WE WERE MADE FOOLS

CHARACTERS FOREIGN WORKER 1 An Indian migrant worker; young, handsome and fit. Looks like a younger, trendier version of Amitabh Bachchan. Speaks with a faint Northern Indian accent. Older Indian migrant worker, in his 30s, slightly overweight, sporting full moustache.

FOREIGN WORKER 2

TIME Present day Malaysia, after sunset. The play takes place at the alley behind an undistinguished restaurant, during a short cigarette break.

[On a dark, empty stage, the spotlight illuminates FOREIGN WORKER 1 sitting on the steps in the alley behind the restaurant, crouched with his hands resting on his knees. In his left hand, pinched between his thumb and middle finger is a lit cigarette, almost down to the filter. He is lost in his thoughts when FOREIGN WORKER 2 enters the scene through the door behind FOREIGN WORKER 1. He goes down the 3 steps and stands on the road, towering over FOREIGN WORKER 1. He removes a pack of cigarettes from the back pocket of his jeans and slaps one out. Casually, he places it between his lips, swipes the lighter from his front pocket and lights the cigarette, taking a long, deep drag as he slowly turns around to look at FOREIGN WORKER 1.) FOREIGN WORKER 2 Arey, bhai. Why the sad face? (Takes a deep drag as he lowers himself to sit beside FOREIGN WORKER 1). (Exhale) Missing your Juliet back home? FOREIGN WORKER 1 No. (Beat) Its mummy. She called. FOREIGN WORKER 2 Ah, call from the mother. Explains the face. Bol, what does she want this time? FOREIGN WORKER 1 Photos. She wants bloody photos. That trip to Singapore. Beta, she says, post us the photo. FOREIGN WORKER 2 So, isme kya problem hai? Just photos, na? Post it. FOREIGN WORKER 1 (Scoffing) She says Leela from the house opposite been telling her about her son in Amrika. Badha ghaar, baadi car. Many photos, she says. Wants to show Leela her son is doing well himself. Just went to Singapore. (bitterly) For holiday.

(FOREIGN WORKER 2 looks at FOREIGN WORKER 1 with a sideway glance, tilting his chin to his left. Takes a drag and offers FOREIGN WORKER 1 a puff, who shakes his head and lifts his left hand to show the cigarette in his fingers looks at the cigarette bud, drops his shoulder and sighs as he flicks the cigarette bud into the darkness.) FOREIGN WORKER 1 What photos to send? How to tell her that her beta was there just as the gurkha in taukehs sisters house? What photos to send? Photo of the stupid dog that always pissed on my shoes or the taukehs mother who said she will tell taukeh that I was a pervert if I didnt fuck her? Budhi hai, so old! (Beat) (Angrily) I fucking hate her! FOREIGN WORKER 2 Dont... (Looks at FOREIGN WORKER 1 straight in the eye, expressionless) FOREIGN WORKER 2 (Lowered voice) Dont ever mention that again. Samjah? Khabhi nehi. Forget about the mother. If that man finds out you touched his mother, tu na, (flicks the right hand) khatham. (Beat) Forget it ever happened. FOREIGN WORKER 1 I...I... (Starts sobbing angrily, punching his right fist against his right temple) FOREIGN WORKER 1 They told us, Malaysia is just like Amrika. Good work, good pay. Can make more money. Forget Amrika, forget Dubai, forget Canada. Closer to home, can get good job. Good job. Saab dhiya. Ghaar bhecha, car bhecha, everything. To become a sweeper? If I ever see that madarchod who duped us...

