MUHAMMAD ADDAM

From the BBC International Radio Playwriting

Competition 2018 shortlist

AMAL
A BOAT STORY
“When I read it for the first time, I experienced so many feelings.
I laughed, cried, smiled, and bonded with the characters as if I was there.”
A reader’s comment
Copyright © 2018 Muhammad Addam

All rights reserved. No part of this work may be produced,

distributed, or transmitted by any form or by any means,
including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or
mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of
the author, except in the case of revising for publishing and
certain other non-commercial uses permitted by the
copyright law.
To the everlasting memory of all the Syrian men, women and
children hovering now in the depths of the sea, helpless as
they were the day they drowned.
Ismailia, Egypt
+2 0106 775 7540
+2 0122 466 9271
muhammad.ft.addam@gmail.com

Amal:
A Boat Story

A play by:

Muhammad Addam

CENTRAL CHARACTERS PARENTHETICALS:

V/O = VOICE OVER
AMAL CONT’D = CONTINUED DIALOGUE
D = SPEAKING THROUGH TV OR RADIO
SAMI
OFF = WHISPERING
FATHER BEAT = PAUSE
CLOSE = QUIETLY
MOTHER

SALMA

CAPTAIN

DOUBLING NEWS POLICE NADINE

CHARACTERS REPORTER OFFICER
 ACT I

1- PROLOGUE.

FX: THE CHEERS OF THE ARAB SPRING PROTESTS RISE. MUSIC GRADUALLY BUILDS UP AS
THE NARRATOR SPEAKS AND THEN FADES AWAY.

AMAL:

(V.O)

My dear Hana, you have been insisting on me for a long time now to tell you the full story of
what happened with me and your mother back on that boat. And, although I have told you the
end of it several times, you keep asking for the untold, which is something very expected from a
ten-year-old curious girl such as you. Because of that, I have decided to write the story of me,
your mother, and other people who you have never met, and probably never will. However, my
dear, it is not for you to read now, only when you’re old enough to understand and tolerate the
past, as I once did.

So, where to begin? I think it all started at the beginning of the Arab Spring in 2011. When the
people of Tunisia and Egypt rose for their freedom against oppression and were deemed
victorious, other Arab nations believed they too can decide their own destiny and demand their
just right to live as dignified, prosperous and free citizens in their countries as others. The
people of Syria; our people, believed no different, before their endeavor was forced to take an
unexpected turn.

THE SOUNDS OF BOMBS AND CRIES IN THE BACKGROUND.

AMAL:

(CRYING OUT LOUD)

Save my parents!

EMERGENCY ALARM.

(CONT’D; SOBBING)

Help them! Hel..

5
 AMAL:

(V/O)

Many families have been forced to flee their homes due to war; some of these have found safer
places to live in, some are still searching, and some others were left to perish.

FADE.

2- EXT. THE FIRST BOAT, MEDITERRANEAN SEA. FIRST DAY. EVENING.

FX: THE SOUND OF THE SHIP QUIETLY SAILING THROUGH THE WATER. LOW VOICES AND
CHILDREN CRYING HERE AND THERE.

SALMA:

(SHYLY)

Hello! I beg your pardon, but I’ve heard you speaking Syrian Arabic with your man. I’m Syrian
too.

AMAL:

Yes, we both are Syrians from Aleppo, me and my brother.

SALMA:

Oh, he’s not your man then, how silly I am! You look young for marriage, I should have known.
How old are you again?

AMAL:

I’m eighteen.

SALMA:

(TENDERLY)

My dear, you must’ve gone through horrors back there in Aleppo.

AMAL:

We all did. And you, which city are you from?

SALMA:

I’m from Dara.

6
 AMAL:

The city where it all began...

SALMA:

(CASUALLY)

And I’m not bragging about it.

SALMA STOPS TALKING AS IF SHE IS THINKING ABOUT SOMETHING.

(CONT’D; WITH A CHANGE OF TONE)

So, where’s your brother on the boat? I can’t see him.

AMAL:

He’d be bringing water from the cabin.

SALMA:

Not an easy task I suppose! Oh, I got caught in the conversation and forgot to introduce myself:
I’m Salma, and this is my daughter Hana, I have celebrated her second birthday two days ago.

SALMA SWIFTLY TURNS HER EYES FROM HANA TO AMAL.

(CONT’D)

Well, I wouldn’t say it was an actual celebration, you know what I mean!

AMAL:

(SMILING)

Bless her. I’m Amal.

SALMA:

What a beautiful name you have.

SALMA SHIES AWAY WITH HER EYES.

(CONT’D)

May it be a reminder for you in the dark hours.

7
 AMAL:

Thank you, that’s... Sweet.

SALMA:

(SMILING)

No, thank God we could find a boat with not too many people on board, how many are they,
you think?

AMAL:

Well, I think they’re... Seventy-something.

SALMA:

Yes, probably. And Amal, allow me to ask, where are your parents? I mean, you’re young.

AMAL:

We left them back in Aleppo.

SALMA:

(WORRIED)

Are they safe?

AMAL:

Eh, I would say that yes; much safer than we are.

AMAL:

(V/O)

They say, dear Hana, that the agony a war smears on your soul makes you forget your old self.
But I can remember, barely though, who I was and where I came from before it all broke out.

FADE.

8
3- INT. AMAL’S FAMILY APARTMENT. ALEPPO, SYRIA. EVENING. FAMILY DINNER. ONE
MONTH BEFORE THE SYRIAN REVOLUTION.

MOTHER:

Guess what’s on the menu for dessert? My special semolina cake!

LAUGHTER AROUND THE TABLE.

(CONT’D)

Happy 16, sweetheart!

AMAL:

(V/O)

I introduce to you my mom: a housewife who loves nothing more than to play the role of our
chef. She believes she can start a small business selling her cookies which nobody, other than
us, actually have the stomach to eat.

FATHER:

(DISAPPOINTEDLY)

Oh, dear...

MOTHER:

(ANNOYED)

How do you mean?!

FATHER:

(HESITANTLY)

I meant to, uh, thank you my dear! I’m sure it’s going to be absolutely tasty. Let me take a bit of
it. Oh, and make sure it’s big, please!

FATHER IS EATING A BIT OF THE CAKE.

(CONT’D; MOUTH-FULL)

Mmm, just perfect!

9
 MOTHER:

(HAPPILY)

I knew you’d say that!

LAUGHTER AROUND THE TABLE.

FATHER:

(LOVINGLY)

Happy 16th birthday, Amal!

AMAL:

(V/O)

My father: a retired journalist who values us; his family, above all else, and loves us more than
anyone or anything in this world.

SAMI:

(DISGUSTINGLY, OUT LOUD)

Eww, I wouldn’t finish eating this for a violin concert VIP ticket!

AMAL:

(V/O)

This is my little brother Sami: a violinist, a graffiti artist, and a tough teenager slowly making his
way to manliness.

AMAL:

(OFF TO SAMI)

Are you daft?!

AMAL TURNS HER EYES TO MOTHER.

(CONT’D)

Mom, don’t worry about him.

AMAL IS EATING A BIT OF THE CAKE.

(CONT’D)

Mm, I agree with you, Dad. It’s amazing! I just.. I can’t help finishing my part right away.

1
0
 SAMI:

Oh, it’s me now.

MOTHER:

(GRATEFULLY)

Ah, I love you my dears.

AMAL:

(V/O)

And, this is me; your beloved Amal, and this is my story; our story.

THE EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION COVERAGE IS ON TV.

NEWS PRESENTER:

(D)

Breaking News: massive crowds are gathering in Cairo's Tahrir Square and calling for the ouster
of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. In the latest estimation, they are thought to be one
million Egyptian protesters.

