Gospel of the

Spangled Banner
A stage documentary about colonialism in the Americas

by: Diego lvarez Robledo

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 America

1.

Bailey: Human kind was born in Africa, a hundred and fifty thousand years ago.

Rebecca: There were no races then, just a pack of primates striving to survive.

Austin: A great family that spread throughout the world, in search for a better place.

Bailey: Since the time when we first left Africa, we've always been a a migrant species.

Rebecca: This is America.

Austin: The first humans arrived 30 thousand years ago, during a glaciation period.

Bailey: According to some, it is two continents: North America and South America.

Rebecca: According to others, it is a single continent, represented by the red ring in the
Olympic Symbol.

Bailey: A strip of land that from Pole to Pole.

Austin: If you're persistent and strong, you can watch the Northern Lights in Fairbanks,
Alaska, and walk to Tierra del Fuego in Argentina to see the Southern lights.

Rebecca It's a journey of almost 15,000 miles. Not many people can make it.

Bailey: The first humans who saw the Southern Lights took 8,000 years to cross America.

Austin: By then, the polar ice had melted, and mankind was separated into two different
landmasses for thousands of years.

Rebecca: We were split for so long that we lost memory of each other.

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Bailey: We're a lousy migrant species. Monarch butterflies never forget their journey of life
that brings them from Canada to Mexico each year.

Austin: But people we forget.

Bailey: Most of us, actors and audience in this theatre, we won't be remembered in 100
years.

Rebecca: So According to the official story in most of America, Christopher Columbus was
the first man that reunited the family.

Bailey: 500 years before, Leif Eriksson and his brothers built a Viking colony in
Newfoundland, Canada, that lasted a few winters.

Rebecca: But Columbus was different, he always had big dreams.

2.

Bailey: (Singing:) I have a dream.

It's tainted by the blood of my ancestors, it's a recurring dream.
I'm sitting over the crest of a wave so blue it's purple,
and I'm riding the crest of this wave like the wet cold hump of an infinite camel,
walking endlessly to the horizon.
And the ocean is a water desert, not a single cloud in the sky.
I'm tired and thirsty, I haven't slept for days.
I feel sick with loneliness, like the only shipwreck survivor
when the sun returns after storm and disaster.
But a voice keeps calling me

Rebecca: Cristophorus Cristophorus

Bailey: and I know I must go on,

so I'll go on until my body is mummified by the salt and the sun,
and even then, beyond those waves, violent as beasts and immense as the steppes.

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Austin: Cristbal! (Music stops.)

Bailey: I'm sorry, Majestad. I

Austin: Shut up! From now on you will address me as Su Majestad la Reina Isabel Primera
de Castilla y de Len.

Bailey: S, Majestad.

Austin: Here's my husband Fernando, King of Aragn and Sicilia.

After eight hundred years, we managed to recover the former glory of Espaa, we
kicked those fucking Moros and Jews back to Africa where they belong. Tell him,
your Majesty My love? Fernando!

Rebecca: Yes, my Queen.

Austin: You fell asleep again.

Rebecca: I didnt Can't help it, dear. You're boring.

Austin: What?

Rebecca: You are! Look at this lad. Even I saw him. He fell asleep before I did.

Austin: I was just telling this pipsqueak how you defeated the Moros and expelled them out
of our peninsula.

Rebecca: Ah! You should have seen it, boy

Those damn Muslims think they know it all, they come here with their science and
laws and try to impose their order on decent catholic people, but we don't need their
knowledge! You've seen their skins, I never saw something as dark in my live, you
wanna know why? Come closer.

Columbus comes close, the King coughs in his face.

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Rebecca: They were created by the Devil himself: a demon called Allah. They don't drink
alcohol, but they feast on the blood of their children. I've seen it boy, hope you
never have to see it yourself. Look what they did to me!
I was tall and strong as a stallion, but they cursed with disease. Look at my fingers.
They're dry and fragile as chicken bones leftover from a feast. You could crush them
easily if you wanted to Come on, try. Try!

Columbus touches the King's finger. The King grabs Columbus' fingers and crushes them with his hand.

Rebecca: But I'm not giving you the chance, little faggot.
We found a way to get rid of all the little pests in society, verdad, mi Reina?
Tell him about La Inquisicin.

Austin: Pope Sixtus the Fourth gave us the order to exterminate all the enemies of the Holly
Trinity. The Moors, the Jews and their treacherous God, anyone who refuses to
accept the glory of Christ. Heretics. Peasants trying to evade our Holly taxes.
Commoners refusing to die for our Holly will. Soldiers daring to lose our Holly
wars. They're all rats. They deserve to die. So the Pope lent us his angels of justice.

Rebecca: We call them Inquisicin.

Austin: It's the Holly Law Enforcement that burns every single rat. We've judged more than
200,000 lost souls and every single one was incinerated into ash.

Rebecca: That's what will happen to you if you try to trick us, you little shit.
They'll find you, even if they have to search on the edge of the world.

Bailey: No, my king, I I'm sure I will find what I promised.

Austin: We're not stupid, Cristbal, we know it's impossible to reach India by the Western
Ocean. Only a pretentious jerk would try and get there traveling around the world.
It's a stupid idea, and still, we will support you, you know why?

Bailey: No, my queen.

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Austin: Because we can. Jesus Christ himself gave us the power to spread his Holly Message
and rule over everyone else. That's why we'll help you.

Bailey: It's an honor, your Majesty.

Rebecca: But you will find that gold you promised, or else you'll be judged by La Inquisicin.

Bailey: Yes, my lord.

Rebecca: Now go, I'm sick of you.

Bailey: What What about the ships you promised, my King?

Rebecca: You have three ships and eighty seven fine Andalusian sailors.

Bailey: Eighty seven only?

Rebecca: So what?

Austin: I forgot you were nothing but a genovese beggar.

Bailey: It's a long journey, your Majesty.

Austin: Fuck off!

Christopher Columbus leaves.

Rebecca: He really is a pussy, my love.

Look at me, all fragile and old and I crushed his hand like a little baby girl's.

3.

Austin: Even though everyone new his trip was a stupid idea, he pressed forward until he
found such egocentric and wealthy Kings that would support him.

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Rebecca: He was angry all the time 'cause he suffered a really aggressive kind of gout.

Austin: He was so stubborn that he forced his crew to keep on sailing, even though every
one was already starving, and the sea had proven that his calculations were wrong.

Rebecca: He was so stubborn, he was willing to take all his men's lives to prove he was right.

Austin: He was so stubborn that he died believing he reached China, India and Japan.

Rebecca: And even though he was so wrong, he really was a lucky bastard.

Austin: But he was not a bad man. He just aimed too high.
Then he got power and power changes men.

4.

Columbus is aching on the Santa Mara caravel.

Bailey: It's a demon, Rodrigo, I got it on one of my journeys, it lives on my fat toe, it
punishes me for having impure thoughts.

Rebecca: Admiral Columbus, our men are hungry, there's nothing left to eat. We think it
might be time to call this whole mission off.

Bailey: We can't go back, It's God's command.

Rebecca: Maybe God is trying to send us a message. Maybe your toe is a warning of what
awaits us if we don't go back right now.

Bailey: What do you mean?

Rebecca: A lot of men are starving, some are sick, many have died.

Bailey: It's a rough world, only the strong prevail and just the strongest are remembered.

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Rebecca: Yesterday we lost a man to some strange disease, it could be the black death.

Bailey: We'll get there, I am sure as the world is round.

Rebecca: Yes, but we'll all be dead by then.

Bailey: I am never wrong! If you don't trust me, you shouldn't have boarded this caravel.

Rebecca: Perhaps neither of us should, but now

Bailey: Oh, the fucking pain!

Rebecca: Admiral, sir, you are not alright, you are evening coursing God.

Bailey: It's not me, it's the demon in my fat toe, speaking through my mouth, you asshole.

Rebecca: It's been two months and no sign of land!

Bailey: Shut up! We will go on, even if we lose every single man, even if I have to endure a
thousand days of hunger and my body eats all my flesh away. I'll eat all of your dead
bodies if I have to.

Rebecca: But why are you so obsessed with this?

Bailey: You really don't know, Rodrigo? Then I'll tell you how this world works
(Singing:) You can give your heart to Jesus, you can be the best of men
But there's always someone strong enough to fuck your rear end.
If you think that working hard's enough to get you through your life
Think of all the moors and and jews we've slain or turned them into slaves.
After so much pain and suffering and working off our youths,
We're not stronger, we're not richer, I look just as screwed as you
But there's a secret you must know so clean up your festered ears:
There's not such thing as God on Earth, Kings bleed like you and me.

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 We've been told since children that working means success
And we believed that fucking lie, and played into their game
Kings don't work their asses off, they only drink and eat,
and the reason they can do so's they've got power over me.
The key to their success is only making us believe
we're weak enough or fool enough to fall down on our knees.
The only real way that you can get what you deserve
It's taking it from others who are weaker than yourself.

Now what is the nature of that power

Why did the Kings slaughter a million moors and burnt all their wealth and cloths
and books?
Because they can.
Repeat after me, Rodrigo: Because I can.

Rebecca: Because I can.

Bailey: Why did Hulagu Khan impale everyone in Baghdad?

Rebecca: Because he could.

Bailey: Why did Attila rape eleven thousand virgin saints?

Rebecca: Because he could.

Bailey: Why did the Pope burn heretics in green wood?

Rebecca: Because he could!

Bailey: And why I would give all my men's lives just to follow my stubborn dream?

Rebecca: Because you can! Bailey: Because I can!

Bailey: Come on, Rodrigo! Call one of your servants. Show him who's got the power.

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Rebecca: Ramrez! Muhammad Ramrez, get your ass over here

Austin: Yes, sir.

