Thou Heardest My Voice
By Tom Leverett 
©2005 All Rights Reserved

A play written for the Southern Illinois Friends Meeting

SAILOR #1
SAILOR #2
PASSENGER
SEACAPTAIN
MARINE CAPTAIN
BILLY JACK (Marine)
INGRID (Red Crescent Nurse)
OLD MAN
RAE (Marine)
WASSEF ALI (Marine)
MOHAMMED (Arab)
SHARIF (Arab)
TRUCK DRIVER (Arab)
MATE#1 
MATE#2
MATE#3
SOLDIER #1
SOLDIER #2
SOLDIER #3

SCENE ONE (SIGN SAYS: 780 BC)

SAILOR #1: 
Oh, man, we’ll never make it to Tarshish.

SAILOR #2: 
You’re not kidding.  This wind is getting worse.  So are the waves.

SAILOR #1: 
So is the rain.  This is terrible!

SAILOR #2: 
We should throw some more stuff overboard. Maybe if we’re lighter we’ll sail out of it.

SAILOR #1: 
We’ve already thrown everything we can: pots, pans, dates, figs, everything.

SAILOR #2: 
Yeah, but we’ve been rowing and sailing, and we haven’t been getting anywhere.

SAILOR #1: 
It’s time to pray.  Did you pray?

SAILOR #2:
I’ve been praying non-stop.  Lord deliver us from this tempest.  If I ever get to dry land, I’m gonna be clean.  Live right.  Do whatever the Lord wants.

SAILOR #1: 
I think it’s time to get right with the Lord.  Why else would we be having this kind of storm?  This is terrible!

SAILOR #2: 
Yeah, well, everyone I know has been praying.  Praying and rowing.  And it’s getting worse.

[MATES #1, #2, & #3 cross stage back and forth, yelling]

MATE #1: 
She’s goin’ down! She’s goin’ down!

MATE #2: 
Man the poop deck! 

MATE #3: 
Shiver me timbers! Shiver me timbers!

[other sailor-things to say]

SAILOR #1: 
Everyone? 

SAILOR #2: 
Yeah!

SAILOR #1: 
What about that guy down in the cabin?

SAILOR #2: 
The passenger?

SAILOR #1: 
Yeah, where’s he from?

SAILOR #2: 
I don’t know. He paid his fare. He got on in Joppa.

SAILOR #1: 
Does he have a God?

SAILOR #2: 
What do I know?  I don’t ask questions.

SAILOR #1: 
Bring him up here.  We need to talk to him.

[SAILOR #2 leaves, returns with PASSENGER]

PASSENGER: 
Yes?

SAILOR #1: 
This is the worst storm I’ve ever seen.

PASSENGER: 
A tempest.  Yes, I can see that.

SAILOR #1: 
Do you have a God?

PASSENGER:
 I left God behind in Joppa.

SAILOR #1: 
What are you talking about?  The sea is raging, the waves are upon us, we’re all going to die, we’re trying to figure out what to throw overboard, and you say…

PASSENGER: 
Enough. It’s my fault.  I fled from the Lord, but he found me.  

SAILOR #2: 
What are you talking about?

PASSENGER: 
It’s my fault.  Throw me overboard.  Go ahead.

SAILOR #1: 
What?

PASSENGER: 
I’m serious!  It’s me.  I know it.  When God is mad at me, God comes after me.  It’s my fault.

SAILOR #2:
Where are you from, mister?

PASSENGER: 
I am a Hebrew. I’m from Galilee.  

SAILOR #1: 
We can’t throw this man overboard just because he says he’s running from God.

SAILOR #2: 
Why not?  We have to throw SOMETHING overboard….We threw everything ELSE overboard- the olives, the dates…

PASSENGER: 
I’m serious.  I’m not afraid.  In fact, I’m jumping.

SAILOR #1: 
Wait a second…you can’t do that…

PASSENGER: 
Too late … [he jumps]
 
[enter SEACAPTAIN]

SEACAPTAIN: 
Hey, what’s going on?

SAILOR #1: 
The passenger, he just jumped overboard.

SAILOR #2: 
He was a Hebrew.

SEACAPTAIN: 
You can’t throw someone overboard just because he’s a Hebrew!

SAILOR #1: 
He jumped!

SAILOR #2: 
Hey, the sea is quiet…the storm is over!  

[enter MATES]
MATE #1: 
Glory be!  It’s calm!

