They Drink it in the Congo
Page 3
Tony Yup
Stef Helping those poor girls express themselves.
Tony Well, I’ll see you.
Kat enters.
Kat Sorry to interrupt I think you should read your email.
Stef Really?
Kat Uh. Yes?
Stef Sorry Tony, hold one sec
Tony I’ll go, I was going anyway
Stef No no, wait. You need to see this.
Tony reads. Kat exits.
Oudry ‘From Les Combattants de Londres. We Congolese residents in London stroke UK are warning you to cancel this events for your safety. We can promise those involved will be kill. Tell all Congolese making trips to London for this festival, if he try he will died here. Also true for sponsor Evian Water. We cannot allow such events by the responsible for the Silent Genocide in our country. Best regards, for Congolese resistance. Les Combattants de Londres. We are watching the following Congolese: Anne-Marie Mweka’
Tony That’s Anne-Marie who spoke up at the meeting?
Oudry ‘And all others Congolais who collaborate.
‘Also the English accomplices: Huw Bennion MP’
Tony He’ll take ‘English’ worse than a death threat.
Stef Keep going
Tony Oh fuck, you’ve got a death threat
Oudry Stephanie Cartwright
Stef Read on.
Oudry Also:
Tony Oh fuck I’ve got a death threat
Oudry Tony Jarman
Tony I only turned up to watch
Stef I know
Tony I’m not even involved
Stef I know
Tony How the hell did they get my name?
Stef You were wearing a badge
Tony Fuck’s sake.
But it’s typical empty crap right, intimidation from impotent people
Stef Yeah, I mean well, no. They recently assaulted a kid from LSE and set his car on fire.
Tony Why?
Stef His dad edits a government-friendly newspaper
Tony Right, so. Police then?
Stef Absolutely.
Tony This is shit.
Stef Yeah.
Tony This is shit for you, Stef, I’m sorry.
Stef Well. Hardest for you in a way
Tony How’s that?
Stef Because I suppose. No.
Tony What?
Stef No, don’t worry
Tony Go on, what?
Stef I suppose the worry is it looks like you’re running scared.
Tony I don’t see how.
Stef It might look a bit – Tony was on the project, there’s been a death threat, Tony’s not on the project.
Tony Well it’s
Stef Yeah
Tony It’s not an issue, is it?
Stef No sure. Not for me but
Tony Yes?
Stef
Tony
I’m saying it’s not an issue.
Stef Is it not?
Tony No.
Stef How come?
Tony Cos I am buggered if I’m going to be intimidated
Stef Seriously?
Tony Yep.
Stef You mean
Tony Really, I’m buggered if I’ll let a death threat scare me off. Death threats? For just organising a festival
Stef It’s ridiculous.
Tony These people need to understand this isn’t Congo, this is London.
Stef Pretty sure they do understand that. But thank you. You’re really gonna help me out?
Tony Yeah, I mean. Yes. The press launch at least. Send me all the copy and a list of journos – I’ll make some calls. And we should live-stream the launch online. No one’ll watch it of course but we will seem modern and accessible.
Stef Thank you, Tony.
Come to steering committee tomorrow, will you, we need to get a vote through. We’re going to guarantee one-third of our committee are Congolese.
Tony Nothing’s ever fucking simple with you, is it.
He exits. Stef starts tapping into her tablet.
Oudry Messenger: Kat, thank you, you’re owed one large tub pralines and cream, love Stef.
FIVE
GOLD IN OUR THROATS
Maurice’s internet café, Turnpike Lane. William is watching football online.
William
Maurice
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Would cut out.
Except you’re fucking watching it aren’t you. For free.>
William
Maurice
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Maurice
William If we’re talking about English football can we talk in English?
Maurice I talk in English all day.
William
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Stay here. I have a package for Luis.>
Maurice exits. William watches football. It cuts out again, he’s frustrated.
Hakan enters, a white Turkish man.
William Sorry, man. Can you wait, he is one minute.
Hakan places fifty pence on the counter.
Hakan Just the toilet.
He disappears into the shop. Maurice returns.
Maurice
William
Maurice
William
Maurice Hey, no more shitting in my café! You hear me! Get out here, Hakan!
William
Maurice No shits I told you.
No shits man!
I mean just imagine what the guy eats in that kebab shop.
And I said, ‘Toilets are for customers only,’ so now he comes here and pays fifty p to block my toilet.>
Eh, stop this, Turkish, we are not a public shit house!
Luis enters.
William
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Maurice
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William leaves.
Maurice
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Maurice
He produces a package. Luis takes it and pulls out a revolver.
Maurice is shocked.
Hakan comes out of the toilet and Luis stuffs the revolver away.
Maurice That is the last time, my friend. Five pounds next time!
Hakan See you tomorrow, man.
He waves him away and leaves.
Maurice
William enters with a framed picture of the President of DR Congo.
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William
Luis calmly puts a hand to William’s throat.