MOTHER:

(IMPRESSED)

Look at that huge gathering! How could one million people gather in such a small area?! I’m sure
that whatever their plan is for coming out, they will see it through.

FATHER:

The Egyptian youth has done what others could not do for decades and undoubtedly revived
the Egyptian nation, anything that follows will be mere history to me. Or what do you think,
Amal?

MOTHER INTERVENES IN THE CONVERSATION FROM THE KITCHEN.

MOTHER:

Leave Amal alone. How could she know about politics and its affairs?!

11
 FATHER:

Well, I’m sure this generation knows far more better than we did when we were their age.

FATHER IS GETTING SLEEPY.

(CONT’D)

Anyway, I’ll go to sleep for now. Good night to you both, and to that big monkey in his room.

MOTHER:

(TENDERLY)

Good night, darling.

4- EXT. THE FIRST BOAT, MEDITERRANEAN SEA. FIRST DAY. EVENING.

FX: THE SOUND OF THE SHIP QUIETLY SAILING THROUGH THE SEA. LOW VOICES SPEAKING
HERE AND THERE.

AMAL:

(SLEEPILY)

Good night, Dad.

5- INT. AMAL’S APARTMENT BUILDING. ALEPPO, SYRIA.

SEVERAL BUILDINGS ARE DESTROYED BY AIRSTRIKES HALTED ON THE AREA. MEDICS ARE IN
SURVIVORS SEARCH. AMAL IS WOUNDED, HER HEART PULSE CAN BE HEARD IN THE
BACKGROUND.

AMAL:

(FAINTING)

Here… Over here.

6- EXT. THE FIRST BOAT, MEDITERRANEAN SEA. SECOND DAY. MORNING.

FX: THE SHIP IS LOUDLY SAILING THROUGH THE SEA. PEOPLE TALKING AND MOVING AS IF
THEY ARE BEES BUZZING. AMAL IS WAKING UP.

AMAL:

(TERRIFIED)

Mom!

12
 SAMI:

Bad dream?

AMAL:

(CATCHING BREATH)

Ahh, a nightmare; the first in a while. I used to have plenty of those.

SAMI:

You’ve seen Mom in it?

AMAL:

Yes. I miss her so much.

SAMI:

(CASUALLY)

Yeah, me too.

AMAL:

Are you okay?

SAMI:

(RESERVEDLY)

Yes, I’m fine. I had a good dream.

AMAL:

Really, what was that about?

SAMI:

I dreamt that I.. met the girl of my dreams on this boat.

AMAL:

(SARCASTICALLY)

Ohh God..

SAMI:

(BEGGINGLY)

No, wait! I didn’t finish yet.

13
 AMAL:

Okay, hit me.

SAMI:

So, my girl was singing on the top of the boat cabin while I was playing Schubert. Her voice was
so tender, so angelic that space and time around me ceased to exist. But then, but then… She
leaped into the sea. I followed her, but I couldn’t find her. I dived too deep in the water, and
once more, I could listen to her sweet singing voice.

AMAL:

(TENDERLY)

Come on here, hold my hand.

SAMI RESTS HIS HEAD ON AMAL’S SHOULDER.

(CONT’D; ASSURINGLY)

Everything will be alright, I promise.

AMAL LOOKS AT SAMI’S HANDS.

(CONT’D)

Your hands; they still shiver?

SAMI SUDDENLY PULLS HIS HANDS AND CHANGES THE SUBJECT.

SAMI:

Do you know what is the strangest thing about this dream? I have never played Schubert in my
life!

AMAL LOOKS CURIOUSLY AT HIM.

(CONT’D)

However, I caught the rhythm and the fingering!

SAMI PLAYS THE PROLOGUE OF THE SERENADE BY SCHUBERT WITH HIS VOICE. PASSENGERS
HUM AND WONDER ABOUT THE VOICE AND THE ODD HAND MOVEMENTS HE IS MAKING.

AMAL:

(GENTLY)

Sami, people are looking at us!

14
 SAMI:

I can play it! See? I knew I wouldn’t wake up from that dream empty-handed!

AMAL:

(V/O)

For me, Sami embodies the injustice we were subject to. I can see it in his hands shivering when
he lifts a cup of water, when he prays to God, when he pretends to play the violin with them,
and when I hold them tight. Why should a young man abandon his walk of life only because
something hit his hands from the sky? Something unjustifiable, and evil.

SAMI:

You know, when we finally reach Europe, I will join an orchestra and play the violin all over the
world, and then we will have enough money to buy a large new house with everywhere opulent
furniture and two modern sports cars for both of us.

AMAL:

It’s a beautiful dream. I wish I could dream limitlessly as you do.

SAMI:

(SIGHING)

I just love to think about it.

AMAL:

I will pray that you see it through.

CUT.

15
 ACT II

7- PROLOGUE.

SAMI:

(V/O)

At midnight, when all the lights go out on the boat, and both the refugees and the smugglers
submit themselves to a disturbed night’s sleep, I often stare at the moon beaming on the
shades of the sea and contemplate.

How have we reached this point of no return?

8- STREETS. ALEPPO, SYRIA. AFTERNOON.

FX: THE REVOLUTIONARY CHEERS OF THE PEOPLE ARE RISING.

NEWS PRESENTER:

(D)

Breaking News: thousands of protesters have come out in Daraa, Damascus and Aleppo of Syria
seeking political reformation, and the police spreads in the streets attempting to take control.

POLICE SIREN IS HEARD COMING FROM THE NEARBY STREET.

POLICE OFFICER:

(CALLING OUT)

You! You who paint on the wall! Stop!

SAMI:

(SHOUTING)

Our voice must be heard!

SAMI IS PAINTING ON THE WALL HURRIEDLY. THE POLICE IS CHASING SAMI. HE IS

RUNNING AND IS OUT OF BREATH. EVENTUALLY GOT CAUGHT.

SAMI:

(OUT OF BREATH)

Let me go!

16
 POLICE OFFICER:

(INDIFFERENTLY TO HIS COLLEAGUE)

Put the boy at the back of the truck with the others. Free space for more, we’re not done yet.

THE BACK DOOR OF THE TRUCK IS OPENED. THE CAUGHT GROUP OF A FEW INDIVIDUALS IS
CHEERING FOR FREEDOM STILL.

SAMI:

(LOUDLY AND ANGRILY)

Don’t push me like this!

SAMI IS FORCED TO ENTER. THE DOOR IS FORCEFULLY SHUT AFTER HIM.

SAMI:

(V/O)

I could never understand why there is so much hatred and injustice in this world. By what right
do my hands have to shiver. Why do people have that outrageous obsession about hurting and
persecuting each other?! What kind of prize is worthy of all this destruction and bloodshed?! Ah,
I think I will never understand.

9- INT. POLICE STATION. ALEPPO, SYRIA.

FX: POLICE SIRENS FILL THE AIR.

FATHER:

(WORRIED)

Come Amal, let’s hope we find Sami here.

FATHER AND AMAL ARRIVE BY THEIR CAR BEFORE THE POLICE STATION. FATHER AND
AMAL HASTILY GET OUT OF THE CAR.

AMAL:

(V/O)

That was the first time for me to enter a police station as far as I can remember. I felt sensitive
when I saw many other families were seeking to free a relative or a friend too, but I put myself
together so that I don’t ruin everything. And, after we walked the stairs to the 4th floor, we could
finally find relief.

17
 POLICE OFFICER:

(INDIFFERENTLY)

Come in.

FATHER:

(OUT OF BREATH)

Excuse me sir, I’m looking for my son, Sami. His friend told us that he was arrested two hours
ago, has he been brought here?

POLICE OFFICER:

Give me your national ID.