Bailey: He's perfect! A halfing: half human, half moor. So disgusting.

He fucking stinks. Now make him do something, anything you want.

Rebecca: Bring me a cup of rum, Ramrez.

Austin: Yes, sir!

Bailey: No! You have total power over him, make him do something humiliating,
something you would rather die than do.

Rebecca: But I like him.

Bailey: It doesn't matter.

Rebecca: Why not!

Bailey: For God's sake, Rodrigo Because you can!

Rebecca: Yes, I can!

Austin: Here's the rum, sir.

Bailey: Do it!

Rebecca: Ramrez, hit yourself. (He does.)

Bailey: How does it feel?

Rebecca: It feels awesome.

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Bailey: Now do something else.

Rebecca: Ramrez, lick the floor.

Ramrez, growl like a hog.

Bailey: More!

Rebecca: Rub yourself on the floor, fucking hog.

Bailey: What are you, Rodrigo, a woman or a leper or a Jew? More!!!

Rebecca: Oh, you see that? I stepped on my own crap. It's all over my boots. Clean it.
Come on, eat it you sick bastard! Eat! Alright, you fucking pig, I hope you like it.

Ramrez eats it. Rodrigo pours his cup of rum, all over him.

Rebecca: Now lit yourself on fire, pig.

Austin: I don't want to die, please.

Rebecca: He's refusing, Admiral Christophorus, what should I do?

Bailey: Show him that you can! Teach that fucking halfling!

Rodrigo stabs him, then sets him on fire.

Bailey: Be careful, we don't want to catch a fire on the ship. Just throw him in the ocean.

They throw the burning body out of their ship.

Bailey: Are you happy now! Do you feel it?

Rebecca: I can do it!

Bailey: Of course you can!

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Austin: Admiral Columbus! Admiral Columbus!

Rebecca: It's Martn Pinzn, from the Nia!

Austin: Land in sight! Land it sight!

Rebecca: They're firing the lombard, sir. We found land!

Bailey: You see, Rodrigo? I told you we had to get there. This is the mysterious island of
Japan, in the deepest corners of Asia, where the most primitive and savage men
live We'll teach those damn savages what we can do in the name of Jesus Christ.

Hours later.

Rebecca: Admiral! We found one of them.

Rodrigo is holding a prisoner.

Bailey: It's a Japanese Indian. What a nice piece of flesh.

The prisoner and Columbus stare deeply at each other.

In their look there's fascination and fear. They touch each other's faces tenderly.
It is a beautiful moment, interrupted abruptly, as Columbus shoots the Japanese Indian in the head.

Bailey: Come here, Rodrigo!

Rebecca: Yes, sir!

Bailey: Look. His face is covered in gold. We found it, Rodrigo!

This is the power we were looking for! Bring me another one. I will interrogate him.
Be sure to show him this corpse, so he'll know we were sent by Jesus.

Rebecca: Yes, sir! Here's another one.

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Bailey: Good! What's your name, son?

Austin: Boko ad'lali hora agutumayu popka tzi mou-gau.

Bailey: They speak the language of the Devil. Quick, Rodrigo. Brand him with the cross.

Rodrigo marks him with a firebrand shaped like a cross.

Bailey: Now he can become a decent Christian like us. Excellent, Rodrigo!
Bring me more of these things. They're strong. They will make fine slaves.

He cuts the Japanese Indian's skin.

Bailey: Their blood is red, just like ours. We will teach them how serve us and pray.
They'll make perfect gifts for our Catholic Kings until we find their gold.
Because we can!

5.

Austin: Columbus returned to Spain after conquering a few lands. He brought tens of native
slaves with him.

Rebecca: He called them Indios. They were carried like cattle. Only 7 survived.

Bailey: When he returned to the Catholic Kings' court with slaves and gold, he was named
Great Admiral of the Holly Kingdom of Spain.

Austin: His story provoked an unprecedented rage for adventure.

Rebecca: Italian sailor John Cabot claimed Newfoundland for the English crown in 1497.

Bailey: And Pedro lvares arrived at Brazil in 1500 and claimed it for the portuguese.

Rebecca: It was on one of Pedro's journeys that another adventurer realized something.

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Austin: This is not the Indies. This is an unseen New World between Europe and Asia.

Bailey: His name was Americo Vespucci.

Rebecca: In 1502, he wrote a letter to his master, Lorenzo di Pier Francesco di Medici.

Bailey: His letter, Mundus Novus, stated that the lands found by Columbus were in fact, a
new world, undiscovered by their culture.

Rebecca: Columbus learned about this, and he died in denial.

Austin: So he didn't actually discover America. Yet, he's remembered as a hero.

Bailey: Even if the most heinous crimes against humanity were perpetrated during his rule.

Austin: It is said that one time

Rebecca: Admiral Columbus, this Indian wanted to steal one of my goats.

Austin: Pokoto iwalislaya putumayu cokorz.

Bailey: I hate when Indians try to have free wills. Cut his ears, and his nose and force him
to wear chains form now on. Show him what you can do, my boy!

The Indian is tortured to death. The musical from last scene is back. Because I can theme reprised.

Bailey: So Columbus didn't just ignite the flame, he established the ways.

Mexico, 1521
Rebecca: My name is Hernn Corts, conqueror of the Aztec Empire, and I proclaim this land
as New Spain, in the name of the Holly Spanish Crown, because I can.

Per, 1532
Austin: My name is Pizarro, slayer of the Incas, and I baptize this Holly City as Lima, Capital
of Per, on the name of the Holly Spanish crown because I can.

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Saint Laurence river, 1534
Bailey: My name is Jacques Cartier and I claim this land on the name of God and Francis I,
Holly King of France, because I can.

Florida, 1565
Rebecca: My name is Pedro Menndez de Avils and I name this land Saint Augustine of
Florida in the name of the Holly Spanish Crown, because I can.

Virginia, 1604
Austin: I'm Captain Christopher Newport and I name this land Jamestown, property of the
Virginia Company of London and King James I, because I can.

Massachusetts, 1614
Bailey: I'm Adriaen Block and I claim this land on the name of The Royal Dutch Company
because I can.

Louisiana, 1682
Rebecca: I'm Robert Cavelier de La Salle, and I name this land Louisiana, to honor the
Dauphin, Louis 14th, and the Holly French Empire, because I can.

Bailey: The amount of gold and silver in the world market tripled during these years.

Austin: And modern economy was born. In exchange, they brought money and religion.

Rebecca: We'll save their souls, even if we have to cut all of their heads to do so.

Bailey: In Just 200 years of history, Columbus' legacy was complete.

Austin: 95% of the native population in America was killed by wars, slavery and disease.

Rebecca: Perhaps the best example is the island of Hispania, now Haiti and the Dominican
Republic, the site of Columbus' first colony.

Austin: There is no trace of the original Tano population who inhabited that island.

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Rebecca They were exterminated 50 years after Columbus arrived.

Bailey: Countless languages and cultures were lost in this process, named colonization to
honor the man that started it all. We don't even know who they were.

Austin: And that was just the beginning of America

Bailey: There is no such thing as modern history. History is an endless spiral.

Austin: You can't avoid making the same mistakes over and over again.

Rebecca: The story of America has never seen the end of colonialism.

Bailey: It is a story of power, written in the blood of all the people who lived here.

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 Segregation

Rebecca: Mexico is a land of sacrifice.

Bailey: Even before the spanish colonizers arrived, people suffered under the power of
superstitious and tyrannic emperors.

Austin: The Aztecs sacrificed over 30 thousand people a year from 1325 to 1521.

Rebecca: Overall, they killed 6 million in their holocaust.

Bailey: Every twilight, the Sun God lost his blood and demanded sacrifice to replenish.

Austin. The act consisted in extirpating the victim's heart with a jade or obsidian knife.

Rebecca: During their Flower Wars, Mexicas captured thousands of enemies who were slain
at festivities.

Bailey: It's understandable that the superstitious and Catholic Spanish would believe they
were demons.

Depiction of human sacrifice.

Austin: So after the conquest, there was a debate concerning Native Americas in Valladolid.

Rebecca: Indians are not men. They are demons! How can Fray Bartolom state they are
human after such depictions of witchcraft and dark arts?

Every one of you should know,

there's a natural law
Aristotle knew about it
and also God our Lord.

There's a natural place for people,

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 black, indian or moor,
but white are the superior people,
God wants us to rule.

Chorus: Above everyone else.

Above everyone else.

Bailey: Those are not the words of Jesus,

have you read at all?
There is neither Jew nor greek and
neither slave or free,

There is neither men or female,

Says Galatians three:
For you are all one in
Jesus Christ.

Chorus: Above everyone else

Above everyone else

Rebecca: Clearly you're not sayin' this indians

are better than us,
remember God has chosen people
since the world was born.

You should suck the milk of nations

and the breast of kings
and you should know that I'm your savior
says Isaiah sixty

Austin. Both Fray Bartolom de las Casas and Fray Juan Gins de Seplveda claimed victory
in the debate.

Bailey: And the struggle for white supremacy in the Americas was just getting started.

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Austin: Native populations were wiped by diseases while Europeans migrated into the New
World.

Rebecca: Soon, the amount of resources found in the colonies was far superior than the
labour force available to exploit them.

Bailey: The ever growing industries of farming and mining needed workers.

Austin: The portuguese took profit of their routes and ports in Africa to trade slaves.

Bailey: And soon the English, French, Dutch and Spanish were also trading.

Rebecca: In Catholic and Protestant countries, slavery was first limited by religion.
Baptized slaves were treated as indentured servants and were released after some
years. 19 African slaves arrived in Jamestown in 1619, they were stolen commodities
from a Spanish ship. Because they were baptized, they were eventually released and
given lands to work. Later, one of those former slaves, Antony Johnson, of African
descent, would sue another landowner, Robert Parker:

Austin: Over the property of negro John Casor, who happens to be my servant for life.