Luis <‘Take it easy’. You like computers, William. On my desktop, I have an image from Google Earth. It’s my road in Kin. My family house. I know the man who lives in our house now. A military judge called Philippe. Twelve rooms he has there. Two together are bigger than my whole flat in East Ham. I live in a pocket. He lives in a whole suit. His wife sleeping where my mother should sleep. His feet walking on stairs my father built. His children playing in our garden – our garden, where we grew everything: cassava, kisantu, pawpaw, dioamond, mangoes. Unforgettable fucking mangoes. What they think are mangoes here in Morrisons or Tesco, that is yellow cardboard soaked in water. If you haven’t tasted one of my mango, you haven’t had a real fucking mango. This has come from the soil that has a richness you can’t buy. And you know what he does with that soil?
Judge Phillipe?
He parks his fucking car on it.
And he has a shit Japanese car.
My father had the fucking pride in himself to drive around in a French car. That garden is mud and dirt and shit and everything’s dying or died. So, brother William, I don’t take it easy. I do find it hard to relax. But when we’re all back in Kin, I’ll force my way through Judge Philippe’s door, put my hand over his wife’s mouth and throw his children in the gutter. Then I’ll hold him by his hair and open his belly with a kitchen knife. So that everything spills out. The rich food he ate in our kitchen. The shit he swallowed in court. And all the spunk he sucked from the President’s diseased cock. All foaming in pools around our feet.
And then, maybe, I’ll take it easy.
We have traitors all around us. Here in London as much as home. This traitor festival, these people from Parliament, rewriting the righteous story of our home. So I don’t take it easy and neither should you.
But for now, we have this prize. This picture. Next week we make a film with this prize, a movie, a YouTube. That they can see here and back home.>
Maurice
William
Luis
William
Maurice
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William
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Luis
So what do we do William?>
William
Luis
William
Luis (to Maurice)
SIX
VIRTUE SIGNALLING
A meeting room in Portcullis House. Stef, Tony, Anne-Marie, Victor, Nounou and Fred. The meeting has not started, people are talking among themselves.
Jenny enters.
Jenny Not late, am I?
Stef No. Jenny, bang on time.
Jenny I never said congratulations on being made Festival Co-ordinator.
Stef Thank you. I think ultimately Huw wanted to go with someone they already knew.
Jenny Yes, I think that’s exactly what it was.
Samo enters. The meeting begins.
Stef Good morning, everyone. Welcome to this incredibly exciting first steering committee meeting for CongoVoice. The people in this room now will make the major decisions for this campaign. And today we have an important vote to ensure Congolese voices are at the heart of CongoVoice.
But look, let’s cut to chase – we need to address the death threats that we received during the week.
I’m aware they may have affected numbers today.
But may I say: I think that backing down because of a cowardly threat would be sending the wrong message. I’d particularly like to applaud the bravery of the Congolese women coming here today in full knowledge –
Nounou puts her hand up.
– of that threat and in defiance of it. Yes, Nounou?
Nounou There’s been a death threat?
Stef Yes.
Nounou From Les Combattants?
Stef It was signed Les Combattants, yes.
Nounou gets up and gathers her things.
Nounou Sorry.
She leaves.
Anne-Marie Her kids are at school with their kids.
Stef Right. That brings me to the nex
t thing, attendance – if those of you intending on staying could go round quickly stating names and the organisation you’re representing.
Jenny Jenny Walton, Human Rights Monitor. Also Jeremy McGuire from Streetchild asked me to send his apologies.
Anne-Marie Anne-Marie Mweka, CWPJ, Congolese Women for Peace and Justice.
Fred Fred Fletcher, Conflict Mineral International.
Victor Victor Malumbu, HopCon, Hope for Congo.
Samo Samo Muwanga, Children of Conflict.
Tony And I’m Tony Jarman, no charity, but I’m event consultant, and can I just say at this point that as someone who is under a death threat myself, I’d like to
Stef Alright, thanks, Tony
Tony I’m doing PR basically.
Stef And I’m Stephanie Cartwright, co-ordinator of this festival.
Oudry Skype for Business – conference request.
Stef We are also being joined by Poppy Eden Ellis of the Ape Foundation on conference call. Hello, Poppy!
Poppy (voice-over) Hi, everyone
All Hello!
Poppy (voice-over) Sorry I can’t be there.
Stef You somewhere exotic, Poppy?
Poppy (voice-over) No I’m in Crouch End my childcare fell through.
Stef Well. We’re trying to make our meetings as paperless as possible so please all follow on your screens.
Oudry Vote: CongoVoice festival must have at least a one-third Congolese presence on the steering committee.
Jenny I do feel the make-up of the committee hardly needs legislating.
Anne-Marie This is one way to help Congolais trust you.
Jenny Sure, but with respect, many Congolese who said they’d come today haven’t shown.
Victor There have been threats.
Jenny Do we want inappropriate people simply because they’re Congolese?
And I know what I sound like. Elitist. Culturally insensitive. But I’ve had this with the Iranian diaspora, the Zimbabweans, even the Burmese