MATE #2: 
Ahoy mates!

MATE #3: 
Ahoy!

(they exit)

SCENE TWO: (SIGN SAYS: MARCH 2005. Enter CAPTAIN)

CAPTAIN: 
I’m a captain in the US Marine Corps, and my unit is stationed here in Mosul, Iraq. I’m here to tell you about a week in June of 2004.  We had a small communications unit on a hill, near the Mosque of the Prophet Younnis; it was a dangerous job; missiles and bullets flew over our roof and we often had to leave the building in order to report what we saw and heard. 

When I came here to Iraq I believed in this war: the US was occupying Iraq to bring stability to the region.  My fighters were brave and honorable.  But this particular week in June was what you could call a trying time.  According to my two specialists, Billy Jack and Rae, one day in the middle of battle, this corporal, Wassef Ali Hassoun, just showed up at their station.
[exits]        

BILLY JACK: 
My name is Billy Jack.  I’m a marine- Semper Fi! I’m originally from Tennessee, but here I am in Mosul, middle of nowhere, with my partner, Rae.  She’s from New York, she’s cool, and we run a communications outfit.  One day this other marine, Wassefali, shows up.  We didn’t know him, but he was a lot like us, a communications guy from Fallujah. It was a rough time.  Our communications were down.  Bullets were flying everywhere.  We had nothing to do but talk!
[exits]

RAE:  
My name is Rae. I’m a marine- Semper Fi!   I’m originally from uptown Manhattan, a rough neighborhood, but here I am in Mosul, nowheresville, Iraq- you talk about a rough neighborhood!  It’s dangerous up here. When we hear stuff, we have to check it out. We take turns.  It’s my turn next. And you never know if this is your last turn, you know what I mean? 
[exits]

WASSEFALI.: 
Wassef Ali Hassoun is my name. I’m a Marine- Semper Fi!   I grew up outside of Salt Lake City.  West Jordan, Utah, to be exact.  I’m a Muslim.  My family was originally from Lebanon.  We came to Utah when I was a kid.  I joined the Marines when I got out of high school. I figured, I’ll do my part, I’ll be an American I was stationed in Fallujah, but one day I was captured.  The Iraqis who captured me took me out, blindfolded me, made a video, put it over my head, made me say some nasty stuff.  It was a tough experience, because I thought I was going to die.  I watched them carefully, though, so I could find a way to get away and survive. They brought me up to here, to Mosul, but I found a chance and I escaped.  I’m a communications man, so I knew where to find these Marines, up high on a hill near the mosque.  And here I am.  I figured they’d just turn me in, and that would be ok, but their lines are out.  So we’re stuck here. 
[exits]
CAPTAIN:  
Mosul was a dangerous place.  There were insurgents everywhere: in the streets, on the rooftops, in the countryside…
[exits]

SHARIF: 
Allah akbar! God is  Great! There is no God but Allah!  I am Sharif: I am here as part of the jihad, the holy war against America. So I am looking for the infidels, so that I can kill them. !  There is nothing more glorious than to die in the jihad!

I have two partners; one is Mohammed, who you will meet; the other is Abu Zaif; he’s on the rooftops.  He is what you would call a spy.  We are on a glorious mission, our god tells us, we must fight to the death. If we die, then only greater glory to Allah! 
[exits]

MOHAMMED: 
Allah Akbar!  I am Mohammed, and I’m from Lebanon. There was no work in Lebanon. I had no way to make a living.  But some people said to me, come fight the jihad in Iraq, and we will take care of you.  So here I am, in the middle of nowhere, Iraq, with my partners, Sharif and Abu Zaif. It’s not easy being a soldier, but life was never easy.  I accept this life.  It’s the will of God. 

[exits]

CAPTAIN: 
Beneath our post was a Red Crescent hospital, that’s like the Red Cross, only Middle East version.  It was not part of the military, but it was important nonetheless.  We hoped never to use it, because we had our own Marine first aid center.  Nevertheless it was important, and it was very close to us. 

[exits]
INGRID: 
My name is Ingrid; I grew up in Sweden.  My family was Quaker; and, they read the Bible every day. I was a nurse, and went to work in Stockholm in a fancy clinic, but I wasn’t happy there.  It was a shallow life.  Something in the back of my head said, this isn’t right.  Maybe it was a memory I had of my childhood.  My family had helped this Assyrian refugee who was an old man. He lived with us for several years. One day I was fighting with my sisters over some make-up.  The old man was always very patient and never said a bad word to us.  But on this day he said to us, “there are more important things in life than makeup.”  And he was right.  