Bailey: Casor claims that his years of indenture are finished, he is free to work for me.

Austin. Bullshit! This damn negro has no contract, he was bought in Africa as a slave.

Rebecca: The court of Jamestown declares that John Casor belongs to Mr Johnson as
servant for life.

Bailey: The first legal owner of a slave in the US was an African American himself.

Austin: In 1662, a law in Jamestown stated that any children of a female slave would be
enslaved for life.

Rebecca: Owners were not just expensed from taking care of the sons they had with their
slaves but had the legal right to enslave their own children.

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Austin: This system ensured the right to own people not just for a lifetime but for all
generations to come.

Rebecca: And something similar happened with the Encomiendas, which enslaved millions of
native americans in Mexico and Per.

Bailey: By 1670, slavery was a legal growing business.

Austin: In the New World, African slaves and Native Americans had that in common:

Rebecca: Both groups were victims of White European supremacy.

Bailey: These are some of the laws passed in Jamestown on those years 1:

2.

Bailey: In the 18th century, the ideas of enlightenment reached the colonies:

Rebecca: (Rousseau:) Power, should be incapable of all violence and never exerted except by
virtue of status and the laws; and with regard to wealth, no citizen should be so
opulent that he can buy another, and none so poor that he is forced to sell himself.

Bailey: (Voltaire:) All people are equal. It is not birth but virtue that makes the difference.

1 -September 1667-ACT III. An act declaring that baptism of slaves doth not exempt them from bondage.
-October 1669-ACT I. An act that condones the casual killing of slaves.
-September 1672-ACT VIII. An act for the apprehension and suppression of runaways, negroes and slaves.
-June 1676-ACT I. An act for carrying on a war against the barbarous Indians.
-June 1680-ACT VII. An act ascertaining the time when Negroe Children shall be tythable.
-June 1680-ACT X. An act for preventing Negroes Insurrections.
-November 1682-ACT I. An act to repeal a former law making Indians and others free.
-October 1705-CHAP. XXII. An act declaring the Negro, Mulatto, and Indian slaves within this dominion, to be real estate.
-October 1705-CHAP. XLIX. An act concerning Servants and slaves.
-XVIII. If a free christian white woman shall have a bastard child, by a negro, or mulatto, she shall pay to the church-wardens
of the parish wherein such child shall be born, and the church-wardens shall bind the bastard to be a servant, until it shall be
of thirty one years of age.
-XIX. For a further prevention of that abominable mixture and spurious issue, whatsoever white man or woman shall
intermarry with a negro or mulatto shall be committed to prison during the space of six months, without bail.
-XXXIV. If any negro, mulatto, or Indian, bond or free, shall at any time, lift his or her hand, in opposition against any
christian, he or she so offending shall receive on his or her bare back, thirty lashes, well laid on.

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Rebecca: By the end of the 18th century, Britain was oppressing its colonies in so many ways,
that the ideas of American Enlightenment burst into revolution.

Austin: (Jefferson:)The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated
injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute
Tyranny over these States.

Rebecca: On 1777, The unanimous Declaration of Independence of the thirteen united States
of America, was written by Thomas Jefferson:

Austin. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their
just powers from the consent of the governed.
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is
the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.

Bailey: However, that didn't apply to slaves.

Rebecca: In the first 60 years of Independence, only 2 presidents were not slaveowners:

Bailey: John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams.

Rebecca: The best example would be Jefferson himself.

Bailey: He opposed Atlantic Trade and spoke about equality, but he inherited dozens of
slaves from his father in law, John Wayles.

Rebecca: One of those slaves was Sally Hemings.

Bailey: Daughter of Master John Wayles and Slave Betty Hemings, Sally was a slave to her
own father under Virginia Law.

Rebecca: After Jefferson married her half sister, Martha Wayles, he inherited Sally as a slave.

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Bailey: And when Martha died, he found relief in the arms of her half sister slave.

Rebecca: What happened, Thomas?

Austin: I want to bite my tongue until I die, Sally. She was my wife.
You remind me of her. You have the same eyes.

Rebecca: Don't cry, Thomas. What can I do to make you feel better?

Austin: Sing. (Sally sings.)

Bailey: Jefferson had six sons with Sally, and they were his slaves by law. Some died before
they were free.

Rebecca: In his last will, Jefferson released his last surviving slave sons.

Austin: But not Sally. She died a slave.

Bailey: And he was the very man who wrote:

Austin: All men are created equal, they are endowed unalienable Rights, and among these
are Life, Liberty and so and so and so

Bailey: It took a hundred years after the declaration of independence to end with slavery.

Rebecca: The first years of the US were marked by violent racism and pseudoscientific
justifications of slavery.

Bailey: Even after the civil war, two presidents were slaveowners.

Austin. During the 1820s a Philadelphia physician named Samuel G. Morton collected and
measured hundreds of human skulls to study differences among the races

Rebecca: I have in my skull collection all the races in the world,

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 I've collected them since I was only a little child.
From my studies I have learned
that our race is not the same,
different species have evolved with us:
some of them are best to serve,
some of them have little brains
and only one can rule over them all
I can tell all kinds of species,
just by looking at their skull
Negroes' brain is no efficient,
English have the best of all

Austin: In the first years of slavery, slaves were war captives from African Kingdoms.

Bailey: But trade was so profitable that it made a definitive impact on world economy.

Rebecca: Soon those African Kingdoms were starting wars using european weapons to
capture more slaves.

Austin: Slaveowners are directly responsible for the greatest genocide inside the US.

Bailey: Over 30 million Africans were forcedly moved out of their homes.

Rebecca: Millions of families were split.

Austin: Millions of slaves died before reaching the African coast.

Bailey: Millions died sailing the Atlantic over the course of 300 years.

Rebecca: 20 million arrived into the Americas sleeping over their own shit.

Austin: The Trade was the greatest migration out of Africa since the first humans left.

Rebecca: Even now, real civil justice and equality is far from reach.

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3.

Bailey: At the dawn of the 19th Century, the greatest power was born: The Holly Alliance.

Austin: These monarchies protected the divine right of their Kings against the republican
ideas of France and the US.

Rebecca: One of their aims was to restore the Bourbon monarchy in Spain and all the spanish
colonies in the Western Hemisphere.

Austin: At that time, almost all the Latin American nations where fighting for independence.

Bailey: The last of the Founding Fathers, James Monroe was the US president then.

Austin: A veteran of the American Revolution, and a disciple of Jefferson himself, he was
determined to protect the ideals of freedom and independence.

Bailey: When he became the 5th president of the US, he recognized all the countries in the
Americas fighting for independence, except 1:

Rebecca: Before recognizing Mexico, Monroe ensured the purchase of vast amount of lands
from the agonizing Spain that was loosing the war in 1819.

Austin: A bargain of 5 million dollars for the Territories of Florida and Oregon.

Bailey: At that time the US territory was shaped like an eagle, flying over the world map.

Austin: After the purchase, Monroe's government recognized all the new nations America.

Bailey: In 1823, he proclaimed a doctrine, stating:

Rebecca: that the American continents, by the free and independent condition which they
have assumed and maintain, are not to be considered as subjects for colonization by
any European powers.

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Bailey: and:

Rebecca: that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any
portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety.

Austin: When this doctrine was proclaimed, Simn Bolivar and Vicente Guerrero, were still
fighting for freedom in Bolivia and Mexico.

Bailey: With the support of the US, the wars of independence soon came to an end.

Rebecca: But there was another side to the doctrine: the Indian Removal Act.

Austin: Devised by Monroe himself, this act killed Thousands of Native Americans in a
massive Exodus to exile them west of the Mississippi.

Bailey: It was necessary, as the growing American population was looking for new lands.

Rebecca: The Northern Mexican Territories were soon populated by pilgrims from the US.

Austin: Their lives relied upon slaves, but the 1824 Constitution abolished slavery in Mexico.

Bailey: To avoid the law, they registered their slaves as servants with a contract for life.

Rebecca: But in 1830, mulato president Vicente Guerrero tried to forcefully release every
slave in Mexican territory.

Bailey: Only by then, Anglo Americans vastly outnumbered latino population, and managed
most of the economy, so Texas declared independence.

Austin: In the bloody war that followed, the Native Americans who were forced out of the
US by Monroe and the Indian Removal Act fought for Texas.

Bailey: They were promised lands that were taken away from them in the following years in
exchange for their support. Many died as cannon fodder.

25
Austin: President Jackson had his own plans for Texas. He talked about:

Rebecca: Extending the area of freedom.

Bailey: And other presidents would continue his quests.

Rebecca: In 1845, president James Polk declared that:

Austin: The United States should expand into the West with violence, if necessary.

Rebecca: He spent millions to popularize his expansionism under claim of Manifest Destiny.

Austin: As his propaganda journalists, John L. O Sullivan wrote:

Bailey: that claim is by the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the
whole of the continent which Providence has given us.

Rebecca: So president Polk authorized an even more bloody expulsion of Native Americans
into reservations, and annexed Texas ignoring Mexican government's opposition.

Bailey: Thanks to his propaganda, he had the support of the people to start a war.

Austin: Even if some of the most prominent politicians in the US like Abraham Lincoln or
congressman Joshua R. Giddings, strongly opposed.

Bailey: In 1846, Giddings spoke in the House of Representatives:

Rebecca: In the murder of Mexicans upon their own soil, or in robbing them of their country,
I can take no part. The guilt of these crimes must rest on others.

Austin: Still, President Polk invaded Mexico on 1846, killing 15 thousand Mexicans and
gaining all this territory for only 15 million dollars 2.