FATHER:

Here, Sir.

POLICE OFFICER:

Hmm, a journalist. I bet that there are not as many police officers in this station as journalists.
Have a seat.

FATHER SITS DOWN.

(CONT’D)

Not you! I meant the girl.

AMAL:

(EMBARRASSEDLY)

No. Thank you, I’m fine.

POLICE OFFICER:

Matters not. So, Sami is your son?

FATHER:

Yes, sir.

POLICE OFFICER:

Let me ask you a simple question, haven’t you considered, even for the slightest amount of time,
upbringing your son properly?

18
 FATHER:

I’m sor-

POLICE OFFICER:

(STRESSING ON EVERY WORD)

Do not interrupt me when I’m speaking, I haven’t finished yet.

FATHER:

(HESITANTLY)

Uh...

POLICE OFFICER:

(ARROGANTLY)

Your son does not seem to honor his masters at all, which makes me want to let him stink in jail
for a while, and by this we are actually doing you a favor compensating for the disregarded
“upbringing” part.

FATHER:

No, please. His mother won’t be able to bear it. He’s just a reckless boy; they’re all reckless at his
age. He’ll grow up and mature.

POLICE OFFICER:

Hmm… So, until he “grows up and matures”, what do you think we should do about him being
disrespectful and overactive?

FATHER:

Anything, but not jail! Please.

POLICE OFFICER:

Fair enough.

THE POLICE OFFICER IS OPENING A DRAWER AND PULLING A SHEET OF PAPER.

(CONT’D)

This is a pledge asserting that your son; Sami, won’t engage in any future anti-regime
movement, speech or action.

THE POLICE OFFICER IS PULLING ANOTHER PIECE OF PAPER.

19
 (CONT’D)

And this is a 15000 Syrian Pounds penalty due to..

THINKING OUT LOUD.

(CONT’D)

Distorting the aesthetic form of the public streets through painting on their walls. I like that!

ADDRESSING FATHER.

(CONT’D)

Sign both, pay for the penalty, and your son will be set free.

FATHER:

But sir, I’m afraid we do not currently possess the amount of money required.

POLICE OFFICER:

Fine. Until you do, he is in good hands, not as yours I trust.

Now, leave!

10- INT. AMAL’S FAMILY APARTMENT. EVENING.

AMAL:

(V/O)

In a week, we could arrange the remaining amount of money by getting in debt for the most
part. And gratefully, we could finally get Sami out.

THE APARTMENT’S DOOR IS OPENED. SAMI ENTERS HURRIEDLY FOLLOWED BY FATHER AND
AMAL.

MOTHER:

(PASSIONATELY)

Sami! Thank God you’re well my son! I’ve spent the entire time worrying about you.

MOTHER IS EMBRACING SAMI. SAMI HEADS TOWARD HIS ROOM WITH QUICK FOOTSTEPS
AFTER THE EMBRACE.

20
 FATHER:

(DOUBTFULLY)

Why are you hurrying to your room? You haven’t uttered a word since we brought you out!

SAMI:

(BEAT)

Why did you?

FATHER:

(SURPRISED)

Excuse me? Why did I?

SAMI:

(ANGRILY)

Why did you bring me out?! I wanted to stay in there with my fellow revolutionaries!

SAMI GOES DOWN WITH HIS TONE.

(CONT’D; COLDLY)

Now I will have to stay here, with the rest of us.

FATHER:

(ANNOYEDLY)

Crikey! You will never understand.

SAMI:

Understand who?!

FATHER:

Us! Understand us; the people you are so ashamed to stay with! What did you think? Did you
think we are not pro-change? I have been jailed twice since before you were born for being a
journalist who minds shutting his big wide mouth! Who is pro-change!

21
 (CONT’D)

And your mother, did you think she has always been a housewife? Oh, let me tell you, she was
an amazing teacher at her time, but she was fired from her school because she stood for what is
right; she refused to give extra grades to a student whose father was an important man of state!
He did not only get her fired from the school, he went even further and ended her whole
teaching career! Do you know why? Because she was pro-change for goodness sake!

FATHER SITS ON THE CHAIR, TIRED.

(CONT’D; A SIGH)

Just because we’re not in the streets cheering against the regime it does not mean that we’re
cowards, or anti-change. Listen son, we’ve spent a lifetime believing that change can only come
from within, and we have consumed ourselves to upbring you and your sister faithful to that
vision.
For that, you both are our greatest revolution, the one we believe in with every inch of us!

SAMI HUMBLES HIMSELF.

SAMI:

Forgive me, Dad. I was too arrogant to understand.

FATHER:

There is nothing to forgive, my dear. No matter what you think or how you behave, you are my
son.

FATHER EMBRACES SAMI.

SAMI:

(EMOTIONALLY)

I love you, Dad.

FATHER SIGHS WITH A SMILE.

FATHER:

I love you too, son.

FADE.

22
 ACT III

11- EXT. THE FIRST BOAT, MEDITERRANEAN SEA. SECOND DAY. AFTERNOON.

FX: THE BOAT IS LOUDLY SAILING THROUGH THE SEA. PEOPLE TALKING AND MOVING AS IF
THEY ARE BEES BUZZING.

SAMI:

Hey Salma, can I hold that sweet little beast for a while?

SALMA:

Really? Thank you! Be careful though, she might spit on you.

SALMA HANDS HANA TO SAMI.

SAMI:

Whoa...

SAMI UTTERS SOUNDS TO INDUCE HANA TO LAUGH.

AMAL:

I’ve seen you talking to one of the smugglers, what was that about?

SAMI:

Nothing, I was just asking him about what is going to happen next.

AMAL:

And?

SAMI:

(SIGH)

Tomorrow morning we will be shipped to a second larger boat, because this boat can only carry
us for two days in the sea, and that there will be yet another third one after that which will take
us right to the shores of Italy.

AMAL:

I hope we reach them safe.

FADE.

23
12- EXT. THE FIRST BOAT, MEDITERRANEAN SEA. SECOND DAY. SUNSET.

FX: THE BOAT IS LOUDLY SAILING THROUGH THE SEA. PEOPLE ARE QUIET. CALMING MUSIC
CONTINUES IN THE BACKGROUND.

AMAL:

(ENERVATEDLY)

The sun is half into the water.

AMAL IS LAYING HER HEAD DOWN ON SALMA’S SHOULDER.

SALMA:

(TENDERLY)

Yes. Can you see how beautiful its golden rays piercing the sky? They slowly change to tangerine
hues as they merge with the scattered blue clouds above. I remember chasing those rays when I
was a child, believing that they were not emerging from no one other than God himself. And I
was right, for God is light.

AMAL:

(SMILING)

I didn’t know you were a poet.

SALMA:

Ah, I was many things back in time, dear.

AMAL:

Time… I hate how it passes so slowly like a fat cow in the bad times, but all of a sudden it moves
so fast like a blink of an eye in the good ones, leaving behind heavy memories that move us
backward. I hate how it changes things.

SALMA:

Many of us who suffered the woes of fire and blood are much similar to you. They find it very
difficult to embrace the pain they were subject to, so they struggle to keep moving forward to
escape it… When my Dad died I was only fourteen. It was the first time for me to experience the
feeling of helplessness, and severe pain. I rejected it. I raged against it. My life meant nothing to
me to the point that I wanted to end it just to be with him.

24
 (CONT’D)

From that point on, I kept moving forward with that same overwhelming rage and rejection. But
later, when I witnessed the humiliation and capture of my husband in front of my eyes, and let
him meet his obscure destiny, I couldn’t do it anymore. I was too fragile against my pain.
Instead, I’ve tried to embrace it and allow myself to understand it. Only then, I could have inner
peace.