So I was in Stockholm one day and saw this opportunity to come to Iraq, to work for the Red Crescent. I don’t believe in war, but that doesn’t stop me from being here, saving lives and making people better.  This one old guy comes and delivers supplies every day.  He reminds me of the old man in my youth…I think he’s Assyrian, too.

[INGRID STANDS OFF TO SIDE, OLD MAN enters]

OLD MAN: 
I’m a delivery man.  Every day I pick up supplies at a central place and take them around, to here, to there, to the Red Crescent.  Everyone knows me as the old Chaldean, 9th cousin of Tareq Aziz.  Chaldean is a kind of Christian.  

I’m from the village of Nebbi Yunas, near the Kuyunjik mounds, outside of Mosul.  To the west, the plains of Sinjar- and Syria.  To the east, Persia, what they call Iran. You see, this is an old trading route, through Mosul, here, from Persia to Syria and the Mediterranean. Up here, [behind him] a group of rocky hills, the Jebel Makloub, and behind these, the mountains of Kurdistan. This area, northern Iraq, is mostly Kurdish these days, but there are a lot of Turkmen, Turkmen are the biggest minority.  There are lots of Christians too.  There are Chaldeans, like me, like Tariq Aziz, my 9th cousin.  There are Maronite, Nestorians, Jacobites, Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, you name it.  I’d give you a history lesson, but I don’t have time: I’m taking some supplies to the Red Crescent hospital, and I’m afraid the Kurds will slit my throat.  If they don’t do it, the rebels will.  They’ll assume I’m working for the Americans and they’ll kill me.

[INGRID enters]

OLD MAN: 
Hey, supplies here!

INGRID: 
Thanks!  I’ll help you unload them!

OLD MAN: 
Some explosions in the background.  Off to the east.

INGRID: 
I’m not surprised.  I’ve heard them almost every day.

OLD MAN: 
They’re trying to kill us!

INGRID: 
They’re trying to kill somebody!

OLD MAN: 
And how do you like our city?  Peaceful enough for you?

INGRID: 
It’s quite beautiful, all the marble.

OLD MAN: 
Have you been to the mosque of the Prophet Younis yet?  It’s our tourist spot. It’s right near here, around the corner.

INGRID: 
With the blueglazed back-buildings, and the limestone minaret?

OLD MAN: 
That’s the one.

INGRID: 
No, but I can see it from here...maybe you could show it to me sometime.

OLD MAN: 
I’m keeping a low profile these days; I’m a Christian, you know.

INGRID: 
So am I.

OLD MAN: 
But you’re a foreigner…that’s different.

INGRID: 
Listen, I’ve got to go. Thanks for the supplies!

OLD MAN:
 Take care of yourself!

[they exit]

(SCENE THREE)

CAPTAIN: 
Things heated up even more.  Most of the time my soldiers were stuck in our little outpost with nothing to do but listen to bombs.  

[BILLY JACK, RAE, and WASSEF ALI sitting around]

[CAPTAIN exits. BILLY JACK enters]

RAE: 
Why’d you join up, man?

WASSEFALI: 
I’m from Utah.  When I was in high school, it seemed like I was always an outsider; I was a Muslim while everyone around me was a Mormon.  All I wanted was to fit in with the crowd.  I wanted to just be an American.  So when I graduated from high school I joined the Marines.  I figured, I’ll do my part, I’ll be an American, nobody can question that anymore.  How about you guys?

BILLY JACK: 
I grew up in Tennessee.  I had a very religious family.  We went to Bible School every Sunday.  They made me memorize different books of the Bible and get up and recite them in front of everyone.  I knew it by heart, but it didn’t mean that much to me.  I would just go home, and memorize the words, and come back and say them whenever the elders wanted me to.  

RAE: 
Yeah, you should hear this guy.  He spouts Bible verses whenever he’s nervous!

WASSEFALI: 
Doesn’t bother me!

BILLY JACK:  
Anyway, when I turned 18, I really needed to get out of the place.  Everything was bugging me; the pastor at the church, my family, the small town.  So I joined the Marines.  It seemed like a natural thing to do.  Everyone in my church supported the war, everyone thought that was a good thing to do.  Back home I’m a hero.  Here in Mosul I feel like I’m in the middle of nowhere. 