4.

2 California, Nevada Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas

26
Bailey: In the following decades, American companies monopolized trade in coffee, cacao,
cocaine leaves and tropical fruits in Central and South America.

Austin: During the 1850s, under the justification of the Monroe Doctrine, the United States
sent troops to Argentina, Uruguay, Nicaragua and Costa Rica

Bailey: To protect our national interests.

Rebecca: While he invaded Mexico, President Polk signed the Bidlack Mallarino treaty with
the New Granada government, now Colombia.

Austin: The US was granted free passage through the Panam Isthmus, the right to build a
railroad across and to militarily intervene in order to protect its interests.

Bailey: The railroad was completed in 1855. Thousands of Panamanians died building it.

Austin: It was the first direct passage joining the two biggest oceans. The most important
trade route in the world.

Rebecca: US companies had exclusive rights to exploit it with no taxes, it was so convenient.

Austin: The entrepreneurs that started their business in the fertile tropical paradises of
Central America often came from a slaveowner background in the US.

Rebecca: Perhaps one of the most prominent cases was William Walker.

Austin: A Texan tycoon, he organized private military quests to conquer new territories.

Rebecca: He declared himself president of the Mexican states of Baja California and Sonora,
and later went to Central America, where he became president of Nicaragua.

Bailey: In exchange for support, corrupt governments in overlooked these abuses.

Austin: And because our companies were expensed from taxes, the US provided military aid

27
 to protect these governments from any unrest.

Rebecca: Workers in American railroad companies had much higher mortality rates than
slaves in plantations in Virginia or Texas.

Bailey: Blacks, mulatos and natives were used by the spanish to work and die for centuries.

Austin: And now, Central Americans were enslaved again after a bitter taste of freedom.

Rebecca: But atrocities were not only committed against workers, as the french Consul in
Panam, Gerald Raoul Perry would testify in his Correspondance Politique:

Austin: All Americans are armed with knives and revolvers. The insolent despotism and
brutality of those men are far superior from what is thought in Europe. For them,
human life is worth less than an animal's.

Bailey: On April 15, 1856 a group of US businessmen were waiting for a ferry in Panam.
As hours passed, they hopped from one cantina to another, drinking awful amounts
of rum. One of them, Jack Oliver was particularly drunk and searching for food,
when he found a 9 year old boy, Jos Manuel Luna.

Austin: What are you selling, brat?

Rebecca: Sandas, seor. 5 cents.

Austin: Give me that. Tastes like crap. I don't want it.

Rebecca: But you bit it, now I can't sell it. You have to pay, seor.

Austin: I ain't paying shit, you damn negro brat. Don't fucking touch me!

Jos Manuel takes out his revolver and shoots the little boy.
After the boy falls dead, Jack Oliver empties the revolver on his corpse.

Bailey: In retaliation to the murder of that child, Panamanians killed 15 US citizens in a riot.

28
Rebecca: Diplomats from several nations testified in favor of the dead boy, but the Marines
occupied Panama City in an act that sent a clear message to all of Central America:

Bailey: Opposition to the abuses committed by US Companies will not be tolerated.

Rebecca: Even if that meant violating the most basic human rights.

5.

Austin: By the 1860s most countries in the Americas had abolished slavery.

Bailey: But the first country to declare its independence was fighting for white supremacy.

Rebecca: The Civil war killed more US citizens that any other, but it was not the only war
being waged.

Austin: In order to secure the territories gained against Mexico, an even bloodier campaign
against Native Americans started.

Rebecca: During the second half of the 19th Century, hundreds of wars were fought against

Austin: The Sioux,

Bailey: The Apache,

Austin: The Comanche,

Bailey: The Seminole,

Austin: The Yaqui,

Bailey: The Navajo,

Austin: The Ute,

29
Bailey: The Yakima,

Austin: The Mohave,

Bailey: The Bannock,

Austin: The Kiowa,

Bailey: The Yavapai,

Rebecca: And dozens of other tribes that lived in that land for thousands of years and fought
colonization for centuries.

Austin: One of those warriors, Apache leader Geronimo, had a terrible grudge against all
Americans, but he despised Mexicans most of all.

Rebecca: Mexican troops attacked our camp, killed all the warriors of the guard, captured all
our ponies, destroyed our supplies, and killed many of our women and children.

Bailey: There, Geronimo lost all he had.

Rebecca: I found that my aged mother, my young wife, and my three small children were
among the slain. I silently turned away and stood by the river.

Austin: After that, the Apache leader held dozens of bloody campaigns.

Rebecca: I have killed many Mexicans; I do not know how many. Some of them were not
worth counting. It has been a long time since then, but still I have no love for the
Mexicans. With me they were always treacherous and malicious.

Bailey: But people from the United States were the same.

Austin: Both the Union and Confederate States led bloody expeditions against Indians.

30
Bailey: During the Civil War, Geronimo's Apache tribe was massacred.

Rebecca: Chief Mangus-Colorado, went to make a treaty of peace with the white settlement at
Apache Tejo, New Mexico. They told him that if he would come with his tribe and
live near them, they would issue to him, from the Government, blankets, flour, beef,
and all manner of supplies. Mangus-Colorado and half of our people went, happy
that they had found white men who would be kind to them, and with whom they
could live in peace. No word ever came to us from them. From other sources, we
heard they had been treacherously captured and slain.

President Lincoln's speech is heard: Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a
new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Bailey: One year before the end of the Civil War, thousands of Navajo were forced to walk
from Arizona to New Mexico, more than 10 miles a day during the sun.

Austin: Thousands of women and children died in this Trail of Tears.

Rebecca: By the end of the 19th Century, a million people had died in wars and segregation.

Bailey: But many more were entering the US, making it the most ethnically diverse country
in the world.

Austin: The blazing furnaces in the machines of American Industrialization needed workers
to burn.

Rebecca: Millions of these illegal immigrants from all the world gave their lives to edify this
American Dream.

Bailey: Soon they replaced slaves in the lower steps of the industrial chain.

Austin: Companies realized that sometimes a worker can be much cheaper than a slave.

Rebecca: At the dawn of the 20th Century, free black people were living the darkest years of
segregation.

31
Bailey: All the African continent and half of Asia were European colonies.

Austin: Central America and the Pacific were occupied by US troops.

Rebecca: The world was preparing for the greatest wars ever seen.

Austin: And it was just the start of a new era of colonialism. One that continues even today.

32
 Dreaming of Shazmina

0.

Austin: Power changes people.

Rebecca: Clich.

Austin: But it's true.

Rebecca: How would you know? You have no power.

Austin: I have power over you.

Rebecca: You don't look so powerful from here.

Austin: I have power, Shazmina. I bet if I wanted to die right now, you'd die next to me.

Rebecca: Perhaps. But you're still powerless.

Austin: How come?

Rebecca: I'm nothing.

Austin: You're all I have left.

Rebecca: That shows how screwed you are, Corporal Miller.

Austin: What happened?

Rebecca: I think you know.

Austin: You never curse.

Rebecca: I guess some part of you always wanted me to.

33
 A shot is heard. A bullet crosses right through Shazmina's skull, and she falls dead.

Austin: Shazmina!

He goes to her dead body and grabs her. A shout is heard from far away:

Bailey: James

Austin: Shazmina, get up. It's not time yet.

Bailey: James!

Austin: Shut up! I don't wanna go yet!

Rebecca: See how screwed up you are? You're hearing voices.

You're dreaming of dead people.

Austin: I'm half dead, you know?

Rebecca: People die all the time, but not you.

And you know why you're alive?
Because you know you must take responsibility for all the pain you've caused.

Bailey: James!

Corporal James Miller wakes up.

Bailey: You were crying in your sleep again.

Austin: No, I wasn't.

Bailey: Who's Shazmina?

Austin: I told you I don't know.

34
Bailey: You were dreaming of the war again.

Austin: Kind of.

Bailey: It's over now, you know? You will never return to Afghanistan.

Austin: I feel like I never left.

Bailey: Just sleep.

Austin: I can't.

Bailey: Why not!

Austin: I had a dream.

Bailey: I know you had a dream! You always have a dream!

Austin: I can't let go.

Pause.

Bailey: I love you, Jimmy.

Austin: I know.

Corporal James Miller leaves the bed. His wife stays.

On a dark corner of their house, James prepares a shot of heroin and injects himself, trying to forget.

1.

Austin: Kabul, October 2001. Everything is dark.

The sky is like the black mouth of an angry God.
And swallows the light out of us, we're a tiny moth flying into dark nothingness.

35
 Everyone's uncomfortable, most of us are trying to sleep or pretending to be asleep.
It's the night before we land, on the plane, and I can listen to some rookies, trying to
identify Afghanistan on the map. They take 20 minutes just to find out.
They thought we were going to Arabia, and then they realize
We're already a thousand miles further away.

Bailey: I never left America before

Austin: Private Molloy said, while everybody else was pretending to sleep next to me,
but I knew they were listening, and then time stopped for a few breaths,

and when I got used to the silence,
I could hear everybody's violent heartbeats, pumping fiercely.

Bailey: Never mind. For us, it is a win win, right?

Who are we fighting, again?

Austin: The Taliban.

Bailey: Who are them?

Austin: I don't know. Some jihadist guys. Wife beheading, camel riding, clit mutilating,
suicide bombing and flag burning guys. They hit us hard, now it's payback time.

Bailey: It'll be over soon, right?

Austin: I guess.

Bailey: They attacked us, right? We have to take revenge.

Austin: That's right.

36
Bailey: Jimmy

Austin: Let me sleep.

Bailey: they're weak, right?

I mean It'll be over soon, isn't it?

Austin: We have the most advanced military equipment and the best trained men.

