Little Brother (eBook)

Amets Arzallus Antia, Ibrahima Balde (Autoren)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
96 Seiten
Faber & Faber (Verlag)
9780571399055 (ISBN)

Infos

If you look at a map of Africa, you can see how far Libya is from Konakry. But you cannot know all that lies in between. In Guinea, West Africa, Ibrahima works tirelessly to support his family. When he discovers that his little brother has secretly run away from school and is heading to Europe, he drops everything to follow him. Travelling the harsh migrant routes of the Sahara towards the Mediterranean, Ibrahima encounters the best and worst of humanity along the perilous road. Amets Arzallus Antia and Ibrahima Balde's memoir has been adapted for the stage by Timberlake Wertenbaker. This modern odyssey, an astonishing true story of grace and resilience, was first performed at Jermyn Street Theatre in May 2025.

Amets Arzallus Antia and Ibrahima Balde

Textauszug

Part One

Scene 1

Ibrahima has entered. Joins Amets.

Ibrahima I was born in Guinea, yes, but not in Guinea Bissau or in Equatorial Guinea. There is another Guinea and its capital is Konakry.

I am a Fula, and our language is Pular but I can also speak some Malinke. I speak Susu as well. There are twenty-five different languages in Guinea, and also French. That makes twenty-six. I know that because I learned it in school.

I was born in Konakry because that’s where my father lived but, soon after I was born, we returned to Thiankoi, which is a small village far from the sea in a region called Mamou. I lived there with my mother, until I was five years old. Father would come during the rainy season to help my mother with the small parcel of land she cultivated. One brother and two sisters were born after me.

The mother appears, carrying wet laundry – she’s come from quite a distance.

Fatimatu Diallo Ibrahima, help me with this washing.

Ibrahima tries to help by holding various ends of cloths and plays with them.

And when you’re finished go and fetch some water from the well.

Ibrahima It’s so far, Neene, and the water from the well is very heavy.

Fatimatu Diallo Try carrying it on your head.

Ibrahima practises.

Ibrahima (out) My mother, Fatimatu Diallo, owned about twelve or thirteen cows and a few goats. I helped her look after them. I did other work too like washing clothes and picking vegetables. And I stayed close to her. Those are all the memories I have of that time. When I was five, my father came for me and the two of us went to Konakry.

Scene 2

Mamadou Bobo Balde, the father, appears, working at a small table with shoes.

Mamadou Balde Ibrahima! Did you go to school today?

Ibrahima (out) Father, Mamadou Bobo Balde, sold shoes in the street. But they were shoes for the house, des ‘repose-pieds’, shoes to rest the feet because the house is not a place for running.

Mamadou Balde Ibrahima! Did you go to school today?

Ibrahima Yes, Father.

Mamadou Balde Are you sure? You went? And what did they teach you?

Ibrahima I learned three things today. One, how to cross the road. First you look left and then you look right and then you cross.

Two, you show respect for people. You have to respect people because … And three … three … I’ve forgotten but I think it was very important … those are the three things I learned today.

A woman approaches the table.

Woman Do you have those shoes I like?

Mamadou Balde Yes, here they are.

Woman Thank you, Mamadou.

She takes the shoes but doesn’t pay.

I’ll come back another day.

Mamadou Balde takes two pieces of bamboo and makes a small hole in each of them. He hands one bamboo to the woman and keeps the other. The woman leaves.

Ibrahima Father, she didn’t pay for the shoes.

Mamadou Balde She’ll pay: look, I have what she owes here. And here are some other debts.

He shows him quite a few bamboo pieces.

Ibrahima One, two, three, so many holes!

Mamadou Balde Yes, one day I’ll stop selling shoes and take up the flute instead.

He starts playing for fun and both stand and start dancing, happy.

Mamadou Balde looks more carefully at Ibrahima’s clothes.

(Severe.) Ibrahima, did you go to school today?

A moment.

Your trousers are dirty. Did you go to school?

Ibrahima No, Father, I didn’t go.

I was playing football with my friends.

Mamadou Balde (showing his belt) I will have to punish you. Do you understand?

Ibrahima (frightened) Yes, Father.

Mamadou Balde My health is not good and you’re still a child. How will we manage?

Ibrahima I could leave school and try to earn some money.

Mamadou Balde No, I don’t want that. You’re little and it’s still too early for you. You can do all that later.

Ibrahima (out) But later does not always come.

One afternoon, at sixteen zero o’clock, I joined my father at his table.

Father?

Mamadou Balde I’m cold …

Ibrahima puts a jacket over his father.

Ibrahima (out) That day Father was not himself. We went home early.

At home:

Mamadou Balde I have a terrible headache. Here is a thousand francs. Go and buy some medicine: paracetamol.

Ibrahima (repeats carefully) Pa-ra-ce-ta-mol. Paracetamol. Paracetamol.

He runs and runs – returns –

Father, I couldn’t find any paracetamol. All the shops were closed.

Mamadou Balde It doesn’t matter. It’ll pass.

It’s time for Isha.

They pray.

And now we’ll sleep.

Ibrahima Father, you’re burning.

Mamadou Balde It’s nothing.

They lie down. Time … Ibrahima wakes.

Ibrahima Father! It’s six in the morning. You usually wake me up at this time.

Mamadou Balde doesn’t answer.

Father, you usually wake me up –

Father, it’s morning and usually you wake me up and today you haven’t woken me up.

Still no answer. Ibrahima touches his father.

(Shouts.) Faabo! Faabo! Help! Help! I need help. Faabo!

A neighbour approaches.

Neighbour (shouts) Ibrahima! What’s wrong? What’s happened?

Ibrahima There’s something wrong with Father.

Neighbour Mamadou Balde?

Ibrahima Come and you’ll see.

Neighbour Wait. I’ll call the imam.

The imam arrives with the neighbour. He studies the father.

Imam Ibrahima, you will have to come with me now.

Ibrahima I can’t. I have to stay here.

Imam You can’t stay here.

You must come with me.

Ibrahima I don’t care. Whatever has happened I have to stay with my father.

I only went out of the house to ask for help.

If there’s something wrong, I have to know what it is.

Imam Ibrahima, your father is no longer alive.

Ibrahima (out) Now I know that when someone loses their life, they go very cold. Or perhaps they go cold first and then they lose their life. I’m still not sure about that. But I had another question that was more pressing: What was I to do now with my life?

I had an uncle in Konakry. He was my father’s older brother and I went to him. I told him Father was dead and that I wanted to go to Thiankoi to my mother and I needed help. But he said:

Uncle I don’t have any money –

I can’t help you.

Ibrahima (out) Father paid a hundred thousand Guinean francs a month for our rent. That’s ten euros. Ten. It’s easy to say but it’s wasn’t at all easy. How could I pay the rent? And how could I find the money to go to my mother?

I sat on the stairs, crying, and thought about those two things. And a third thing too, which I couldn’t put out of my mind: Father and his icy body.

Pause. The neighbours...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 5.6.2025
• Mitarbeit: Anpassung von: Timberlake Wertenbaker
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Lyrik / Dramatik ► Dramatik / Theater
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
• ISBN-13: 9780571399055 / 9780571399055