AMAL:

You are bold. It’s hard to think that someone like you can have any fears.

SALMA:

Oh, I have countless fears, my dear. However, I can stand pretty much all of them; except one.

AMAL RAISES HER HEAD UP AWAY FROM SALMA’S SHOULDER AND GAZES AT HER.

AMAL:

What’s that one?

SALMA:

Losing my daughter, just as I lost her father before.

AMAL:

I will do all I can to prevent this from happening, I promise.

SALMA:

(GRATEFULLY, SMILING)

Thank you, Amal.

FADE.

25
 ACT III

13- INT. AMAL’S FAMILY APARTMENT, SALAHEDDINE DISTRICT, ALEPPO, SYRIA. EVENING.

FX: MUSIC BUILDS UP GRADUALLY THROUGH TO THE NEWS PRESENTER’S PART AND THEN
FADES AWAY.

AMAL:

(V/O)

Moving backward isn’t always a mistaken thing to do, for it could mean you have dropped
something in the way, and without moving backward and picking it up, you may still be able to
move forward; though with regret.

NEWS PRESENTER:

(D)

Breaking News: the battle of Aleppo continues as a gunfire broke out this evening between
rebels and security forces in and around Salaheddine district in the city's southwest.

KNOCKS ON THE DOOR.

MOTHER:

(WORRIEDLY)

Who is it?

FATHER:

(HASTILY)

It’s me! open the door.

MOTHER OPENS THE DOOR.

MOTHER:

Where are your keys? And… Why is your face dusty?

FATHER:

(WEARILY)

I dropped the keys. It’s a hassle out there.

26
 MOTHER:

What do you mean? What’s happening?

THE FARAWAY SOUND OF GUNFIRE IS BEING HEARD.

FATHER:

(SIGHING)

The shooting!

MOTHER:

It is always around in the city.

FATHER:

This shooting isn’t coming from around the city, it is coming from our very district. Soon they will
come to our neighbourhood.

MOTHER:

My dear God…

FATHER:

Where are Sami and Amal? Where are they?

MOTHER:

(STUTTERING)

T-they would—be studying in their rooms.

FATHER:

Call them out, please. I need to speak to all of you at once.

MOTHER:

(NERVOUSLY)

Sure, sure.

MOTHER CALLS SAMI AND AMAL OUT.

27
 AMAL:

Good evening, Dad.

SAMI:

Dad, what’s wrong?

FATHER:

(SADLY)

Your cousin; Amjad, was killed tonight.

SAMI:

Wh-what?

MOTHER:

Does that have to do with the shooting?

FATHER:

He was in the police force that is now confronting the armed revolutionaries down the district.

AMAL:

What district? Has it come into Salaheddine?!

FATHER:

Sadly for us, yes. Now listen carefully to what I’m about to say, your cousin wasn’t very likeable
to us, but he was a police officer, and that respectively means that if anyone of us had had a
better chance to defend themselves in the shooting, it would have been him.

SAMI:

(ATTENTIVELY)

So?

FATHER:

So neither you, nor your sister, nor your mother will be allowed to walk a step past our
neighbourhood for the next 48 hours, until we see where it’s taking us.

28
 FATHER:

(V/O)

Maybe I was uncommonly strict with my family in that situation, but they should’ve understood;
it's for their own good. Over the years, I have developed an utmost belief in fate and its
incomprehensible ways of planning things to happen, and that belief prevented me from being
hysterically doubtful of the future. Fate cannot be altered or predicted; whatever is meant to
happen, will happen. And in making precautionary decisions, I’m not altering or predicting the
mechanism of how fate works, but rather attempting to cope with it to the very end.

FADE.

14- INT. AMAL’S FAMILY APARTMENT, SALAHEDDINE DISTRICT, ALEPPO, SYRIA. NOON.

FX: THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS QUIET.

SAMI:

(SLEEPILY)

Good morning, Mom, Amal.

MOTHER:

Good morning, darling.

AMAL:

Why so early?

SAMI:

Early? It’s 12 PM!

SAMI REALIZES THAT AMAL IS MAKING FUN OF HIM.

(CONT’D)

Ahh, stop it! I’m not in a good mood for this.

AMAL AND MOTHER LAUGH.

MOTHER:

Won’t you have your breakfast?

29
 SAMI:

No time for it, sorry. The call to prayer is about to be made.

MOTHER:

Really, since when do you pray?

SAMI:

Amjad’s funeral will be held after the prayer, plus I never miss a prayer, Mom.

AMAL HOLDS A GIGGLE.

SAMI:

What’s so funny for God’s sake?!

AMAL:

Actually, it’s 2 PM. Your clock has a delay of two hours, I guess.

SAMI:

You must be kidding me!

SAMI CHECKS THE WALL CLOCK.

(CONT’D; FRUSTRATED)

God…

AMAL:

Yup, you missed the funeral.

SAMI:

Why didn’t you wake me up, Mom?! I told you I would go!

MOTHER:

I did, but you wanted to be let alone, can’t you remember?

SOME SOUND CATCHES AMAL’S ATTENTION.

AMAL:

Can you hear that?

30
 SAMI:

What?

THE REVOLUTIONARY CHEERS OF THE PROTESTERS IN THE NEARBY STREETS ARE BEING
GRADUALLY HEARD.

SAMI:

Let me take a look out of the window. Oh, they’re heading to our street!

SAMI WEARS HIS SHIRT AND HEADS TOWARD THE DOOR.

MOTHER:

For what are you wearing your shirt and going out?!

SAMI:

The protests! I won’t be late for lunch!

MOTHER:

(DAZZLED)

Wh-what?! Do you want to get yourself killed?!

SAMI:

Don’t worry, Mom. Just a few punches in the face.

Love!

MOTHER:

Your brother is definitely out of his mind!

CUT.

15- STREETS. SALAHEDDINE DISTRICT, ALEPPO, SYRIA. PAST.

MUSIC CONTINUES AND PROTESTERS ARE CHEERING AGAINST THE REGIME AS THE
NARRATOR SPEAKS.

SAMI:

(V/O)

I am free. With every cheer of the people, every voice and every breath, my soul grows
unchained.

31
 (CONT’D)

Whoever reflects on who we are today, and then compares it to who we were in the near
yesterday, will find, without fail, that the wall; that grand structure built deep in ourselves by the
situations we’ve been through, the events came to pass in our lives, and the scenes carved in
our memory, has finally collapsed. On that very wall, we have painted our rotten self-image, and
written what we believe to be the truth about life and about ourselves, thinking it is never to
collapse. Until we found it to be so fragile, so powdery that the whirlwind of change carried it
faraway so effortlessly and threw it into the abyss. We have become a free nation, free souls,
and free from our past, even though we are not yet free in our reality.

FADE.

16- INT. ALEPPO GENERAL HOSPITAL. ALEPPO, SYRIA.

FX: WOMEN AND CHILDREN ARE CRYING. AMBULANCE SIREN FROM THE OUTSIDE IS
HEARD.

SAMI:

(FAINTLY)

Where am I?

SAMI IS ON BED AND MOTHER IS TAKING CARE OF HIM.

MOTHER:

(AFFECTIONATELY)

You’re in the hospital, my dear.

SAMI:

Who are you?

MOTHER:

(IN TEARS; SMILING)

I’m Mom.

32
 SAMI:

(TRYING TO SAY SOMETHING)

Uh...

MOTHER:

(TENDERLY)

Don’t drain your energy by speaking. Rest now, everything will be fine.

FATHER ENTERS THE ROOM.

FATHER:

I spoke with the doctor, he says the concussion Sami has will take eight days to heal, apart from
the rubber bullet wound in his head and his hand which is going to take longer. It is probably
fifteen days for us to take him out.