RAE: 
I grew up in New York. It was a rough neighborhood, we had a kind of a gang, but I also had a big family, lots of brothers, lots of cousins.  I grew up thinking, I can do whatever they do, and I did.  They played football, I played football.  We were competitive.  One day my uncle came home with a purple heart.  He’d gotten it in Afghanistan.  I thought, man, I gotta have me one of those.  Bravery?  I’m brave.  I used to go downtown on the subway, by myself, all over New York.  If they can be brave, I can be brave.  

BILLY JACK: 
Tell you what, whatever happens, let’s stick together, OK?

WASSEFALI: 
Yeah, I’m in on that.  Semper Fi!

RAE: 
Me too. Semper Fi!

 BILLY JACK: 
Semper Fi!

[THEY Exit. CAPTAIN ENTERS]

CAPTAIN: 
Things heated up some more.  Summer in Iraq is bad enough without wars! 
[exits]

[BILLY JACK and WASSEFALI are sitting.  RAE enters quickly, out of breath.]

RAE: 
Whoa, it’s bad out there, man.  I can’t see a thing.

BILLY JACK: 
See anyone?

RAE: 
Just some old dude, prayin’ on the rooftop.

BILLY JACK: 
Man, you see that all the time.  They’re probably spies.

WASSEFALI: 
Naw, they just do that around here.  I seen that in Lebanon too.

RAE: 
Man, this is bullshit.  I feel like every time I go out there, I might die.

BILLY JACK: 
That’s cause you might.

RAE: 
I know, man.  I hate it.

BILLY JACK: 
What are we doing here, anyway? Why is the US in Iraq?

WASSEFALI: 
‘Cause of Saddam.  He was in with that Bin Laden guy.

RAE: 
No, he didn’t have anything to do with them.

BILLY JACK: 
Man, you’re from New York, how can you say that?

RAE: 
‘Cause he didn’t.  Whoa, those bombs are getting closer.

BILLY JACK: 
Then what do you figure?

RAE: 
I figure it’s oil.  They got it here, we want it, we want to keep having it, that kind of stuff.  If they didn’t have oil, do you think we’d be here?

WASSEFALI: 
Naw, I figure it’s Israel.

RAE: 
What do you mean?

WASSEFALI: 
Well, Israel’s biggest threat is Syria.  Bush figures, if we, the US, come up here, hang around, breathe down Syria’s neck a little, that helps Israel, doesn’t it?  

BILLY JACK: 
Jeez, I just figured it was 9-11.  

WASSEFALI: 
Man, these bombs are getting a LOT closer.

RAE: 
Somebody needs to go check it out.  And it ain’t me.

BILLY JACK.
It’s my turn.  I’m outta here. 

(LEAVES).
[they exit.  OLD MAN enters]

(SCENE FOUR)

OLD MAN: 
I was driving my wagon out here, and I came to this fork in the road.  I go toward Mosul every day; I stay away from the road to the American base; I stay away from trouble.  On this day God told me, Go toward the American base. I said to God, are you crazy?  God says, Go toward the base. I ignored God, and I went my own way.

So I got in the hills, when I got run off the road. I think I know who did it…it was the Kurds.  They’ve hated us Christians for many years.  They knew who I was and they knew we were right at a drop off where my wagon would fall into the gorge.  They ran me into the gorge and then left.  Well, I was trapped there, for three days, no food, no water, no nothing.  Most of me was in the water.  It was dark.  I could see the ribs of the smashed wagon above me but I couldn’t see anything else.  I didn’t know if I’d live or if I’d die.

I just sat there in that river and prayed.  I said, Lord, if I ever come back, I’m never gonna worry about little stuff anymore.  [holds up little cross from around his neck]  I held onto my little Chaldean cross and prayed.

So I’m in the river.  Water up to here.  The wagon above me [shows with his arms].  And along come these rebels.  

(SHARIF and MOHAMMED arrive, drag him to front of stage)

SHARIF: 
He’s a Chaldean, an infidel!  Let’s kill him.

MOHAMMED: 
Where are you going, Chaldean?

OLD MAN: 
To the mosque.  The mosque of the Prophet Younis.  On the west bank of the Tigris.

SHARIF: 
He’s a liar.  [holding up bandaids with a red cross on them] He’s going to the Red Crescent hospital. Kill him.