Bailey: We're invincible.

Austin: No one can stand up to us.

Bailey: Right.

Austin: Right. Now sleep.

Bailey: Hey, Jimmy

Austin: What!

Bailey: How could they do it?

How could they hit us so hard if they're so weak?

2.

2003. A road in Kandahar province.

Bailey: How can you know so much about them?

Austin: You gotta know your enemies.

37
Bailey: You saved my ass out there.

Austin: Always gotta check for mines before you go on.

Bailey: They've put a whole cluster of them, those bastards.

Austin: Most of those mines are leftovers from the Soviet war.

Bailey: But that was a long time ago, right?

Austin: More than thirty years.

Bailey: Why didn't they remove the mines after the war.

Austin: They couldn't. They've been at war ever since.

Bailey: Those things have been buried so long. How can they work?

Austin: Some of them don't.

That one did. You saw what happened.

Bailey: It was a full armored Humvee and now it looks like a crushed soda can.

Austin: What would have happened to you?

Bailey: I'm glad you found me.

Austin: Haven't seen you since we landed here, Private Molloy.

Bailey: You remembered. That was almost two years ago.

Austin: So, where are you stationed?

Bailey: Camp Rhino.

38
Austin: Well, I'm heading there

Bailey: Oh shit, now I have to pee.

Austin: Why?

Bailey: It's a natural reaction. Every time I think about Camp Rhino, I wanna pee.

Austin: Well, go on, it's a deserted plain, nobody's watching.

Bailey: Maybe the Taliban are. Maybe this is a trap.

Austin: Yes, I'm sure they counted on your psychologically induced excretory needs.

Bailey: Can't help it, you know? I saw them die before my eyes in Takur Ghar.

Austin: Don't pee in front of me. At least turn around.

Bailey: Sorry
It was March the 4th, last year. Even the SEAL got blasted that day.
I saw their roasted corpses and ashes, cooked and spread where their helicopter
crashed.
That evening, we were returning to Camp Rhino and for the first time I realized
something like that could happen to me at any given time as long as I'm here.
I couldn't help it, I was so scared I peed my pants, and since then
Ah! Feels great. That's it, I'm done. Let's go.
Luckily, we've been moving out of Camp Rhino since we exterminated the Taliban
from the airport in Kandahar. By summer, I'm out.

Austin: So you're heading to Rhino, right now?

Bailey: Yes.

Austin: Great! So am I.

39
Bailey: Why?

Austin: Gotta meet with Sargent Sandberg.

Bailey: Sargent Sandberg, huh?

Austin: You don't like him.

Bailey: It's not that, I

I mean, I I like you, but I don't know you.

Austin: You can tell me. I promise. I won't tell.

Bailey: I saw him shoot a dad and his girl.

He said they were Taliban, but I don't think they were. I often saw them when we
were out on a mission, they were farmers, they

Austin: Hey! Don't say nothing else Wanna hear my advice?

Unless you're 100% sure of what you're telling me, don't tell anyone at all.

Bailey: Jimmy, I think

I think he might have done it a few other times.

Austin: That's enough, Molloy.

We're at war. People are under pressure, Afghanistan's fucking hot as hell.
All that tension and stress can make you see things, it can mess with your mind,
but we're not playing a game, you know?
We've got to stand together if we're gonna win this thing, so before telling anyone
else what you thought you saw, you have to

Bailey: But I saw it, Jimmy!

Austin: That's Corporal Miller to you, Private.

40
Bailey: I'm sure! You have to

Austin: Shut up!

The rest of the walk, he was quiet.

I could feel him dragging his feet behind me like a scolded child.
And for some reason, I felt an obligation to take care of him,
like a useless little brother that would die without me
He was almost killed that afternoon, and now all he could do was follow my steps,
humiliated.
I thought we would never talk to each other after that, but then

Shazmina passes by, in a hurry, and she accidentally bumps into him.
They stare at each other for one second that freezes in time.

Rebecca: bakhena ghwaarum. (I'm sorry.)

She runs away.

Austin: What did she say?

Bailey: I don't know.

But you liked her, right?
If you get lucky, you might see her again.
She's our translator, after all.

Austin: Why did she speak in Pashto, if she knew English?

Bailey: She's not too fond of Americans. Someone she knew died in a missile attack, that's
what I heard.
Anyway, don't get your hopes too high.
She hates the Taliban, that's why she's helping us.
But she's quite into Islam, so she always wears that veil stuff.
You'll never even see her face. Forget about it.

41
 Come on. If she's here, Camp Rhino shouldn't be far away.

Austin: So we walked into the camp, but I couldn't let her look out of my mind.
That was the first time I saw Shazmina's green eyes.

3.

2007. A well in the middle of the Afghan steppe, near Camp Dwyer.

Rebecca: Why you follow me?

Austin: I don't know.

Rebecca: What you want?

Austin: Nothing.

Rebecca: All foreigners want something. But you not get nothing from me if I am alive.

Austin: Easy, give me that knife, I'm not gonna hurt you.

Rebecca: You always follow closely while I'm alone, like a scorpion stalking, you've been there
for years, waiting for right moment to dishonor and kill.

Austin: I'm sorry. I'm gonna leave now, I I don't want to kill you.

Rebecca: I know what americans want, I heard about little girl in Iraq.

Austin: What little girl?

Rebecca: Everyone knows, a little girl was raped by american pigs in Mahmudiyah.

Austin: There's a very strict code, we can't

42
Rebecca: It was on news! Everyone here saw, you just don't care. Killer soldier, he don't think
of Iraqis as humans, so he slaughter family from that little girl like cheap goats. Her
brother, her father, her mother She was thirteen. Three soldiers rape her while she
hear everyone she love screaming and dying in next room.
And then the killer of her family appear. She is terrified, but he is quick.
Everyone's death, but don't worry, I will not kill you, he say.
Then he rape her, just a little, and then he shoot her in the face.

Austin: Well, I'm not gonna do that! I'm not gonna kill you, dont cry!
I'm not a damn killer. We're not in Iraq.

Rebecca: What's the difference? We are all the same animals

Austin: Why do you hate us so much? I've never done nothing to you.

Rebecca: Kill me now if you want. I will not show my face if I am alive.

Austin: I'm not here to kill you, God damn it! We came to make things right. We're gonna
blast those Taliban and then you can show your face.

Rebecca: It's too late. It's been thirty years. You and I were not born when war started, but
you grew up listening rock music and watching TV while afghan children grew up
between Soviet Tanks and the weapons you give to the opposition, even if they are
savage killers. The Taliban are those children. They lost their families to those savage
killers. They are the orphans of a war you fueled up. They have their own sick
interpretation of Islam and the weapons you brought into Afghanistan.

Austin: I know it's all messed up, but I told you we came to help.

Rebecca: I see what Sargent Sandberg does to people, that's no help.

It's too late, everything is dead now. Even this well, it's drying.

Austin: What's wrong with you? Get away, you're gonna fall down!
Crazy bitch.
I don't know what happened to you, but I promise I can help!

43
Rebecca: Help That's all you say
My only brother died in american bombing. That was big help.

Shazmina jumps into the well.

Corporal Miller jumps behind her.
When Corporal Miller gets her out of the well, Shazmina has lost her burqa.

Austin: Come on, you crazy girl. We're out now.

Rebecca: Why don't you let me die?

Austin: Come on, you wouldn't have drowned, the water didn't reach your hips.
You would have remained in the bottom, with your legs broken, dying slowly in
excruciating pain.

Rebecca: It's what I deserve. I dishonored my family, I worked with their assassins just
because I hate the Taliban. And you even seen my face. I sin so many times today.

Only then he notices and stares at her face.

Austin: Sometimes it's alright to be sinful.

It's the first time a man sees her face, so she just realizes it's the most intimate moment in her life.

Austin: My name is James Miller, by the way.

Rebecca: Shazmina. But you cannot tell anyone.

Austin: Don't worry, Shazmina. Even if I die, I won't. Now could you tell me why would
you want to die?

Rebecca: This war has turned everyone into demons. Everyday there are less and less humans
left. I'm happy I found one today.

44
 4.

2010. Under enemy fire.

Austin: Always a pleasure to find you, Molloy.

Bailey: Take that, you fucking Taliban ape!

Austin: You've changed.

Bailey: I'm a First class now.

Austin: Since when?

Bailey: 2007, in Shinwar.

Austin: What happened, then?

Bailey: I killed innocent civilians.

Austin: Why?

Bailey: Those Taliban fuckers did it on purpose. We fell into their mines and they
ambushed us. They thought we wouldn't kill civilians, but it was us or them, we had
to shoot our way out.

Austin: Watch out.

Bailey: You should have seen it, Miller. Women, children, elderly, spread all over the place.
I felt so guilty I thought I was having a heart attack. But Sargent Sandberg talked me
out, turns out he's a great leader, I mean War is about us against them, I mean I
know I'd give a thousand of their lives to protect my own. I'm gonna protect
America even if I gotta slaughter them one by one.

Austin: Well, now would be a good time to go for it. We've been hours into this.

45
Bailey: May I ask you a question, Miller? How long since we first met.

Austin: Almost ten years.

Bailey: You said it was an easy win.

Then why the fuck are we still here?

He goes on a frenzy, and shoots in the open.

Bailey: Got them. Fucking apes.

He drags their Taliban enemy's dead body.

Bailey: I guess ten years of war really shape you up into a real man, eh?

Austin: I guess.

Bailey: Could you do me a favor? Could you take a video with my phone?

Miller records a video. Molloy unzips his pants.

Bailey: Drink that, you fucking monkey.

Molloy pees over the dead body, right in front of Miller, who can only watch.

5.