AMAL:

What are you going to do, Mom?

MOTHER:

I’m staying.

FATHER:

(SLIGHTLY SURPRISED)

For the whole period?!

MOTHER:

If you both wish to leave and come for visits, do it. But I’m not leaving my son, not for one hour.

MOTHER:

(V/O)

They cannot understand, can they? I don’t blame them. Can man understand how it is like for a
tree to lose its branches? They cannot, neither can they understand how it feels for a mother to
see her child suffering in constant pain and be able to do nothing.

33
 (CONT’D)

If only I am capable of cutting my life into pieces and let him take what he needs of them to live
well and happy, for I have another child, and he only has one mother. Isn’t this enough reason
to devote my whole life for my son?

FADE.

17- INT. AMAL’S FAMILY APARTMENT, SALAHEDDINE DISTRICT, ALEPPO, SYRIA.

FATHER ENTER THE APARTMENT. AMAL IS INSIDE. THE CHEERING OF THE PROTESTERS CAN
BE BARELY HEARD.

AMAL:

Dad, would you like me to make you something for dinner?

FATHER:

Yes Amal, please. But before that, I wish to speak to you on something that has occupied my
mind for quite some time recently.

AMAL:

(WORRIED)

Sure, Dad. What is it?

FATHER:

(ACHING)

Ahh, the stuff I took to your mother in hospital were too heavy.

AMAL:

Oh, let me see.

FATHER:

No, no it’s okay, I can take that. About the thing.

AMAL:

I’m listening..

FATHER:

Aha, the thing is: I feel that danger is near. People have gone crazy; they’re destroying each
other for the sake of political gains, all of which they have never savvied before!

34
 (CONT’D)

Although the media still calls it a revolution, I think we’re way past it, I’m afraid we have entered
an era of a sleepless war that will harvest thousands of innocent lives and flame what is left of
Syria. I’m alarmed.

AMAL:

Dad, you make me worry for you.

FATHER:

Because you should, Amal. Not only for me, but for yourself, your brother and mother, and our
country as well. We’re not living in the best of times.

AMAL:

I-I’m confused.

FATHER:

We need to leave Syria, as soon as we can!

AMAL:

But, to where?

FATHER:

Turkey is our best option, I have journalist friends living there, they can help us find a place to
stay in until all of this madness clears up. In the few days following the recovery of Sami, I can
arrange a transportation means to cross the borders. There’s only one problem; your mother.

AMAL:

What about her?

FATHER:

(SIGHING)

She rejects the plan altogether, she doesn’t understand the situation ahead of us, and I need
you by my side to convince her. Our very safety depends on it.

AMAL:

Sure thing.

35
18- INT. ALEPPO GENERAL HOSPITAL. ALEPPO, SYRIA. MORNING.

FX: WOMEN AND CHILDREN ARE CRYING. AMBULANCE SIREN FROM THE OUTSIDE IS
SLIGHTLY HEARD.

AMAL:

(LOVINGLY)

Mom!

SAMI IS SLEEPING ON BED AND MOTHER IS AWAKE BESIDE HIM. FATHER AND AMAL ARE
ENTERING THE ROOM. AMAL HEADS TO MOTHER AND EMBRACES HER.

(CONT’D)

I made you breakfast, here.

AMAL HANDS MOTHER BREAKFAST.

MOTHER:

Thank you my dear.

Won’t you have it with me?

AMAL:

Oh, no. I and Dad have had ours earlier.

MOTHER:

Okay, fine.

FATHER:

How is Sami by the way?

MOTHER:

Yeah, he’s well. He sleeps a lot. Sometimes he wakes up, but only for a few minutes, and then he
goes back to sleep.

The doctor says that he’s improving fast, and that we may have him out at an earlier date.

FATHER:

This is great to know.

MOTHER:

Aha. Can I have a word with you?

36
 FATHER:

Yes, of course.

MOTHER AND FATHER WALK OUT OF THE ROOM.

FATHER:

What is it?

MOTHER:

(EMOTIONALLY)

The bullet shot on Sami’s hand will cause it a permanent disability the doctor says. He won’t be
able to keep it still without shaking. I asked the doctor if there’s any possibility he can play the
violin again, but the possibilities are almost not there.

MOTHER LOSES CONTROL OVER HER TEARS.

(CONT’D)

I don’t know what to do.

FATHER:

There, there, has he known yet?

MOTHER:

(CRYING)

No, but I feel he sensed it.

FATHER:

Okay, better to tell him later, after he gets out of here.

MOTHER:

No! Playing the violin is his life. We must not confirm it to him under any circumstance.

FATHER:

As you wish. We’ll give him false hope of recovery, that should keep him going until he finds a
new passion.

MOTHER:

Yes! Yes, we’ll do that.

FADE.

37
19- INT. AMAL’S FAMILY APARTMENT, SALAHEDDINE DISTRICT, ALEPPO, SYRIA.
AFTERNOON.

THE FAMILY ENTERS THE APARTMENT WITH SAMI. AMAL OPENS THE DOOR.

FATHER:

Easy, champ.

SAMI ENTERS THE APARTMENT LEANING ON FATHER.

SAMI:

Thank you, Dad.

FATHER:

Hooray! Our little monkey learned to say thank you!

LAUGHTER.

(CONT’D)

I would have driven you to the nearest protest if I had known before how useful they are!

MOTHER:

I will go make lunch.

AMAL:

.I-I made it earlier, no worries.

MOTHER:

Then I will go bring the dishes to the table.

AMAL:

Alright, I’m coming with you. Mom, are you okay?

MOTHER:

Yeah, I’m good, don’t worry my dear.

AMAL AND MOTHER BRING THE DISHES TO THE TABLE.

AMAL:

Dad, Sami: I present to you my special lunch dishes! Freekeh with chicken breasts, Kibbeh,
Tabbouleh, green beans and rice!

38
 SAMI:

Freekeh, eww…

MOTHER AND FATHER LAUGH.

AMAL:

(LAUGHING)

What? What did you say?!

FATHER:

Well, my honorable and respectable family! Let us gather around the table, quickly! Oh, and
none of us should eat Freekeh, we’ll save it all for our champ here!

SAMI:

(LAUGHING)

This is not fair!

FATHER:

Not a chance!

THE FAMILY GATHERS AROUND THE TABLE LAUGHING. SOFT CLINGING SOUND OF SPOONS
TOUCHING THE GLASSY PLATES.

FATHER:

So as we eat, I want to discuss with you our situation regarding the current status of our country
and what I think we should do to ensure our safety and well-being.

AMAL:

Sure.

MOTHER:

You want to discuss it now?

FATHER:

Yes, if you please would allow me.

39
 (CONT’D)

Given the imminent danger present within the scope of our city and our country, I cannot risk
the menace to the lives of any of us. Therefore, I think we should be emigrating from the
country and never to return until peace is restored again and the surrounding conditions settle
down.

SAMI GAZES AT THEIR FACES.

SAMI:

(PONDERING)

We’re leaving?!

FATHER:

We are just discussing the matter for now, I haven’t made a decision on your behalf.

MOTHER:

(INTENSELY)

Good, then if you ask me, the thing which you are probably doing right now, my answer is still
no!

FATHER:

(PISSED OFF)

Gah... Not again!

AMAL:

(POLITELY)

Mom, could you please enlighten us why you are so against Dad’s idea?

MOTHER:

Because it’s cowardly! Can’t you see? Your father wants us to leave our home, our country and
abandon our families to live half a life as an exiled family in God knows where!

FATHER INTERRUPTS.

