the gun.

  MATHILDE starts to cry.

  The women begin to undress. They huddle together to hide their bodies.

  On ne vous entend pas.

  Personne ne vous écoute.

  The light fades. The shadows close in.

  ACT ONE

  One

  London.

  An apartment in Holloway.

  End of April.

  Late Morning.

  SADHBH enters with an armful of clothes and books. STEPHEN, her boyfriend, is looking at some printed material while eating a doughnut and drinking coffee. There is a rucksack nearby. A Stetson-like hat hangs from it. She carefully packs the rucksack.

  SADHBH. Stephen?

  I bet we made a baby this morning.

  Hey?

  He looks up at her.

  If it’s a girl I’m calling her Saoirse.

  STEPHEN. Saoirse?

  SADHBH. Means freedom.

  She’ll not have your fat arse but she will have my legs. And she’ll be beautiful like you but clever like me.

  She pulls out a T-shirt from the pile of clothes.

  STEPHEN. What are you doing with my T-shirt?

  SADHBH (smells the T-shirt). To… remind me.

  STEPHEN watches her shove his T-shirt in her rucksack. He dunks his doughnut.

  SADHBH sits opposite him and starts up her laptop.

  That’s going to break off.

  He eats the doughnut.

  You can’t saturate it and expect it to taste good.

  STEPHEN. It does taste good.

  SADHBH. Some of it’s at the bottom of your cup.

  STEPHEN. You distracted me.

  SADHBH. I distracted you?

  STEPHEN scoops the doughnut from his cup with a spoon and eats it.

  We hear shouting from off.

  Is there more coffee?

  STEPHEN. Sit.

  He pours coffee.

  We hear a muffled argument through the walls.

  SADHBH. Did you hear?

  STEPHEN. What’s he said?

  SADHBH. Fucking – (Makes grunting noises.)

  A muffled crash.

  Should we say something?

  STEPHEN knocks on the table.

  STEPHEN. Oh, hello. I can hear you call each other all the bastards under the sun. Would you mind awfully keeping it down?

  SADHBH. To the concierge. I meant.

  STEPHEN. What can he do?

  SADHBH. He could tell them that they can be heard.

  You know?

  And say if it’s more than just an argument?

  STEPHEN. It’s flat life, Sadhbh. Music, cisterns, sex –

  Messy lives.

  The argument stops as abruptly as it started.

  Do you hear that?

  SADHBH. What?

  STEPHEN Maelstrom over.

  SADHBH listens.

  SADHBH. You’re right.

  STEPHEN. If you were here for longer than a week you’d understand the rhythm of flat life.

  SADHBH. The rhythm of flat life?

  STEPHEN. He’s not killing her, Sadhbh. This is Islington. Or so the estate agent said.

  SADHBH. Yeah? Well, he meant Holloway.

  The rhythm of flat life?

  SADHBH returns to her laptop.

  Why are you cross with me?

  STEPHEN shrugs.

  You are cross with me?

  You?

  Why?

  Pause.

  STEPHEN indicates the rucksack with his thumb.

  SADHBH gets up from her chair – takes the hat off the rucksack – puts it on and removes the rucksack from sight.

  She re-enters.

  STEPHEN. You’re not going –

  SADHBH. Right.

  STEPHEN. – till Monday.

  SADHBH. I don’t even know why I –

  Right.

  They look at one another. STEPHEN resumes reading documents.

  How’s the Mandarin going?

  STEPHEN. Ni hao!

  Qîng césuo zai nar?

  Hello. Where is the toilet please?


  SADHBH. All you need really.

  She starts tapping the keys on her laptop.

  Did she understand ‘the rhythm of flat life’?

  Pause.

  STEPHEN looks at SADHBH.

  She resumes work at her laptop.

  STEPHEN. Do you want to tell me about your lovers?

  That Irish Foreign Correspondent –/

  Ronan What’s-his-name?

  SADHBH. Are you crazy? I’ve never been with Ronan Fitzgerald.

  He’s fucked everything from here to Bujumbura.

  STEPHEN. I should never have told you.

  SADHBH stretches out her hand to him. He puts it against his cheek. She pulls her hand away.

  SADHBH (picks up his remaining half of doughnut). This is how you dunk a doughnut. Dunk, eat, drink.

  She does so.

  STEPHEN. What makes you a doughnut-dunk expert?

  SADHBH. I had a scene with an aid worker from New York.

  STEPHEN. When was this?

  SADHBH. Way, way, way, before you.

  STEPHEN. Oh yes?

  SADHBH. He was very particular about dunking.

  STEPHEN. I’m not sure I want any –

  SADHBH. As you wish.

  STEPHEN. – more information.

  Pause.

  SADHBH. Did she mind that you had a partner?

  Pause.

  Answer me.

  STEPHEN. She didn’t say that exactly.

  SADHBH. What did she say?

  STEPHEN. I can’t remember.

  SADHBH. Convenient.

  STEPHEN. Truth.

  She knew I was with you – obviously.

  SADHBH. Why obviously?

  STEPHEN proffers the bag of doughnuts.

  STEPHEN. Breakfast?

  She takes a doughnut.

  I didn’t promise anything.

  SADHBH. Seeing someone over a sustained period is a promise.

  STEPHEN. Not to me.

  SADHBH. For you it was a series of one-night stands?

  STEPHEN. Well, yes.

  SADHBH. Over three months?

  Interesting moral code.

  She takes a bite of her doughnut.

  Did she talk about the future?

  STEPHEN. I don’t know what you mean.

  SADHBH. The relationship?

  Did she think you’d leave me?

  STEPHEN. She couldn’t possibly have.

  SADHBH. Why ‘couldn’t she possibly have’?

  STEPHEN. We didn’t have particularly in-depth conversations about who thought what and –

  SADHBH. So – now you’re saying –?

  He dunks his doughnut.

  STEPHEN. Look, can we drop it?

  SADHBH. I want to know the facts. /

  I don’t want her –