2012. Shazmina's small house, in Kandahar.

We hear a desperate knocking on the door.

Rebecca: Souk?

Who is it?

46
 Shazmina opens the door, and Miller's body falls inside her house. He's been shot.

Rebecca: What happen?

Austin: The Taliban I think they got Molloy.

Rebecca: The Taliban shot you?

Austin: It was not the Taliban. It was Sargent Sandberg?

Rebecca: Why he do that?

Austin: I saw what he did.

Rebecca: Don't talk, you're bleeding out.

She takes off her burqa, and uses it to stop Miller's bleeding.
Miller talks with extreme difficulty.

Austin: It was an ambush. They blew up a truck, I don't know how many died.
Sandberg was furious, he shoot everyone he saw, and when there was no one left, he
went into the homes of innocent people, and shot everything he found alive.

Rebecca: Don't talk anymore, you're in pain.

Austin: He exterminated a small town.

Rebecca: Here. Smoke this.

Austin: What is it?

Rebecca: It's opium. It will help with the pain.

Austin: Where did you get opium.

47
Rebecca: My brother grew poppies. He had children to feed.

Miller tries to get up.

Rebecca: Where are you going?

Austin: They got Molloy. I have to find him.

Rebecca: Don't worry. Somebody will find him.

Miller falls down in pain.

Rebecca: You have to rest. Come on. Smoke. I promise you will feel better than ever.

Miller smokes opium.

As he gets high, light fades out.

6.

2013. We listen to a funeral march to honor the fallen soldiers.

Miller pays his respect in First Class Private Molloy's tomb, where he says his final goodbye.
We can't listen to what he says, but we see him cry.
As he's leaving the funeral, he finds Shazmina was waiting for him.

Austin: We're leaving.

Rebecca: Where you want to go?

Austin: I mean I'm leaving. President Obama announce the withdrawal of our troops last
year, and now they've finally summoned me.

Rebecca: What will happen to us?

Austin: What do you mean?

48
Rebecca: We knew you were leaving, but you said you would take us with you. You promised
american passport for our help.

Austin: I'm sure you will get it, we couldn't have done anything without you.

Rebecca: Yes, but when?

The Taliban were also waiting for you to leave.
They will hunt us down, we need your help.

Austin: We've done enough. You have a new president. You have democracy. We've
crippled the Taliban, and I'm sure America will support their allies until you get your
passport.

Rebecca: You come here, and when we think nothing can make Afghanistan worse, you
actually make it worse and now you want to go and leave a time bomb behind.

Austin: I'm going next month. I can't do anything about it.

Rebecca: What about us? I gave you everything I had left, you took it from me, you said

Austin: I lied.
Back in America, I have a wife. She's waited ten years for my return.
I'm sorry, but this is all a dream, you know? All this suffering ain't mine.
My real life is there, this isn't what I asked for. I'm waking up.

Shazmina walks away.

Austin: That was the last time I saw Shazmina's eyes.

7.
Austin: It took almost a year to return.
All the soldiers were desperate, I couldn't get Shazmina out of my mind,
and I found out I could actually see her when I was on smack.
I never told my wife anything about Afghanistan.
After months, it was actually becoming a distant dream,

49
 and Shazmina was like a purple flower that bloomed in the middle of that desert.
But then
On, September 11th, 2014, I went to a ceremony to remember all the people fallen in
this war. When I returned, my wife was waiting for me.

Bailey: The Marines called, Jim.

They left a message. They said you wouldn't answer.

Austin: I don't wanna know.

Bailey: I think you should. They said Shazmina is dead. They said the Taliban tortured her
and cut off her head.

You don't say nothing.

Austin: I've got nothing to say.

Bailey: Who is Shazmina, Jim?

Austin: I don't know.

Bailey: That's weird, Jim. 'Cause you always talk about her while you sleep.

50
 Merry Little Mara and Juana
(The Musical)

Austin: Merry little Mara and Juana lived with their father, a widower. Their mother died
from poor hygienic conditions during childbirth; the little girls spent their lives living
like rats. Feeding in the trash, stealing, hiding, doing their best to survive in one of
the toughest places in the world: Honduras.

Bailey and Rebecca:

We are not blond as you can see us, our face is almost black,
we are darker than the rainy forest on a misty night,
our skin is dirty charcoal, we've never had a bath,
and since we were little we had to learn to fight.

Austin: (Dad.) Hello, mis nias!

Rebecca: Pap!

Bailey: Did you find any food, pap?

Austin: Here, girls, I found chorizo and a piece of bread. (They eat viciously.)
(Singing:) Escchenme, I have something very important to say:
You know well that I'd give my life for you any day
and it's because su pap las ama that I have decided, I must go away

Bailey: Where are you going, pap?

Austin: I'm going to a land where all our dreams can be fulfilled.
We're going to the United States, where everyone is rich.

Rebecca: Don't leave us, papa!

Austin: As soon as I have a decent job, you're going there with me.
And once you get there, you will see, a land made up of dreams,
where there's no war but freedom, no corpses in the streets,

51
 and children aren't drug addicts because they always eat.

Bailey: It's not true. You're lying!

Rebecca: How can such a world exist?

Bailey: If that is true, why are we so poor? Why is the world so unfair?

Austin: Listen, little Juana. The world is never fair.

Si no quieres sufrir, then you have too much to learn.
What we ever called justicia, it is but a fake dream, made up on TV.
Those people were our allies, they're strong because of us,
we've given up our lives to help their people take control.
But now they have forgotten us, we suffer everyday,
I 'm going there to fight for us to have what we deserve.

Rebecca: Promise it won't be long.

Austin: Lo juro por la virgen de Guadalupe.

Bailey: (Cries.) Goodbye, papa.

Austin: (Narr.) But years passed, and little Juana and Mara had no notice of their father

Rebecca: Run, Juana! La polica!

Bailey: Did you get it, Mara. Do you have food?

Rebecca: Run!

Juana and Mara run away, chased by the police, until they fool them.
Finally, they arrive in their hiding place.

Rebecca: Come in here, little Juana. We will be safe in here.

52
Bailey: What did you get?

Rebecca: Just a piece of bread.

Bailey: At least it's better than nothing.

Rebecca: I know it's hard, hermana, but you gotta hang in there.
We're going to where the stars shine brighter
and all the children live in laughter,
I've been saving stolen money and praying really loud.
God gave us all this suffering but now he'll help us (Loud noise)
Who's there!

Bailey: Don't go, sister!

Rebecca: Shut up!

Bailey: You're all I've got!

A man comes out from the shadows.

Rebecca: Who are you?

Austin: (Pancho Revolver:) Hello, pequeas. Mara y Juana, I presume!

Rebecca: And who the hell are you?

Austin: Don't be scared, little girls. I am your friend.

I know you worked all your life, but soon you will be safe.
My name is Pancho Revolver, I chose that name myself.
I was born in the United, where I became your father's friend.

Rebecca: You're lying, I know those tattoos.

Don't get close, Juana. He's from the Mara Salvatrucha.

53
Bailey: Who are they?

Rebecca: The deadliest gang in the world.

You have to kill to join, and out of all the killers, they're the worst.

Austin: Don't be scared. Soy un Mara, but I'm your friend.

And I worked with your father back in the US.
Since he's illegal, he couldn't come, so he asked me to do.
So I came from Gringoland, so I could get to you.

Bailey: We're gonna see Pap!

Austin: Not so fast, querida.

You are gonna see him, but It's a long long way!
If you want to see your father, you have to pay me first.

Rebecca: But we don't have any money.

Austin: I understand, little Juana, fui pobre tambin.

Lo s muy bien, hunger hurts, and that's why I'll help.
And I don't need any money, just come close to me,
I'll take you back to your dad if just you give me your virginity.

Bailey: What are you doing!

Austin: Le voy a dar tu virginidad a la Santa Muerte. Santa Muerte.

Rebecca: Don't touch her!

Austin: Shut up, you filthy little whore.

You want to see your father or not?

Rebecca: Don't worry little Juana, it will be over soon.

Imagine that his hands are soft just like an angel's touch.
I know it hurts and after this we'll never be the same,

54
 but to get our wishes granted it's a little price to pay.

Austin: (Narr.) So Juana and Mara gave their virginities away to Pancho Revolver, the Mara
Salvatrucha who took them out of Honduras, and across Guatemala.

(Pancho Revolver:)It's the border police, quickly, hide this.

Bailey: What is it?

Austin: What do you think, estpida? Cocaine! Put it inside your body. Nobody's gonna
search in there.

Bailey: I don't want do it.

Austin: You have no other choice!

If they catch me, you'll get lost and end up dying here.
You need me for protection, there's worse people than me.
You've not seen horror until you see the Mexican Police.
They ruthless and despicable, and hateful and corrupt,
if they catch you they will rape you and make you disappear.
They'll cut you into pieces and then they'll let you burn,
and then they'll spread your ashes until there is nothing left!

Bailey: Tengo miedo!

Rebecca: Just take it!

Austin: (Narr.)So the little girls were stopped by the border patrol while Pancho Revolver
was hiding But when they were about to leave

(Police:) Wait a moment, little girl. What have we got in here?

(Narr:)He took the pack of cocaine right out of her and

The policeman is about to shoot her

55
Rebecca: Wait! Don't kill her,. Por favor.

Austin: (Police:) She's a narco, and we're at war with drug dealers.

Rebecca: Please. Tengo dinero.

Austin: You don't have any money.

Rebecca: I have money! Dollars.

My father has been sending us some dollars and I've saved it all.

Austin: Djame ver

It's not enough.

Rebecca: There's more

My father gave us this. And then I robbed the rest.

Austin: This just might be enough, let me see

Now come, you puta guatemalteca.

Rebecca: What are you doing?

Bailey: Mara! Help!