FOREIGN WORKER 1 (CONTD) (Lifts both hands to make a choking motion) I swear I will rip his head off and feed it to the dogs. (FOREIGN WORKER 1 balls both fists in front of his face, staring at his clenched fingers with tear-sodden eyes, burning in fury. FOREIGN WORKER 2 looks ahead, ignoring the burst of emotions beside him) (Pause) (FOREIGN WORKER 1 lifts head, pinches his nose with right thumb and index finger, blows snot and wipes on the leg of his jeans) FOREIGN WORKER 1 Advertisement in the paper. Big, full of colours. Make your dream come true, it said. Work anywhere in the world, earn USD. (Beat) We went. Went to the agency. Puch-tach kiya. Malaysia is very good. Clean, modern. Safe. No terrorist. No tornado. No snow. Like Goa, they say. Rich Goa. Big cars, Mercedes, BMW, Ferarri. Big companies. Intel hai, Dell hai, Western Digital hai. (Angrily raises his left then right arms, wipes eyes aggressively) FOREIGN WORKER 1 You have got degree no? That khamina asked me. (scoffs) Ha, ji. BCom, second class from Government Bikram College of Commerce in Patiala. Looking for job, aakhe saal hogiya, still no job. Maybe overseas got work, so I come to see you. (shouts) What for? He robbed me, cheat. Saalah kamina. Saab kuch dhiya. SAAB KUCH. (FOREIGN WORKER 1 buries his face in his hands, fingers deep in his hair, grabbing on hard. Grunts of frustration audible though slightly muffled, giving a raw animal sound of pain. FOREIGN WORKER 2 shrugs, shakes his head left to right, slowly.) FOREIGN WORKER 2 (Pause) You are not the first and you wont be the last. This is how they work.

FOREIGN WORKER 2 (CONTD) They know, we are fools. Vides is always better than our des. The NRI dream. Foreign job, foreign car, desi wife. Study hard, go to college. Degree lena. Degree ke baad, Masters sikho. Engineering sikho, Silicon Valley wants Indians, plane loads of Indians. Bangalore is not enough, go vides. America hai, Canada hai, Malaysia hai, Singapore hai. (Sarcastically) What did I get? Beta, they said, you have degree and masters. Electrical engineering. High demand, high demand. (Beat) First, you go to Singapore. Two months, tops. Enjoy yourself there. See the sea, go to the port. Lots of things to do. Two months. Vacation. Once Visa ready, you work in Malaysia. Many electrical giants. Sony. Pansonic. Motorola. Masters, easy to get good work. High pay. 1, 2 years, can go to Japan. (Mutters) JA-PAN. Hah, Japan. (Looks at FOREIGN WORKER 1, wags finger) FOREIGN WORKER 2 Its those agents. Our own people. Not our taukeh here. He just wants cheap workers. How, he doesnt care. You think these people give a shit that their waiter is a Masters graduate? That I am more qualified than them. (FOREIGN WORKER 2 turns his head to the right and spits in contempt) FOREIGN WORKER 2 Listen to me. It was us who were fools, we. YOU. ME. Hamara loge. (Smiles, looks straight ahead into the darkness) FOREIGN WORKER 2 We follow blindly. We dont find out. Agent tells us, pay 1 lakh, we send you to kahim bhi. We dont question. First go on tourist visa, then when there can apply for work visa. Very easy. Our partner in Malaysia will handle, they know people. (Pause) We think hamara des has nothing for us. Aapna galti. They ask for so much money, we give them blindly. They are conmen. We are the victims. First class slaves, you and me. (Beat)

FOREIGN WORKER 2 (CONTD) You know, I came here on a tourist visa. I did not question the agent. Should have known, it was a scam. They took 1 lakh from us. My wife, my dear Anju, had to sell all her gold. Oh, how stupid we were. I was in Singapore for just a few weeks when the agent there took me to Malaysia. They said they had all the papers. Pahale KL, phir Ipoh. Akhir mem they brought me here, to Bukit Mertajam. (Sighs)When I asked when will I go for the interview, they said later. Now you must work, if not deport you. Work in the supermarket. All day long I worked. 450 ringgit. Not even 8 thousand rupees. A month. Few months later, they sent me here. (Pause) When I was working at the supermarket, I met this auntie ji. She is from Punjab also, Gurdaspur se. Married a Malaysian Madrassi. She invited me to her house. Thats where I met her husband. The uncle asked me many questions. About how I landed in Bukit Mertajam. I told him the long story. FOREIGN WORKER 1 Then? Unne kya bohla? FOREIGN WORKER 2 What do you think? FOREIGN WORKER 1 (Shrugs) Muchje kya malum... (Beat) Can he help? Will he help you get an engineer job? (Voice full of hope) Do you think he will help me? (FOREIGN WORKER 2 looks at FOREIGN WORKER 1 incredulously, shaking his head with a faint smile of resignation) FOREIGN WORKER 2 You still dont get it, do you? We have been cheated. (Laughing) SCAMMED... DUPED. Samja? (Beat) Humko bevkuf bana diya. (Blackout) THE END