40
 FATHER:

(STRESSING ON EVERY WORD CALMLY)

Think of the future, we may have a chance for a decent and a safe life in Europe, there’s nothing
for us here except harm and danger.

MOTHER:

You are obsessed with safety!

FATHER:

You can go back to teaching and have a secure job there, and Amal can pursue her academic
studies in a remarkable European university, while Sami can get his hand treated by
professionals and be able to play the violin again, and I: I can be a journalist without fear once
again!

MOTHER:

This is my home country, I have no other country to call home! If every Syrian family had fled
Syria out of fear and terror, we would have had a ghost country. I have lived here for my entire
life! And if you should find that relieving, other countries did witness revolutions too and
restored their peace and stability, Egypt did, Tunisia did!

FATHER HITS THE TABLE WITH HIS HAND PALM.

FATHER:

(SHOUTING ANGRILY)

We are neither! We are Syria!

FATHER TAKES A DEEP BREATH AND EXHALES IT.

(CONT’D; CALMLY)

Sorry. I’m not hungry.

FATHER LEAVES THE TABLE.

AMAL:

(V/O)

It was a sheer emotional decision that Mom made to make us stay. To this day her motives
behind making that decision remain misty to me for the most part, because she knew as we all
did, that every passing day brought us closer to the worst case scenario.

41
SOUND OF BOMBS FALLING ON HOUSES.

(CONT’D)

Dad was right; we are Syria.

20- INT. ALEPPO GENERAL HOSPITAL.

NEWS PRESENTER:

(D)

Civilian catastrophes feared as the Syrian government air forces are bombing Aleppo; the
largest remaining rebel-held governorate in the country’s north, forcing thousands of civilians to
flee toward the border with Turkey in freezing winter temperatures. It is to mention that Aleppo
is also the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of 1.5 million people.

AMAL:

(WEEPING IN AGONY)

Mom! Dad! No!

AMAL:

(V/O)

I was saved from being there when our house was bombed. Sami was miraculously rescued and
spent quite some time recovering and healing in the hospital, but Mom and Dad couldn’t make
it; Their feeble bodies would not have carried the kind of strength needed to endure such
extreme physical pain, so they departed, and a piece of my heart departed with them. When the
medics found their bodies beneath the rubble, they were embracing each other. The
photographer captured a photo of them and I later knew that it was posted on social media
under the caption:

“Dancing under the rubble.”

Is that even humane? To post a graphic photo of my murdered father and mother for people to
react to like.. Like a piece of art?! This world does not miss a chance to reveal its cruelty and
insensitivity to me, but it doesn’t matter now because.. I got used to it, and to many good other
things that I never thought of getting used to before.

FADE.

42
 ACT IV

21- THE FIRST BOAT. MEDITERRANEAN SEA. THIRD DAY. MORNING.

FX: SCREAMS AND HOLLERS ARE BEING UTTERED BY THE TERRIFIED REFUGEES ON BOTH
BOATS AS THE WAVES SHOOK THEM.

TWO BOATS ARE HALTED PARALLEL TO EACH OTHER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEA. REFUGEES
ARE BEING TRANSPORTED TO THE LARGER BOAT, WHICH ALREADY HAS OTHER REFUGEES
ON BOARD.

SAMI:

Easy, Amal—balance yourself.

AMAL CROSSES TO THE SECOND BOAT.

(CONT’D)

Here you go, Salma—be careful with Hana.

CAPTAIN:

C’mon ya sissy rats, Move it!

SAMI:

How dare you insulting them, smuggler!

CAPTAIN:

You heard him, lads? Let’s teach the boy a lesson in respect. Throw him into the water!

SMUGGLERS HURRAY. ONE SMUGGLER PUSHES SAMI INTO THE WATER.

SAMI:

(PROVOKED)

Don’t do it! Let me cross!

SAMI FALLS INTO THE WATER. ALL OTHER SOUNDS FAINT EXCEPT THE SOUND OF WATER
BUBBLES MADE BY HIM TRYING TO SWIM UP. HE CAN BARELY HEAR AMAL CRYING OUT. HE
FINALLY REACHES THE SURFACE. THE SOUNDS OF THE BOAT MOTOR, THE SMUGGLERS,
AND THE REFUGEES ARE BACK. HE TAKES A DEEP BREATH.

AMAL:

(CRYING OUT IN TEARS)

Sami!

43
 SAMI:

(WEARILY)

Here!

AMAL:

Please, save my brother! I’m begging you!

CAPTAIN:

I’ll throw you after him if you don’t just shut up!

CAPTAIN WAVES TO THE PASSENGERS.

(CONT’D; SHOUTING)

Cross quickly, lazy!

SALMA:

We do sincerely apologize for what he said, Captain! And we hope that someone in your status
won’t deal seriously with just a kid!

CAPTAIN:

Argh! You! Yes, you at the corner! Rope him!

SALMA:

Thank you for your generosity!

CAPTAIN GIVES SALMA A SIDE GLANCE.

CAPTAIN:

Get away from my bloody face!

AMAL PULLS THE ROPE WITH THE SMUGGLER.

AMAL:

Pull it easy! Don’t hurt him!

SAMI GETS ON BOARD, SHIVERING OF COLD.

SAMI:

Brrr!

44
 AMAL:

Let me warm you!

AMAL LOOKS AROUND FOR A BLANKET.

(CONT’D; THINKING OUT LOUD)

But with what?!

SALMA:

Hug him, Amal. That should warm him a little.

AMAL:

(HASTILY)

Okay, okay!

AMAL HUGS SAMI.

SALMA:

(SIGHING)

It’s going to be a long journey.

22- EXT. THE SECOND BOAT. MEDITERRANEAN SEA. FIRST DAY. AFTERNOON.

PASSENGERS ARE OVERCROWDING THE BOAT. THE CAPTAIN IS THROWING FRUITS AT THE
PASSENGERS.

CAPTAIN:

Catch the fruits, all of ya!

PASSENGERS ARE FIGHTING EACH OTHER OVER THE FRUITS. SMUGGLERS ARE LAUGHING AT
THEM.

AMAL:

Got an orange! It’s rotten! Yuck!

A PASSENGER STEALS THE FRUIT FROM HER HANDS.

AMAL:

Whoa! Have you two just seen that? He took it from my hands!

SAMI:

This doesn’t make me feel good at all; they all seem destitute of food.

45
 NADINE:

(WITH A CONFIRMING TONE)

We are destitute of food, and medications.

AMAL:

Hello, are you Syrian?

NADINE:

Yes, my name is Nadine, and this is my mother.

SAMI:

Hello Nadine, I’m Sami. And this is my sister Amal, and our friend Salma. (BEAT)

I hope your mother is alright, is she asleep?

NADINE:

(HOLDING HER TEARS)

No… She’s dying!

SALMA:

What?! H-how?!

Uhh, tell us what’s happening, dear. We might be able to help you.

HANA CRIES.

(CONT’D)

Shh! Hana!

NADINE:

Early in the morning, she had been vomiting a lot and her hands and feet were cold and
shivering, before she fainted. A doctor who happens to be on board examined her and
suggested that she needs antibiotic at once, but he was badly hurt by the smugglers after they
accused him of causing a revolt. Now it’s been eight hours since she’s dying, and there is
nothing I can do to stop it!

46
 AMAL:

(THOUGHTFULLY)

No, there might be something we can do.

FADE.

23- EXT. THE SECOND BOAT. MEDITERRANEAN SEA. THIRD DAY. EVENING.