MOHAMMED: 
We’ll bomb the mosque of the Prophet Younis. We’ll bomb the Red Crescent hospital.

OLD MAN: 
Don’t bomb the mosque of the Prophet Younis.

MOHAMMED: 
Why not?

OLD MAN: 
It’s a holy place for all Muslims.

SHARIF: 
He’s a liar.  What does he know about Muslims?  Let’s kill him.

OLD MAN: 
I know a good deal about Muslims, young man.  We Chaldeans have been here as long as Muslims have, longer.  

SHARIF: 
Quit your babbling.  I’ve heard about it before. Why should we not kill you, AND bomb the mosque, AND bomb the Red Crescent hospital?

OLD MAN: 
The Red Crescent hospital is right near the mosque. If you bomb one, you bomb the other.

SHARIF: 
My point exactly. Abu Zaif says there are Americans near there.  

OLD MAN: 
If you’re a Muslim, you’ll spare the mosque of the Prophet Younis.

SHARIF: 
OK, listen old man.  I’m going to tie you to your wagon for a day or two.  Mohammed, you’re going down into the city to find Abu Zaif.  Be careful.  There are Americans down there!  I’ll stay here and wait, and we’ll attack when we’re ready!

[they leave]
[CAPTAIN comes to front]

CAPTAIN: 
I started out believing in the war.  I used to think we were doing the right thing.  Then I saw all this suffering, my men going crazy, in danger every move they made. 

[RAE and WASSEFALI sitting together, BILLY  JACK enters, out of breath]

BILLY JACK:  
Man, it’s terrible out there. “Out of the belly of hell, cried I”

WASSEFALI: 
What are you talking about?

RAE: 
Book of Jonah, he does that whenever he’s nervous.

BILLY JACK: 
For thou hadst cast me into the deep!

WASSEFALI: 
You think God did it, huh?

RAE: 
Reminds me, I had this dream last night.

WASSEFALI: 
This whole place is a dream; it’s a nightmare.

RAE: 
No, I'm serious, I was in a boat, and there was a tempest.  God was testing us.

WASSEFALI: 
God deliver us from this place.  If there is a God, I hope he does….

RAE: 
You know, all this killing around, it’s getting to me.  You know, they trained us to kill, but I’m beginning to wonder.

[BILLY JACK is wandering around dazed…he’s pacing]

WASSEFALI: 
Tell me about it.  I was kidnapped for a while by the Iraqis. They tied me up, blindfolded me, held a sword over my head, made a video tape of me. Came this close to being killed. 

RAE: 
Wow.  What did you do?

WASSEFALI: 
I watched ‘em.  I waited until I could escape.  And I escaped.  I’m a Marine, you know?  Semper Fi!  But now, I’ve got you guys, I’ve got my gun back, I could kill them, and I don’t know if I want to.  It’s like, (shrugs his shoulders) they’re just like us!  Lost at sea in a storm…

BILLY JACK: 
They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy!

RAE: 
Is that Book of Jonah too, BJ?  What’s that about vanity?

WASSEFALI: 
You know, like only caring about your appearance.  Wearing gold earrings and stuff like that.

RAE: 
I used to have all kinds of earrings.

BILLY JACK: 
Like that gold thing you got around your neck, Wassefali.

WASSEFALI: 
My father gave me this.  It’s not vanity.  It’s from his small town back home.  

BILLY JACK: 
I had two earrings, but they told me to take them off, because they reflect in the sun, and makes it easier for them to see us.

RAE: 
Yeah, I had to get rid of all my hardware too.

BILLY JACK: 
But what about that gold chain?

RAE: 
Hey, this gold cross represents my hood, on 128th Street.

BILLY JACK: 
But it’s an orthodox cross!  You’re not Orthodox, are you?

RAE: 
Nah, but we had a gang in Manhattan, right? We always wore Yankee colors, blue and white.  The school got onto us and made Yankee hats illegal in the school.  You couldn’t wear one or they’d throw you out. Actually, I wanted out. I’m not religious, but every day I was saying, Lord, get me out of this high school. So we said to the principal, wait a minute, we’re right near the Bronx, New York City, what’s the matter with a Yankee hat?  But they said no, no Yankee hats.  So then we wore Orthodox crosses. Freedom of religion, man.  You can’t throw us out now!  

