English

 
 

11 September

(God, Construction And Destruction)

By: Samira Makhmalbaf

Iran, Desert, Day

A few Afghan men are gathered in a corner. One of them bends down and pulls a stick tied with a rope and fades deep in the desert. The camera moves in the opposite direction of the man and follows the rope. It becomes clear that the rope is pulling a bucket of water from a deep well.

Voice of a man: Hurry up! America wants to bombard Afghanistan.
Let’s build a shelter.

Voice of another man: The well is dried up. We can’t make mud.

An old man detaches the half-filled bucket from the rope and hands it to a little girl out of the frame. The girl whose name is Agheleh pours the water on the ground a few meters away. A few children mix the water and dust with bare feet to make it into mud for bricks. Aghehleh sits next to a little boy named Esmat and starts to pour mud into a brick mold.

Agheleh: Somebody fell into the well and died. Another person went to
help but he fell too and broke his leg.

Esmat: One person didn’t die. Two people died. Aman’s father and Chaman’s father.

Agheleh: Chaman’s father hasn’t died yet. He just broke his leg.

Esmat: One man didn’t die. Two people died.

A voice: [From a distance.] Teacher is coming.

Agheleh: Teacher is coming.

Esmat: [Picks up the mold.] Hold this; let’s take it.

Agheleh and Esmat empty the brick mold next to other bricks. The teacher is coming forward carrying her sack of books.

Outside the brickyard an hour later:

Afghan men, women and children are all making bricks. Some of them carry the bricks to the kiln with a wheelbarrow. The teacher arrives.

Teacher: Come to class kids. You can’t stop atomic bombs with these bricks.

A man: Haven’t you heard teacher that America wants to attack Afghanistan?

Teacher: America wants to attack to Afghanistan, we are Afghans all right, but we are refugees in Iran. This is Iran so come to class.

Inside the brick factory continued:

The teacher enters the factory. The kiln is off and the long hallway that was once the furnace has now been turned into a classroom. Two Afghan children have arranged unfired bricks so that it resembles a desk.

Teacher: Nobody is here. Hassan is anybody here?

Hassan: I don’t know. I am arranging the classroom chairs.

Teacher: Where are the students?

Hassan: Maybe they are laying bricks for the shelter.

Teacher: Go call them.

A street adjacent to the brick factory continued:

Afghan refugee women and children live in the street. On a corner food is being cooked and steam rises above the pot. A woman sweeping the street is in one spot and another hanging laundry is in another. The teacher enters the street and begins to gather the students

Afghan boy: Did you bring books teacher?

Teacher: Books? Okay, come to class and I’ll give you books. Here, take this book.

Teacher: Why haven’t you come to school yet?

Teacher: [She hands a book to a child.] Hello, I will give all of you books if you come to school.

Brickyard, continued:

Teacher: Three million Afghan refugees are living in Iran. Whatever happens to them will happen to you too. You can’t stop atomic bombs with these bricks. Send the children to class.

Inside the brick factory an hour later:

Finally the kids have come to class and are sitting on unfired bricks. An open book rests in front of each one. Deep down in the kiln men are moving around pushing wheelbarrows.

Teacher: Kids, important news. A big incident took place in the world. Who knows about it?

Esmat: [A 6-year old boy raises his hand.] I do.

Teacher: Tell us Esmat.

Esmat: Someone dug a well and two people fell in and died.

Agheleh: [A 6-year old girl raises her hand.] Teacher, can I speak?

Teacher: Speak.

Agheleh: Someone dug a deep well. Then two people fell in. One died and the other broke a leg.

Teacher: No, a more important event. Who knows?

Najeebeh: [A seven-year-old girl who looks more like a teenager.] Can I tell what happened?

Teacher: Najeebeh you tell us.

Najeebeh: Teacher let me whisper it in your ear.

Teacher: No dear, say it aloud for everyone to hear.

Najeebeh: Let me say it in your ear.

Teacher: No. Say it aloud.

Najeebeh: They buried my aunt in the ground up to her neck in Afghanistan and then stoned her to death.

Agheleh: [Points to her neck] They buried her aunt up to here in Afghan soil. So what?

Teacher: No, a more important global incident; a very big one.

Amineh: Excuse me teacher. It rained, a flood came and everyone was killed.

Teacher: No kids a very important international incident. One that could trigger World War III. They may drop the atomic bomb and we’ll all be killed. In America, in New York City two airplanes hit the World Trade Center towers.

Teacher: Do you know what a tower is? [She points outside the class.] Everyone look outside. A tower looks like the chimney of this brick kiln.

Students look outside the class. The smokestack is visible.

Teacher: Now look at me. Now that you know what a tower is which one of you knows who destroyed those towers?

Esmat: Can I say it teacher? God destroyed them.

Agheleh: No, God didn’t destroy them. God only destroys humans. No way. God has no airplanes.

Teacher: Quiet children. [She bends down and picks up a small blackboard.] Listen to what I am saying. [She quickly draws a picture of a clock.] This is a drawing of a clock. [She circles the clock with her finger.] From here to here is one minute. We’ll keep silent for one minute in honor of those killed in New York. The minute begins right now. [She slowly starts moving her finger like the hand of a clock over the picture of the clock on the blackboard.]

Hassan yawns from boredom. Agheleh tries to talk to Hassan out of the line of the teacher’s sight. Najeebeh butts into their conversation.

Hassan: God creates first, then destroys and then He makes again.

Agheleh: No way. God is not crazy to kill people only to recreate them.

Teacher: [Keeps her finger on the clock and shouts] Quiet! It’s good that you are children. Keep your innocence.

Ameneh: Excuse me teacher, these guys are spoiling the silence.

The teacher moves her finger again like the hand of the clock over the blackboard and Agheleh keeps whispering with the other kids outside the teacher’s line of vision.

Agheleh: Does God kill? Does He kill? God has no airplane.

Hassan: [Points his finger towards Agheleh.] God hits with his fingernail like this and people die.

Agheleh: God’s not insane to kill people.

Esmat: Well, God kills people so He can create new people.

Agheleh: Why doesn’t He keep the old people?

Esmat: He wants to make new people. It’s none of your business. God is God and can do as He wants.

Teacher: One minute is over but you children didn’t stay silent for the sake of those who were killed. One of them was buried alive under the rubble and asked for help with a mobile. Do you know what a mobile is? Someone from under the debris was calling “Help, Help.” Since you didn’t keep silent, let’s go and stand under that chimney to see if you can remain quiet or not.

Teacher leaves the classroom.

Under the smokestack a moment later:

The children are lined up on a small bridge under the towering smokestack. The teacher is standing opposite to them.

Teacher: Now everyone take a good look at the smokestack and think of all those people in the towers who died under the rubble. Let’s start.

The children all raise their heads up and look at the very tall structure emitting a large plume of smoke into the sky. Agheleh and Esmat are filled with unspoken words. Esmat takes his eyes off the enormous chimney and looks at the teacher.

Esmat: Excuse me teacher, what should we do if we feel like talking?

Teacher: Just bite your lips and look at that chimney.

To avoid talking, Esmat bites his lips and looks at the smokestack. Distant shot of the children under the chimney smoking like the New York World Trade Center towers.

A few days after 9/11/2001.