Rebecca: Djala, cerdo!

Austin: I'll let you pass, but she's mine to take.

I'm gonna dig so many holes in her

Mara murders the border policeman from behind. She gets her money back.

Rebecca: What are you waiting for, Juana? Corre!

They both escape, they run until Pancho Revolver stops them.

56
Austin: (Pancho Rdvolver:) Wait, you fucking sabandijas.

Bailey: Leave her alone!

Austin: Cllate, puta de mierda.

You tried to trick me, little bitch,
but you don't know who you're messing with,
you did me a big favor in killing the border police,
but you never said you had dollars. Give it to me!

Rebecca: No!

Austin: Shut up!

You mess with a Mara, you're fucking dead.

Pancho Revolver almost beats Mara unconscious.

When she's lying in the floor, he steals her money and spits on her.

Austin: Now I'm only telling you this 'cause I'm your father's friend
Si quieren llegar al Gavacho, you have to find the train.

Bailey: Which train?

Austin: La Bestia. The beast.

It is the train that every single migrant takes
to cross all Mexico and get to the US.

Pancho Revolver leaves.

Bailey: Come on, Mara, we're gonna find La Bestia.

Austin: (Narr.) Two weeks later, they finally found the rails of the magical train that would
take them to the land of freedom.

57
Rebecca: I can't walk anymore.

Bailey: I know! But we have to keep on going on.

Austin: (La Polla:) Hello little migrant girls, do you need any help!

Bailey: My sister's dying, sir, she hasn't eaten in days!

Austin: I may look like a man, but don't be confused,

deep inside in myself I'm a girl just like you.
My name is La Polla, and I'll give you food.
I dedicate my life to help poor immigrants like you.
This country is at war and smells like death.
And very soon we'll be crossing the Zeta's domain,
the strongest and most vile cartel.
But I am here for you. From now on you'll be safe.
I'll give my life just to make sure you get to the US.

Bailey: Thank you, sir!

Austin: Miss.

Bailey: Sorry, miss.

Mara and Juana faint.

Austin: (Narr.) So with the help of La Polla,

the transvestite activist that helped young immigrants on their way,
merry little Mara and Juana boarded La Bestia, the magical train
that took them across Mexico, in a journey full of wonderful friends
coming from all the Americas, to fulfill their dreams in the US.

Bailey: Like Oscar, the little boy from Nicaragua.

Austin: (Oscar:) My mama died in the revolution, my abuelo lives in the States.

58
Rebecca: Or Clelia, the fat yoruba witch from Guatemala.

Austin: (Clelia:) I can see tragedy in your eyes, but you will get there.

Bailey: Or Sandino, the old Colombian guerrillero.

Austin: (Sandino:) We lost the war, now in Colombia there are only Narcos left.

Rebecca: Or the poor salvadoran man who lost his whole life, Pedro.

Austin: (Pedro:) Coca Cola poisoned our waters and all my children are dead.

Bailey: Magdalena, the prostitute from Costa Rica who never showed her face.

Rebecca: Or Tobas, the young farmer from Panam. He was the first to pass away.

Austin: (Narr.) As the weeks passed by, they were closer and closer to the river that divides
Mexico and the US. But one night, merry little Juana was sleeping on a dark wagon
in La Bestia, when

Rebecca: Wake up!

Bailey: What is it?

Rebecca: I heard gunshots.

Bailey: Where's La Polla.

Rebecca: I don't know, she was here when I fell asleep.

Bailey: She should be here, why did she leave?

Austin: (La Polla:) Girls, you have to run.

59
Bailey: La Polla! What happened?

Austin: Run!

A rain of machine gun rounds falls over La Polla's body as she falls dead.

Rebecca: Promteme algo, Juana.

No matter what, you're not gonna make a single noise.

Bailey: Don't leave me, please.

Rebecca: Promteme! You must live to see that land of dreams.

Only you can do it.

Bailey: I want to stay with you. I want to die with you.

Rebecca: At least one of us has to see our dreams come true.

I love you, hermanita, pero me tengo que despedir.
You have to get there, Papa is waiting, he's worked so hard for us to live.

Austin: (Zeta:)Where are you, girl?

It's dark in here, but I definitely heard your breath.
I could smell a niita from a thousand miles away.

Bailey: Don't leave me, please.

Rebecca: Promise me you'll get there. I'll be watching you, next to God.

Rebecca runs out of the wagon.

Austin: There you are, you sneaky putita.

The Zeta grabs Mara as she tries to run away.

Austin: My men just love little cunts like you. Zetas love a virgin's blood.

60
Rebecca: Just try and touch me, cerdo de mierda!

Austin: (Narr.) And as the train resumed its course, merry little Juana could hear her sister's
screams as she was raped and torn apart by the Zetas.
And merry little Juana was in such pain, she thought she was gonna die.
But just when she was about to give in, she remembered the promise she made with
her family, to meet in the magical land where all the dreams come true.

Bailey: where there's no war but freedom, no corpses in the streets,

and children aren't drug addicts because they always eat.
And now my sister's gone, she gave her life for me,
she saved me so that I could see our deepest dreams fulfilled.

Austin: Every night, merry little Juana thought about her life. About her mother and sister,
who had died, about the comfortable arms of her father hugging her, he was so far
away, and still he was the only person she had left.

Bailey: Escchame, Diosito, I implore with all my faith:

take care of my mom and sister high up in he sky.
I believe in you, my God; I understand my pain
it's just a test and with your good grace I'll see better times.
No olvides a los pobres, and all my friends who're dead,
the migrants that had families and had to give their lives,
and also those who died alone and do not have a name.
I'll de the one who prays for them, because they've no one else.

Austin: Before she new it, merry little Juana had travelled all the way from Honduras up to
the Ro Bravo
And there she realized she didn't now how to swim.

Bailey: But I've come so far!

Nothing's gonna stop me now!
I'm gonna throw myself in the river
and move my body like all those fishes,

61
 I'm gonna walk like Jesus on water,
I'm gonna fly like a bird, even higher.

Austin: And before she even knew, merry little Juana had made it!
She finally crossed the Ro Bravo and arrived in America, the land of dreams!

Bailey: I am free like the clouds,

Free like water, free like all the stars and colors in the sky,
just like the wildest of my dreams, and I never saw such a beautiful land,
the land of the free, where all the people have a second chance

A gun shot is heard and merry little Juana falls dead. Song ends abruptly.

Austin: (Redneck 1:) See that Earnie? Damn beaners think they can enter our home like their
damn backyards, eat our food, take our jobs, I fucking hate them, Earn.

Rebecca: (Redneck 2:) Damn beaners! It's the fourth this week!

Austin: Look, she's a little dirty girl. She was cute. We could have used her. Shame bitch's
dead. What we gonna do with this beaner bitch, Earnie?

Rebecca: Let's feed her to the crocs, Billy Bob!

Austin: You're right, Earn, beaner bitches ain't no right to rot in here.
Let's get rid of the trash.

Billy Bob and Earnie the rednecks drag merry little Juana's body away.

62
 Neo Colonizations

6.

Austin: Little Juana and Mara are victims of the new colonial era that started 150 years ago.

Bailey: Workers in Central America then were half as cheap as a slave in 1820 Mississippi.

Rebecca: In 1871, Henry Meiggs got a concession to build a huge railroad across Costa Rica.

Bailey: Even with hundreds of workers, this task proved impossible.

Rebecca: Before the railroad was completed, Meiggs died in the jungle, with 300 of his men.

Bailey: His nephew, Minor Keith was granted exclusive rights to operate this route.

Rebecca: If he could finish the job.

Bailey: He built the railroad by cutting expenses.

Rebecca: Before his workers died, Keith found a way to feed them:

Austin: How easy bananas grow on this gorgeous tropical floor,

they're the only thing that monkeys need.
It's so easy to succeed, this is the only pay they need,
ain't they monkeys after all?

Rebecca: By feeding his workers exclusively on bananas, he even saved money.

Bailey: When the railroad was completed, he ran his feeding crops as plantations.

Austin: This is it, a dream come true!

You don't have to give them roof, winter wouldn't kill them in this paradise.

Rebecca: The old railroad workers who survived were his slaves in those plantations.

63
Bailey: They weren't slaves, but they earned such low wages, that even in New York it was
cheaper to buy a banana from Central America, than an apple from Massachusetts.

Rebecca: Thousands of tons of bananas reached the Caribbean coast through his railway.

Austin: Then I bought more companies to create United Fruit.

Rebecca: Soon he had plantations in all of Central America and the Caribbean.

Bailey: And those countries became Banana Republics for the US.

Rebecca: Paradises where fruits and workers grew from the soil at no expense.

Austin: Then, President William McKinley visited Mexico, to meet the new dictator.

Bailey: You can have all the oil and mines in Mxico, you can build all the trains you want
with cheap Mexican hands, but you pay first. Your companies are welcome, but they
pay first! No se olvide, presidente McKinley, if there are riots against me, you
intervene!

Austin: During General Porfirio Daz's regime, millions of families lived perpetually
indebted to companies that paid them less than enough to survive.

Bailey: Meanwhile, Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines were fighting for independence.

Rebecca: We declare war on Spain to free its colonies in the name of the Monroe Doctrine!

Bailey: The prize for this easy war was huge.

Austin: Puerto Rico and Cuba became Banana Republics for United Fruit.

Bailey: The Philippines were occupied under a policy McKinley called Benevolent Assimilation.

Austin: But we want our independence. Somos Filipinos. We're not the US. (Gunshot.)

64
Bailey: At least 20,000 soldiers and 200,000 civilians died in the Philippine-American War.

Rebecca: And just when things were going so well (Gunshot.)

Bailey: President McKinley was killed by a young working class anarchist.