AMAL:

(V/O)

That evening, it was a vomiting party, and those who had eaten from the rotten fruits were the
invited. The sea waves were so high, so speedy that they overshadowed the boat and were not
very far from going to flip it upside down. Many passengers were violently thrown into the
water. Some of them were old and sick people; but most of them were children who simply
slipped away; and both could not last in the cold and darkness for more than few minutes. We
managed to secure a small spot beside the cabin where we could hold the six of us until it all
ended. Then, it was time for our plan to get the medications for Nadine’s mother from the
Captain’s cabin.

THE BOAT SHAKING WEAKLY. PASSENGERS VOICES GROANING IN PAIN.

SAMI:

Let’s do it now, the smugglers are busy getting back on their feet!

NARDINE IS GETTING UP TO JOIN THEM.

SALMA:

No, Nardine. You wait here and take care of your mother, and my daughter.

NADINE:

Uh-huh.

AMAL:

Come on, Salma.

SAMI:

(CLOSE)

Watch for the lights!

47
THEY WALK TO THE CABIN.

(CONT’D)

No smugglers here, very good.

THE CABIN DOOR OPENS. SAMI EXPLORES THE CABIN.

(CONT’D)

Let’s begin our search for the antibiotics. Amal and Salma, you two will search the bedroom and
the kitchen. I will go search the bathroom.

Quickly now!

THE SEARCH BEGINS.

SALMA:

Eww, what a stinky smell! What do these people eat?! I can’t imagine how their toilet smells like.

SALMA IS CONTINUING TO PULL DRAWERS.

(CONT’D)

Amal, have you found anything?

AMAL:

Yes! Here, under the bed.

FOOTSTEPS. THE CABIN DOOR OPENS. THE CAPTAIN ENTERS WITH A BEER AND SEES AMAL.

CAPTAIN:

(DRUNK, BUZZING)

Ah, there you are! The hooker for tonight!

CAPTAIN DRINKS FROM HIS BEER AND GIVES AN AROUSED SIGH.

(CONT’D)

Bang, bang!

CAPTAIN WALKS GROGGILY TOWARDS AMAL.

48
 AMAL:

(ANXIOUSLY)

Sami, Salma!

SAMI AND SALMA COME TO AMAL’S AID.

SAMI:

Amal!

CAPTAIN:

Who are those? Your colleagues? I like parties!

SALMA:

Let’s get out of here!

CAPTAIN:

What’s that in your hand? Thieves!

SALMA RUNS TOWARD THE CAPTAIN ATTEMPTING TO HIT HIM.

SALMA:

(BELLOWING)

Aah!

CAPTAIN IS TACKLED AND FALLS ON THE GROUND. HE FIGHTS SALMA AND THEN TAKES
OFF HIS PISTOL AND SHOOTS HER IN THE BELLY. SHOCKED IS EVERYONE.

AMAL:

(A CRY OF ANGUISH)

Salma! No!

SALMA:

(FAINTLY)

Amal… Hana…

SALMA UTTERS THE SIGH OF DEATH.

AMAL:

(WEEPING)

No… No!
49
 SAMI:

(YELLING AND CRYING)

What have you done?! You bloody murderer!

SAMI APPROACHES THE CAPTAIN, SEEKING TO HARM HIM.

CAPTAIN:

(WITH A SLIGHT TONE OF FEAR)

Stay back!

CAPTAIN SHOOTS SAMI IN THE LEG. SAMI FALLS ON THE GROUND AND GROANS IN PAIN.

AMAL:

Sami!

AMAL HURRIES TO SAMI.

(CONT’D; HYSTERICALLY)

Kill me! Kill me too!

CAPTAIN:

Guards!

THREE GUARDS OPEN THE DOOR AND ENTER.

GUARDS:

Aye, Captain!

CAPTAIN:

(FIRMLY)

Take ‘em outta here, and wait for your punishment!

24- EXT. THE SECOND BOAT, MEDITERRANEAN SEA. FOURTH DAY. AFTERNOON.

FX: THE BOAT IS LOUDLY SAILING THROUGH THE SEA.

AMAL:

(V/O)

Salma; your mother, died that day, and the wound of loss she left in my heart has gradually
grown deeper over the following years.

50
 (CONT’D)

Sami was severely injured in his leg with no sort of aid at all. At the dawn of the second day, the
captain ordered his smugglers to throw dead corpses in the sea; among them were Salma and
Nadine’s mother. I was then left with you, Sami and Nadine, and this unbearable feeling of
anguish. If only I could wake up from that nightmare...

THE GUNMEN SHOOT IN THE AIR. PASSENGERS UTTER CRIES.

SAMI:

Amal, what’s happening?!

SAMI HAS RINGING IN HIS EARS DUE TO THE SHOTS SOUND.

AMAL:

Keep low!

SAMI CAN BARELY HEAR AMAL.

CAPTAIN:

Listen!

THE GUNMEN SHOOT IN THE AIR AGAIN TO SILENCE PASSENGERS.

(CONT’D)

I ain’t going to repeat what I will say now, so listen carefully y’all!

PASSENGERS ARE GETTING QUIETER.

(CONT’D)

Good!
So for some of you, this is our fourth day on this boat, and for others it’s the second one. Having
reached this far, we cannot go any further, else the boat sinks. To your bad luck, the boat that
was on its way to carry ya had sunk in the sea. But luckily, we ain’t too far from the shores of
Malta. Now ya’ll be given life jackets and a rubber boat to reach land safely.

PEOPLE HUMMING.

(CONT’D)

I don’t want to hear any opposition! Unlike all of the other boat crews in business, we have been
very generous to ya; we gave ya food, water, and medicine. And we..

51
 NADINE:

(INTERRUPTING FURIOUSLY)

Say that to my mother, you wicked smugglers! She was dying in front of your vicious eyes, yet
you refused to give her medicine! You all deserve to die!

SHE RUNS TOWARD THE CAPTAIN SEEKING TO BEAT HIM.

AMAL:

Nadine, wait!

NADINE GETS SHOT AND FALLS IN THE WATER. AMAL GETS STARTLED.

AMAL:

(SHIVERING)

Did he.. Did he..

HANA CRIES. SAMI HOLDS AMAL CLOSE TO HIS CHEST IN TEARS.

CAPTAIN:

If I have to kill every single one of ya to keep order on this bloody boat, I will not blink an eye!
And it’s not like I didn’t do it before!

(CONT’D; SPEAKING TO HIS FELLOW SMUGGLERS)

Give ‘em the life jackets, one for every two!

SAMI:

We have a child, we’ll need two over here!

CAPTAIN:

(FIRMLY)

No exceptions!

CAPTAIN GOES TO SAMI AND PLACES HIS MOUTH NEAR HIS EAR.

52
 (CONT’D)

Do you know why I keep you alive to this moment?

SAMI:

Only God knows what’s in that evil mind of yours!

CAPTAIN:

I’ll tell you why. It’s because of the amusement I will feel when I picture you in few hours from
now trying to fight what you cannot flight, with your lovely sister lying helpless by your side,
knowing that she’s following you sooner or later. It’s a matter of hours before you die, I won’t
waste a life jacket on you.

Good luck!

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you: your sister; she wasn’t worth it anyway!

SAMI:

(SCREAMING)

Aaah!

CUT.

25- EXT. RUBBER BOAT, MEDITERRANEAN SEA. FIFTH DAY. SUNSET.

FX: SORROWING MUSIC BUILDS UP IN THE BACKGROUND.

PASSENGERS ARE OVERCROWDING THE RUBBER BOAT WITH NO FIGHTS.

AMAL:

(V/O)

No words can describe how awful this is; over one hundred man, woman and child are dying to
find a spot on a rubber boat that can only bear thirty. The captain and his crew fled with their
boat, never to return. We are alone in the middle of nowhere, without any means of
communication, and nobody is coming to our aid, or ever will. We are alone.

SAMI:

Speak to them, Amal. They have lost every hope. They don’t care if they drown anymore. Speak!