BILLY JACK: 
Yeah, well, listen to this.  I was about to graduate.  I was involved in this church project, we were out in the woods for three days. And we had this pastor, he was not a good guy though.  So right before the project I got an earring… and he says to me, Billy Jack, you’re going straight to hell. Why is that, I said?  Because you’re gay, he said.  But I’m not, I said.  I’m just wearing an earring.  And you know what he said?  He comes up real close to me and says, You’re gay.  And you’re going straight to hell.

RAE: 
So we ended up here.  Maybe this is hell! 

BILLY JACK: 
Hey, know what?  We ought to wear our jewelry.  Why not?

RAE: 
I’ll wear whatever I want, nobody tells me what to do!  Hear those bombs?  It’s getting worse out there…

[ENTER SOLDIERS]

SOLDIER #1: 
Man your stations!  Ammunition ready!

SOLDIER #2:
Battle stations! Attention!

SOLDIER #3: 
Semper fi!

[CHAOS on stage…nobody knows what to do- kids run back and forth screaming, they grab guns and run.]

(SCENE FIVE- Red Crescent shelter.  Big red crescent on sign at front)

[INGRID is with MOHAMMED; MOHAMMED has a bandage around his stomach]

MOHAMMED: 
Where am I?

INGRID: 
You’re at the Red Crescent shelter.

MOHAMMED: 
How did I get here?  I was near the mosque, looking for Abu Zaif…I shot some guy with an earring…somebody shot me….

INGRID: 
I went to the Mosque of the Prophet Younis, because I needed water.  You were there, on the ground, almost dead.

MOHAMMED: 
You saved my life?

INGRID: 
Yes.

MOHAMMED: 
But, you knew that I was the enemy.

INGRID: 
I knew that you were a man.  I knew you were going to die if I didn’t help.

MOHAMMED: 
How can I repay you?

INGRID: 
You could put down your gun, or at least stop using it.

MOHAMMED: 
I’m not sure that’s possible.

INGRID: 
You’d best be on your way, then.  God be with you!

[he leaves -- later, she leaves]
[enter TRUCK DRIVER]

TRUCK DRIVER:  
I’m a truck driver in these parts, so I like to tell stories, to pass the time.  I get some riders, going over to the sea, to Lebanon, or the other way, and it’s a long way, I like to jab.  Between Iraq and a hard place, I like to say.  Garden of Eden, Tower of Babel, I’ve seen ‘em all.  So over here a ways on that hill is where Jonah ended up.  Ever hear of Jonah?  One day God told him, go to Ninevah, that great city, but Jonah told God, forget it, and he jumped on a boat to Spain.  But God caught up to him, and delivered a storm like you wouldn’t believe. Big waves, tempest, that kind of stuff. So Jonah, he jumped ship, and he was swallowed by a whale.  You know the story of Jonah?   Everyone thinks, now that’s something, swallowed by a whale, three days and three nights in the belly of hell, and, yeah, that was kind of unusual.  But what would you do if you were swallowed by a whale?  You’d pray.  You’d say, if I ever get on dry land, I’ll do whatever God wants.  And that’s what he did.  And sure enough, the whale spit him out, and God said to him, get thee to Ninevah! 

[TRUCK DRIVER leaves, CAPTAIN comes forward]

CAPTAIN: 
So, middle of summer, it’s hotter than a furnace.  They blew up the Marine hospital.  They snuck up on us. Shooting everywhere. I go up to the communications outpost, Rae is dead, Billy Jack is injured.  I didn’t find out about this Wassef Ali guy until later. Meanwhile, I got nowhere to take Billy Jack.  So I take him down to the Red Crescent hospital, near the mosque of the Prophet. 

(SCENE SIX: In the Red Crescent hospital again)

CAPTAIN (bringing in BILLY JACK): 
I’ve got a soldier down, can you help him?

INGRID: 
I’m out of supplies.  I’ve had no supplies for three days.

CAPTAIN: 
He’s almost dead.  He needs treatment right away.

INGRID: 
I’ll see what I can do.

BILLY JACK: 
What happened?  Where am I?

CAPTAIN: 
We were attacked by rebels.  Bombed and shot.

BILLY JACK: 
Where’s Rae?  Where’s Wassefali?

CAPTAIN: 
Who’s Wassefali?

BILLY JACK: 
Communications guy.  From Fallujah.  He was with us for a while.

