My+Playwrite+LHF

Being Confused Ms Ferhani & Mr Batt

CHARACTERS: ALI- Afghan/American immigrant in his late 20's. Ali is the kind of person who is easily convinced by anything even really dumb ideas. A terrorist group is recruiting him.

AAFREEN: Afghan/American immigrant in her early 30's, she is Ali's older sister. Aafreen really cares about Ali but sometimes is a little over-protective, and doesn't believe anything he says. She loves America even though she really doesn't know much about politics

JOE: American in his late 20's, he is Ali's best friend. Joe is a really smart person that has lots of inside information about what's going on in the goverment but is a little shy. He loves America and is trying to convince Ali not to join the terrorist group.

FAHRAN: Ali's and Aafreen's uncle, he is from Afghanistan he supports some decisions made by the American government about living in America but not all of the decisions made about Afghanistan.

SETTING: The setting is Ali’s family apartment in Bronx, New York, in the kitchen. It looks like a regular 2 bedroom middle class apartment with a kitchen, bathroom, and living room. The only thing that is different about this apartment is that there are some decorations from Afghanistan since that's where Ali's family is from. Ali and Aafreen are siblings; they emigrated from Afghanistan to America when they were little babies with their uncle Fahran. Both parents died in the war.

DIALOGUE: //(The curtain comes up and you see Ali’s apartment as described in SETTING. Joe is sitting at the table reading the Sunday New York Times, Aafreen is getting herself a Diet Coke)//

//( Ali enters looking tired, he walks over towards Joe.)//

JOE: Hey, how was your day dude?

ALI: Good. After going to work, I went to the mosque and talked to this interesting guy there-- he really opened my eyes to something important.

AAFREEN: Oh no! What did he say? (//rolling her eyes and sighing//)

ALI: This is important. Just because you think I'm stupid and gullible doesn't mean his ideas are stupid!

JOE: Okay! Let's change the topic. I don't like it when we argue. Did you hear? The news reported that the president is sending 20,000 more troops to Afghanistan!

ALI: (//Ali slams his fist onto the table//) Are you serious? That’s horrible!

AAFREEN: What do you mean Ali? The troops are helping them!

JOE: Yeah, the United States is Afghanistan’s only chance!

ALI: The American government sucks and now they add more troops into a country where they don’t belong? That’s crazy! I hate this country, I want to go back to Afghanistan where my friends would understand me!

AAFREEN: What friends? The only friends you are gonna make if you keep your mindset this way are terrorists. What happened to you? You’ve loved everything about America forever. After mom and dad died in the war in Afghanistan, Fahran brought us here, and it's a great life. I thought you agreed with almost everything the president is doing in Afghanistan, and almost everything else here in America.

JOE: Aafreen is right, you never have criticized anything the government had done before. Why the sudden outburst?

ALI: (//points at himself//) Me, never oppose anything our government does? Since when... there are so many problems with it! And you //(points at Aafreen)// don’t care about anything that has to do with the government!

JOE: Since forever you have almost always agreed with everything our government does for us.

ALI: Yeah I do oppose a lot. The American government lies and only tells the American people what they want to hear. They don’t hear the other side of things.

JOE: Okay, give us an example.

ALI: How 'bout Guantanamo Bay? The way they interrogated and treated the prisoners was horrible and unlawfull. Most of the prisoners are held there without charge. Some prisoners are forced to spend all but one hour of their day in their cells!

AAFREEN: The government did that to get information. I bet the Afghan terrorist groups and government use the same techniques there! And besides, you are only focusing on the bad things about our government. It’s not like they've never done anything to help us, the people!

JOE: Yeah she’s right, the government isn’t all bad. The reason the government added more troops to Afghanistan is to protect us from the terrorists. If we had never gone into Afghanistan stuff like nine-eleven would be a regular thing, American citizens would be dying everyday.

ALI: But now the American troops are in Afghanistan, and a lot of innocent Afghans are being killed everyday, for no reason!

ACTION: Fahran enters looking annoyed.

FAHRAN: What is all this about? You guys are making so much noise, I can’t hear American Idol!

AAFREEN: Sorry Fah. Ali just came home and randomly started criticizing everything that the American government does, just because Joe told him about the troop surge in Afghanistan.

FAHRAN: Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down Aafreen. Ali, I thought you loved America, what happened to you?

ALI: A new member at the Mosque has opened my eyes to all the bad things the American government does. Like the 20,000 troop surge in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, global warming and that's just the beginning. I’m trying to explain to them about how the American government lies and only tells the American citizens what they want to hear, but they don’t believe me!

FAHRAN: Okay I might disagree with some things the government does in Afghanistan and a couple other things here and there like Guantanamo. I don’t think the government is doing anything wrong.

ALI: At least you see some of the truth.

JOE: Okay this new guy at the mosque is poisoning Ali’s mind with these ideas about the government. I'd like to know more about him, he sounds creepy.

AAFREEN: I don't trust him. Tell us everything you know about him and everything he has said to you.

ALI: He knows about what’s going on in Afghanistan because he just got back from there, ok? He’s only going to be here for a few weeks before he heads back.

JOE: Why has he come here?

AAFREEN: Is he here with his family?

ALI: He’s here because… (//he pauses not knowing what to say next, so he changes the subject//) He knows what’s really going on. I can see it in his face

JOE: What do you mean?

ALI: He's seen it, the Americans are setting up camps everywhere.

JOE: But I read that the soldiers are trying to help the Afghan economy.

ALI: No, that’s a lie, the troops are really there to control the country, not to help the villagers. How do you know they aren’t putting lies in the paper?

JOE: That guy, a total stranger with no family here. How do you know he's not lying?

AAFREEN: Okay, you guys can keep arguing. I have to go hang out with my friends. We’re going to see High School Musical 3!

ALI: With who?

AAFREEN: Why do you care?

ALI: Is a boy going?

AAFREEN: No, it's none of your buisness!

ALI: Women shouldn’t be allowed to socialize together without a boy there. That’s how it is in Afghanistan.

AAFREEN: (//Yelling at him//) Okay, maybe since you suddenly hate America so much you should go back to Afghanistan with your new best friend. This is ridiculous I’m sick and tired of you, I’m leaving! (//she leaves//)

JOE: Yeah, I’m with Aafreen. I love you like a brother but if you're always gonna be in such a bad mood and if you're gonna hate on the country that I love, it makes me mad! I’m tired of your brand new ideas-- you have to choose who you are going to believe: a random person that you just met who is trying to control your mind or your best friend and your older sister.

FAHRAN: Hey Guys, come here! There is this kid on American Idol singing Born in the USA. He's amazing! I think he could win.

ACTION: (//FAHRAH turns up the volume and as the curtain goes down, you can hear Born in the USA blaring through the apartment.//)

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