AMAL LOOKS HESITATED, BUT SHE DOES IT EVENTUALLY

53
 AMAL:

Listen everyone! Night is falling, if we don’t help each other to survive, we will all die! We need to
hold each others’ hands, with children, the old and the wounded in between us. Let’s pray it
passes peacefully.

FADE.

26- EXT. RUBBER BOAT, MEDITERRANEAN SEA. FIFTH DAY. MIDNIGHT.

FX: THE WATER IS CALM.

AMAL:

(DOUBTFULLY)

How is your leg?

SAMI:

It’s fine, I feel better since you put a bandana on it.

God heard our prayer; the water is calm.

AMAL SIGHS.

AMAL:

(V/O)

The silence before the hurricane.

27- EXT. RUBBER BOAT, MEDITERRANEAN SEA. SIXTH DAY. AFTERNOON.

THE RUBBER BOAT IS APPROACHING FROM THE SEA HURRICANE PASSENGERS ARE
HOLDING HANDS.

ALL:

(LOUDLY)

Hold!

CHILDREN ARE CRYING TO DEATH.

SAMI:

(THINKING OUT LOUD)

May God be with us…

54
 AMAL:

(LOUDLY)

Protect the children!

AMAL:

(V/O)

Now, we know why the captain fled.

THE BOAT IS HIT BY THE HIGH WAVES YIELDING FROM THE HURRICANE.

AMAL:

Sami, I will put Hana between us, hold her tight!

SAMI:

(TIREDLY)

OK!

SCREAMS ARE BEING UTTERED BY PASSENGERS. SOME PASSENGERS ARE DROPPING

VIOLENTLY FROM THE BOAT.

AMAL:

(LOUDLY)

Hold tighter! We are falling down!

THE SOUND OF THUNDER IS PIERCING PASSENGERS’ EARS.

SAMI:

(HORRIFIED)

Amal! Look! There’s a cut in the rubber beneath me!

THE RUBBER BOAT IS CLIMBING A WAVE.

AMAL:

(TERRIFIED)

Oh my God! Oh my God!

AMAL CUTS A PIECE OF HER CLOTH.

(CONT’D)

Here! Press on it with this piece of cloth. Quickly!

55
SOME PASSENGERS ARE UTTERING RELIGIOUS HYMNS AND SEEM CARELESS ABOUT THE
SITUATION.

AMAL:

(V/O)

In an hour, the boat drifted away from the course of the hurricane, leaving us to sorrow for
those who fell. And in three hours, the rubber shrinked to the surface, leaving us to our certain
death. In the middle of the event, I saw two passengers throwing themselves in the water in
suicide. For them, death was an escape from this horror they witnessed, we witnessed.

ALL THE PASSENGERS ARE IN THE WATER.

AMAL:

(SHIVERING)

Sami, grab my waist!

AMAL:

(V/O)

Sami was losing all of his power, so I had to carry him myself, and placed Hana inside my life
jacket from the front end. Then, we waited for something to happen, something to tell us that
we were right in holding on to the last thread of hope.

SAMI:

(HALF-CONSCIOUS)

Amal...

AMAL:

(WEARILY)

Yes, my dear...

SAMI:

(WITH A LIGHT LAUGH, ENERVATEDLY)

Are we—are we going to buy the large house?

56
 AMAL:

(WITH A LIGHT LAUGH, SHIVERING)

With the everywhere opulent furniture…

SAMI:

And two sports cars… I can see me now driving it to the edge of the world.

AMAL:

(ASSERTIVELY)

One day you will…

SAMI:

(SOBBING)

I’m afraid that day will never come...

AMAL HOLDS SAMI’S HAND AND BURSTS INTO TEARS.

FADE.

28- EXT. MEDITERRANEAN SEA. SIXTH DAY. SUNSET.

AMAL:

(V/O)

By sunset, passengers were sleeping in their life jackets, two in each. Although most of them
stayed within the group, some preferred to swim away so that they might be rescued before
night.

We stayed, for we had no other option.

AMAL:

Sami. Sami!

Sami, answer me!

ONLY SAMI CAN HEAR THE FADING FEMALE OPERATIC SINGING VOICE IN THE
BACKGROUND.

SAMI:

(HALLUCINATING SLOWLY)

I hear you, my beloved…

57
 AMAL:

(WORRIED)

Who are you speaking to?

SAMI:

She’s calling me to her…

AMAL:

(CRYING)

Who’s she?! Sami, answer me, who’s she?!

SAMI:

Let me go, Amal. It’s time.

AMAL:

(SOBBING, WITH AN ANGRY TONE)

No! I’m not letting you go anywhere!

SAMI:

You have to let me go…

HANA CRIES.

THE SINGING VOICE SPRINGS ONCE AGAIN.

(CONT’D)

I will see you again, in a world where darkness does not prevail, and light does not evanesce.
Goodbye, Amal.

SAMI SLIPS HIS ARMS.

AMAL:

Sami! No, no!

SAMI SINKS DEEP INTO THE WATER.

(CONT’D; CRYING, SURRENDERING)

No...

58
29- EXT. MEDITERRANEAN SEA. SEVENTH DAY. MORNING.

FX: SOUND OF CRUISE SHIP HORN. ALIVE REFUGEES ARE BEING RESCUED.

AMAL:

(V/O)

In the following day, those who were left of us were rescued by a cruise ship that was passing
by. We knew later that it shifted its course to us on purpose after some of the refugees had
made it to Malta, and the coastguard transmitted a rescue message to all of the ships in the
target area. You, dear Hana, was my guardian angel. If it wasn’t for you staying awake and
crying, they would have considered us dead. You saved us!

FADE.

59
 ACT V

30- INT. HOME.

FX: SERENE MUSIC IS PLAYED IN THE BACKGROUND.

AMAL:

(V/O)

I did not wish to revisit that painful and nightmarish place in my mind where those aching
memories lie, nor did I have the guts to do it before. But I have come to believe that those
memories are now part of who I am, that they should be understood and tolerated, and that I
too should move backward in my life to pick up the threads of my old self, before all of this took
place.

Hana, my dear, I know your heart may break reading this about your mother and what she went
through, but sometimes the truth hurts, and when it does, it only makes us stronger.

I also know that you are very similar to your mother; you both are bold and fearless in the face
of life, yet you have the warmest hearts I have ever touched.

And as I made Salma a promise before to keep you safe, I’m now renewing it with you; I promise
to be there for you whenever you need me, now and forever.

AMAL SLAMS HER NOTEBOOK.

AMAL:

(THINKING OUT LOUD)

Ah, I need a long break. Where is it?

AMAL SEARCHES FOR HER VIOLIN.

(CONT’D; CALLING WITH A SMILE)

Hana, have you stolen my violin again?

FADE.

END.

60
“They say, dear Hana, that the agony a war smears
on your soul makes you forget your old self. But I
can remember, barely though, who I was and
where I came from before it all broke out.”
— Amal

Eight years ago, Amal; who is a Syrian refugee,

miraculously survived a tragic seven-day journey
on a migrant boat across the Mediterranean sea.
After all these years, she eventually finds herself in
a situation where she has to tell the full story of
what really happened back on that boat, and to
revisit those aching memories in her past featuring
the loss of her family and friends, and also the
treachery of those who later showed to be her
enemies. But, what did force her to go on such risky
journey in the first place? What promise did she
make to her friend? Why did the captain flee? How
could she not give up finding herself in the middle
of nowhere? And why did she learn to play the
violin?

MUHAMMAD ADDAM
ISMAILIA, EGYPT
+201067757540
+201224669271
MUHAMMAD.FT.ADDAM@GMAIL.COM