ANSAR
A TRUE STORY FROM AN ISRAELI MILITARY DETENTION CENTER
Written in workshop by
Fateh Azzam
Ismail Dabbagh
‘Abed Ju‘beh
Nidal Khatib
AND DEDICATED TO
the detainees behind the barbed wire of
Ketziot Military Detention Center, known among Palestinians
as ANSAR 3. This play represents our humble attempt to have their message reach the world: that out of pain comes sacrifice, hope, and insistence on human values and on a better tomorrow,
a free tomorrow.
Characters
ZAHRAN MUSA, a young man, 27 years old
SA‘ADEH NABULSI, a teenager, 16 years old
PEUGEOT, an Israeli soldier
MILITARY PRISON DOCTOR
ABDALLAH LIFTAWI, in his mid-30’s
KIFAH, 17 years old
ZAHRAN MUSA’S FATHER, a blind man
ZAHRAN MUSA’S SISTER, in her mid-30’s
VOICES OF SOLDIERS
VOCIES OF OTHER DETAINEES
ANSAR was first produced by Al-Masrah for Palestinian Culture and Arts, now the Palestinian National Theater, in East Jerusalem, the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
ACT ONE
Scene 1
Reception at Dahriyyeh Detention center
The stage is dark. We hear the distant sounds of running and shouting, coming closer as the lights slowly fade up. We see two young men in their street clothes, handcuffed and blindfolded, being beaten as they run on the spot.
The cyclorama backdrop is a deep blue, with a large full moon in the upper stage right corner. This remains the case throughout Act One, except where changes are indicated.
The two actors suddenly freeze. The sounds they are making stop as they begin their dialogue, tense and agitated.
ZAHRAN: We got off the bus.
SA‘ADEH: One by one.
ZAHRAN: One by one.
SA‘ADEH: We couldn’t see.
ZAHRAN: Step by step.
SA‘ADEH: Quick. Quick!
ZAHRAN: Why?
SA‘ADEH: They’re beating.
ZAHRAN: Shit! How many?
SA‘ADEH: I don’t know. A lot.
ZAHRAN: Yalla,1 you only die once. Quick!
SA‘ADEH: Wherever you’re going.
ZAHRAN: The blind leading the blind.
SA‘ADEH: You’ll get it too.
ZAHRAN: AAAH!
SA‘ADEH: He got it.
As ZAHRAN is hit, SA‘ADEH becomes an Israeli soldier nicknamed PEUGEOT. There follows a Scene of beating where each actor stays in his own space and the dialogue is overlaid.
PEUGEOT: Come on, get moving –
ZAHRAN: AAAH!
PEUGEOT: Yalla! Move – go on – quick – hah! Yalla! (Repeated blows.)
ZAHRAN: OW! Aaah – oh – aah – ow – aaaow! (Repeated blows.)
PEUGEOT: When you hear your name, you say: “Here, Captain!” And you memorize your number. Yusef!
ZAHRAN: Huh?
PEUGEOT: 1786!
ZAHRAN: What?
PEUGEOT: Abdallah.
ZAHRAN: What’s my name?
PEUGEOT: 1787!
ZAHRAN: I forgot my name.
PEUGEOT: Sa‘adeh.
ZAHRAN: I should remember.
PEUGEOT: 1788.
ZAHRAN: My name!
PEUGEOT: Zahran!
ZAHRAN: Zahran, er – here, Captain!
PEUGEOT: 1789!
ZAHRAN: One thousand – seven hundred –
SOLDIER 2: Come on. Come on!
ZAHRAN: Zahran. Zahran Musa.
SOLDIER 2 (striking him): 1789!
ZAHRAN: One thousand – seven hundred.
A blow sends them both reeling to the other side of the stage.
Scene 2
At the Doctor’s
VOICE: Yalla, take them off. Ishlah!2
ZAHRAN: What? What did he say?
SA‘ADEH: He said take your clothes off.
ZAHRAN: Take what off? Forget it!
SA‘ADEH: Strip down to your underwear, man.
ZAHRAN: Forget it! My underpants are in tatters. I won’t undress!
SA‘ADEH: Look at this idiot. He’s up to his ears in shit, but he’s bashful! Don’t be stupid. Take them off, or they’ll beat you to death.
ZAHRAN: Shit! Shit, I say! I’m half dead already. I’m not doing it!
VOICE: Ishalah!
ZAHRAN: I’ve taken them off.3
ZAHRAN, half undressed, walks past the doctor to lie down on the black box representing the examination table.
DOCTOR: UP, UP, UP! On the red line, now! Your number?
ZAHRAN: 1789.
DOCTOR: Turn around.
ZAHRAN (showing his bruises): You see? Here – here – and here.
DOCTOR: Okay, okay, okay. What?
ZAHRAN: What? What?
DOCTOR: What? What? What? What’s wrong?
ZAHRAN: What, what, what’s wrong? Can’t you see what’s wrong? Look, they beat me, they broke my bones!
DOCTOR: Oh, so they beat you. Like this? (Beats him.) And this? And this?
As the DOCTOR beats ZAHRAN, they both move across to stage left and fall behind the black box.
Scene 3
Prison Uniforms
ZAHRAN: AAAch – you call that a doctor? A vet would be better – my ear’s on fire. (He puts on his prison uniform.)
ABDALLAH: Aaach – AAAh – Ooooh!
ZAHRAN: For God’s sake stop that Aaach of yours! Get dressed. God damn it – damned life. (Puts his hand to his ear.) What’s this? Blood? I’m bleeding!
ABDALLAH: Where are my clothes?
ZAHRAN: Sons of bitches –
ABDALLAH: Hey you, what’s your name, where are my clothes?
ZAHRAN: They’re right in front of you, man. What are you, blind?
ABDALLAH: Yes.
ZAHRAN: What’s that? Blind? Blind? You mean blind?
ABDALLAH: Yes, yes, blind. Now help me find my clothes. Before they come back.
ZAHRAN (helping him): What the hell are you doing here anyway?
ABDALLAH: They said I was throwing stones.
ZAHRAN: What do you mean, throwing stones?
ABDALLAH: I don’t know. Ask them.
ZAHRAN: But you can’t see!
ABDALLAH (laughs): Tell them that. (Pause as they continue to dress.) Animals – drunken bastards.
ZAHRAN: Probably.
ABDALLAH: Probably. Can’t you smell? They stink to high heaven.
ZAHRAN: That Peugeot guy’s drunk all right, the son-of-a-bitch.
ABDALLAH: (Short pause. He stretches his hand in the vague direction of ZAHRAN.) Abdallah. Abdallah Liftawi, from Jenin.
ZAHRAN: Zahran Musa, from Dura.
ABDALLAH: Dura Hebron? I’m stuck with a guy from Hebron? (They both laugh.)
ZAHRAN: Your lucky day, eh?
Slow fade begins.
ZAHRAN: Look, it’s getting dark.
ABDALLAH: No!
ZAHRAN: I’m sorry.
ABDALLAH: Don’t worry about it. You think seeing’s only with the eyes?
They are in darkness now, with the cyclo still in deep blue showing their silhouettes. A full moon has risen.
ZAHRAN: Abdallah.
ABDALLAH: Mmm?
ZAHRAN: What...