CAPTAIN: 
Rae’s dead.  I didn’t see this Wassefali guy.

BILLY JACK: 
Rae, she saved my life…she dragged me to safety…but then they shot her too…

INGRID: 
Hold still, soldier, I’ll fix your leg.

BILLY JACK: 
OOOOUUUCHHH!

INGRID: 
Hold still, I said!

BILLY JACK: 
Out of the belly of hell, cried I…

INGRID: 
And thou heardest my voice!

BILLY JACK: 
For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about…

INGRID: 
All thy billows and thy waves passed over me!

BILLY JACK: 
You know that verse?

INGRID: 
Jonah 2:2 and 2:3!

CAPTAIN: 
Jonah? He’s the one that got swallowed by the whale!

INGRID: 
See that?  [Points out window]

BILLY JACK: 
What, that mosque?  With the blue glazed walls?

INGRID: 
The Mosque of the Prophet Younis.

BILLY JACK: 
What about it?

INGRID: 
Younis is Jonah.

BILLY JACK: 
WHAT?

INGRID: 
It’s a long story.  The whale spit out Jonah.  

BILLY JACK: 
God told Jonah to go to Ninevah.

INGRID: 
And here we are.

BILLY JACK: 
This is Ninevah?

INGRID: 
Actually, the remains of Ninevah are just outside of town, near a village called Nebbi Yunas.  But yes, that’s right.  Mosul is Ninevah. And you’re free to go, soldier.  

BILLY JACK: 
You saved my life.  What can I do to repay you?

INGRID: 
Put down your gun.  Or at least stop using it. 

[OLD MAN enters]

OLD MAN: 
Supplies!

INGRID: 
I’m so glad to see you!

OLD MAN: 
I was detained. 

CAPTAIN: 
Who are you?

OLD MAN: 
I am but an old man, a Chaldean.  And yourself?

CAPTAIN: 
I am a captain of the US Marines.

OLD MAN: 
I have just been captured by rebels. They released me after many days.  But first they captured a Marine. A Muslim guy.

BILLY JACK: 
Wassefali!

INGRID: 
Wassef Ali Hassoun? I saw him on television!

CAPTAIN: 
You did?

INGRID: 
They said it’s not clear whether he deserted or was captured.

CAPTAIN: 
That’s true.  It’s not clear.

BILLY JACK: 
Excuse me, but it’s clear to me.  He didn’t desert.  He never would have deserted.  He’s a Marine.  Semper Fi.

CAPTAIN: 
He’s a Muslim.  

BILLY JACK: 
He didn’t desert!  I swear it on the Bible!

CAPTAIN: 
So I should believe it?

BILLY JACK: 
I swear to God!

CAPTAIN: 
OK, OK.

OLD MAN: 
So that Muslim, I don’t know what happened to him.  All I know is, they let me go, and here I am.  Oh, and [to INGRID] I saved your life, by the way…

INGRID: 
What can I do to repay you?

OLD MAN: 
No, no, I am repaying you…

[THEY EXIT)…ENTER MOHAMMED, SHARIF, AND WASSEFALI.  MOHAMMED IS HOLDING GUN TO WASSEFALI’S HEAD]

MOHAMMED: 
Don’t move, soldier.  We’ve got you now.

SHARIF: 
An American guy, huh?  Hey, you look familiar.  Have I seen you on television somewhere?

MOHAMMED: 
So what should we do now, kill him?

SHARIF:  
No, we have to take him to headquarters.   Let THEM kill him. YOU have to take him there. Don’t let him out of your sight.  When you get there, they’ll know what to do with him.

[they exit. ENTER CAPTAIN]

CAPTAIN: 
So every day my superiors say to me, this Wassef Ali guy, he betrayed us, didn’t he?  And I said, no, I don’t think so.  I remember what Billy Jack said, I remember everything.  I think my soldiers would have known if he wasn’t loyal.  And they said, but he was Muslim, he spoke Arabic, he had the opportunity, he could have done it. And I said, no, I don’t think he did. They said, we saw him on television, with a sword over his head. Maybe he was working with them.  It was beginning to make me mad.  Finally I just told them off. I said, these kids don’t betray each other.  They’re kids.  How are they going to join the other side?

[exits. Enter TRUCK DRIVER]

TRUCK DRIVER:  
Where was I?  So, yeah, that’s right.  Three days, three nights in the belly of a fish.  A fish, they called it.  That’s the part everybody remembers.  But then, this fish, this whale, whatever, it vomits him out onto dry land.  And he goes to Ninevah.  Takes a bath right over here a few miles. And he says to them, that’s the Ninevites, you know, the Assyrians, forsake your vanities.  “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy,” those were his exact words.  And you know what?  It’s not easy, telling the truth to the powerful people….

[exits. Enter MOHAMMED] 

MOHAMMED:  
A while back, we captured this old Chaldean guy, but what good was he to us?  We captured an American later anyway.  He was this Muslim guy.  Then Sharif says, you take this guy back to base and they’ll kill him.  So I’m guarding this guy all the way back to base, and I see this thing he’s got around his neck. It turns out, we’re from the same town, the same town in Lebanon. I knew by the thing around his neck.  I said to myself, how can I kill this guy? 

Three days, three nights we were going toward the base, and I’m guarding him.  And I’m thinking, he’s an American, he’s a soldier, but I can’t kill him.  I can’t even take him to his death. It’s not right. I couldn’t do it.  

So a supply truck to Lebanon comes along, on the east-west road, and I got my chance.  Middle of the night, I said to him, in our own dialect, hide in the back of that truck, under the bushels of olives, and he did.  I sent him on his way.  That guy will be in Lebanon in a couple of days!  Later, they asked me what happened, I said, I don’t know, somebody knocked me out, I didn’t see a thing.

[exits. Enter TRUCK DRIVER]

TRUCK DRIVER: 
Where was I? So God saves the people of Ninevah.  And Jonah was mad at God.  Jonah said, how can you save these people?  The Ninevites, they were these powerful Assyrians. “These are the enemy!” he said. And you know what God said? He says, “And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand…(laughs at his own joke for a while…then looks confused)…you know what?  Sometimes I hear voices in the back of my truck.  It’s like, somebody’s laughing at my jokes or something…

[exits. Enter CAPTAIN]

CAPTAIN: 
Wassef Ali Hassoun appeared in Lebanon after two days; his appearance set off a riot in his hometown, when it was discovered that he was an American soldier. He was handed over to the Marines, though, and they charged him with desertion and sent him home to Utah. As for me, the old man told me off that very day. 
 
[enter OLD MAN]

OLD MAN: 
This is what I have to say to you, Captain.  Some people say Americans are vain, with their earrings, crosses, pearls, shiny jewels.  I say vanity is thinking you know what’s best for someone, always thinking you’re right.  You Americans come in here, you think you’re going to help the people of Iraq.  Do you know what would happen if we had majority rule here?  We Christians would be finished.  The Kurds would kill us, and if they didn’t, the Sunnis or the Shiites would.  Do you think you can keep order here?  Do you think you can be like Saddam, and just kill everyone who doesn’t like you? Do you think you can set up a government?  This is vanity!  And your vanity will be your undoing! 
[he exits]

CAPTAIN: 
So here I am. I was never able to forget that old man’s words.  And even if you believe in war, this is a hard war to believe in.  But I’ve lost my will to do it, and at least I had a choice.  I finally went back and I told those guys, I’ve had enough.  I’m not reupping for another turn, I don’t care what you say.  So now I’m retired.    

I stayed in touch with everyone, for a while, except for Rae, who died, of course.  I went to New York,to tell her family.  I tell you, it doesn’t get any easier. It’s true she died as a hero, but she still died.  Billy Jack went home too, lost his leg, got out of the service, got some time to think.  Wassef Ali, home in Utah, was supposed to re-appear at his camp just last December, to face his desertion rap, and never did.  He’s gone missing.  Can’t say as I blame him.  I think he just didn’t want to kill anybody. Some people like to kill people, some never will.  And sometimes I look out my own window, at young Americans with their earrings, their jewelry, on a Spring day like this, and you know what I think? Put down your gun, America.  Or at least, stop using it!

[exits]  

CURTAIN CALL…

Author’s note: Wassef Ali Hassoun is the only real character in this play.  He is a real person, in fact disappeared from his unit in Fallujah; appeared in Lebanon, was charged with desertion by the Marines, returned to Utah, and failed to reappear for duty and to face charges last December.  It is suspected that he may be back in Lebanon or in Canada; he hasn’t been seen by the Marines or by his family.  His placement in Mosul, the people he met, and the details of his transport to Lebanon were fictional; it’s not known what really happened to him in Iraq.