Austin: When he was given the death penalty, this is the only thing that Leon Czolgosz said:

Bailey: I killed him because he was an enemy of the good working people.

Rebecca: In his last will, McKinley left something really special for the United States: a
commercial empire of Banana Republics in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean.

7.

Bailey: After the murder, Theodore Roosevelt was elected President.

Rebecca: He supported Panam's independence and threatened the Colombian government

to accept it.

Bailey: and he gained exclusive rights to build the Panama Canal in exchange.

Rebecca: In 1902, Britain, Germany and Italy attacked Venezuela to settle some debts.

Bailey: Venezuela was coming out of a war that killed a quarter of its population.

Rebecca: The international community thought Teddy Roosevelt would protect Venezuela

Austin: Europeans are taking more colonies than ever: if they find any reason to attack any
of those poor fucking South Americans they will threaten our national interests.

Rebecca: Instead, he added the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.

Austin: We have the right to attack any nation in the Americas to prevent Europe from

65
 attacking them, because in doing so, we are protecting ourselves.

Bailey: Teddy was clever. He used Geronimo then an elderly prisoner as a propaganda.

Austin: Look, even this fucktard Indian Warlord supports the American way. He's a
Christian now, and he's even working like a decent American.

Bailey: Geronimo was forced to appear in parades as an attraction, to grant him a last wish:

Rebecca: There is no climate or soil which is equal to that of Arizona. It is my land, my home,
my fathers land, to which I now ask to be allowed to return. I want to spend my last
days there, and be buried among those mountains. If this could be I might die in
peace, feeling that my people are back in their homes, and that our name would not
become extinct. If I must die in bondage, I hope that the remnant of the Apache
tribe may, when I am gone, be granted their one request: to return to Arizona.

Bailey: Neither of Geronimo's requests was granted.

Austin: He died in captivity, after he fell down from his horse. He was almost 90 years old.

Bailey: He's buried in Oklahoma, 1000 miles away from his home.

Rebecca: Marine Corps Major General Smedley Budler, the most decorated Marine in history
at the time of his own death, would later describe his role in Central America:

Bailey: I served in all ranks up to Major General. I was a muscle man for Wall Street and the
bankers. I was a racketeer for capitalism. My mental faculties remained in suspended
animation while I obeyed orders. This is typical of everyone in service.
I made Tampico safe for American oil interests. I made Haiti and Cuba decent for
the National City Bank. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American
republics. I purified Nicaragua. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for
American sugar interests. I made Honduras "right" for our fruit companies. I was
rewarded with honors, medals, promotion. I might have given Al Capone a few
hints. He operated his racket in three city districts. We Marines, on three continents.

66
8.

Austin: Teddy's successors, presidents William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson,
enhanced his policies in Latin America.

Bailey: They started a new Dollar Diplomacy.

Rebecca: Oh, little brother, youre so poor, don't worry.

I came with a message from a Holly friend who'll help
if you're only willing to accept Him in your heart.
Just let the Holly American Dollar in your life

Bailey: Client countries developed faster than ever.

Austin: In exchange, they took the dollar as official trading currency.

Bailey: All the weak national currencies in Central America dropped in front of the dollar.

Rebecca: Families saw their debts doubled or tripled. Millions went bankrupt. Children
mortality rose to an alarming 35%.

Bailey: Banana Republics were crippled.

Rebecca: Thanks to my dollar diplomacy, our bankers are the wealthiest men in history.

Austin: In the first years of his presidency

Rebecca: I attacked the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Nicaragua who refused to pay.

Bailey: He attacked Mexico a couple of times

Rebecca: We've overthrown the government of the treacherous General Huerta.

Austin: Then he tried to kill Pancho Villa, a warlord he had provided with weapons at first.

67
Rebecca: I chose Venustiano Carranza as the Mexican President, but the savage was furious.

Austin: On 9 march 1916, Pancho Villa attacked the 13th Cavalry Regiment in Columbus,
becoming one of the few people who successfully invaded US soil. 3

Bailey: Wilson sent 5,000 troops to hunt Villa in Mexico, yet he escaped..

Rebecca: But I got half of their oil deposits, 65% of their mines and more for the US.

Bailey: In 1914, he started the war on drugs, the longest war in history, that continues
today.

Austin: Meanwhile, in the Caribbean, he started a series of conflicts called Banana Wars 4.

Bailey: Then, Wilson campaigned for reelection:

Rebecca: I kept peace, as promised. I kept the US out of the Great War.

Austin: Millions of Americans enlisted in the Army because of his appeasement speeches.

Bailey: They were dragged into World War I. Thousands never returned.

Austin: Wilson ensured that both the winning and loosing parties in that war would use
American loans to rebuild.

Rebecca: Oh, poor gramps, you look so screwed,

worry not, I'm here for you,
I have everything you'll ever need to be rebuilt.
But remember, in exchange,
I decide your int'rest rates,
just remember who's the only one you must obey.

Bailey: So even Europeans became perpetually indebted to the Central Bank.

3 Before him, only the British Empire attacked US ground 1812 and after him, only Al Qaeda on 9/11.
4 In Colombia, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panam.

68
Austin: And they simply transferred the external debt to their colonies.

Rebecca: US banks were filled with millions of dollars from Africa, Asia and the Pacific,
where the working class paid for a war waged thousands of miles away from home.

9.

Bailey: In Latin America, the Banana Wars saw their most tragic episodes after the war.

Rebecca: In 1928, the Clark Memorandum was released, stating that:

Austin: US don't need to invoke Monroe. We will use our right to self defend, to attack any
nation in the Americas, where our interests are threatened.

Bailey: Politicians were bribed to overlook the peoples humiliating conditions.

Rebecca: United Fruit in Colombia kept 5,000 workers but only 200 of them had contracts.

Bailey: As tensions escalated, a general strike broke down on 12 November 1928.

Austin: United Fruit demanded protection. Fearing the US government would intervene,
thousands of soldiers from the Colombian Army arrived in the plantations.

Bailey: And General Carlos Corts Vargas decided to end the repression by force.

Austin: First, he made sure that all the US businessmen were safely on their way home.

Bailey: On december 5th, over 5,000 strikers and their families were meeting in a railroad
station. They were surrounded by 400 armed soldiers at night.

Austin: As described by Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garca Mrquez in his novel, One hundred
years of solitude, an army Colonel made a warning before the massacre

Rebecca: under current martial law, it is illegal to hold assemblies and meetings of more
than three men. Refusal to withdraw will mean that the people meeting in here are a

69
 gang of criminals and the army has full permission to shoot them dead.

We hear the strikers booing in discontent.

Rebecca: Seoras y seores (Long pause.) You have five minutes to withdraw.

A trumpet signals the time counting an even stronger, prolonged booing is heard. Nobody moves.

Rebecca: Han pasado cinco minutos. (Long pause.) One minute more and we'll fire.

Bailey: Jos Arcadio Segundo had no time. Intoxicated by the tension and the marvelous
depth of silence, convinced that nothing could move that crowd, shocked by the
fascination of death, he rose his voice for the first time in his life.

Austin: Cabrones!

Bailey: He screamed.

Austin: Keep your extra minute!

A storm of bullets falls over the crowd.

Bailey: When Jos Arcadio Segundo woke up, he was face up in obscurity, riding an endless
silent train, and his hair was caked by dry blood and his bones ached. He leaned over
the side that hurt less, and only then he realized he was lying over dead people.

Austin: On the Cinaga repression, in 1928, 2,000 people were murdered in cold blood.

Bailey: It's impossible to know how many workers died in the Banana Wars.

Austin: US Companies had thousands of employees. Dead bodies were instantly deposed of.
Thousands of lives just faded away.

Bailey: Corrupt governments and US companies would always hide this information.

70
Austin: Estimates range from 20,000 to half a million people killed during the Banana Wars.

10.

Rebecca: Imperial USA reached its furthest extent before the 1929 crash.

Austin: When Franklin D. Roosevelt became president, 25% of US population was

unemployed.

Bailey: The world was so dependent on the US that the crisis quickly spread.

Austin: Europe, saw the rise of Hitler and Mussolini. Millions died in famine in China and
the USSR.

Rebecca: In Central America, after so much war, Banana Republics smelled like rotten fruit
and corpses.

Bailey: World economy depended on the US, Roosevelt had the future in his hands.

Rebecca: In his first Address to the Congress, he described the condition of his people:

Austin: Taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; millions are unemployed, thousands of
families lost their homes.

Bailey: His New Deal Policy created 30 million jobs for unemployed Americans:

Austin: and through this employment, we can accomplished greatly needed projects.

Bailey: He provided economic relief and housing, and stated that:

Austin: No business which on pays less than living wages to its workers has any right to be
in this country.

Bailey: He reformed the banking system and increased taxations for the richest companies.

71
Austin: against a return of the evils of the old order; the bankers who failed, through their
stubbornness and incompetence.

Bailey: He gave Social Security to workers, and basic labor rights. And provided social
programs for the millions who were unemployed or homeless.

Austin: And I found in Major General Smedley Budler a spokesman willing to denounce the
hypocrisy and corruption of the industry of war.

Bailey: At least 21,000 millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during
the World War. How many of them shouldered a rifle? How many dug a trench?
How many knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many
spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun
bullets? How many of them were killed in battle?

Austin: We'll follow General Budler's advice to revolutionize the war industry:

Bailey: We must take the profit out of war. It is the youth who would bear arms who must
decide if there should be war, and must wage war only for home defense purposes.

Rebecca: In Latin America, Roosevelt's Good Neighbor Policy ended occupations and
established equitable conditions of trade.

Austin: In 1938, Mexico nationalized its oil and expropriated all the deposits when foreign
Companies refused to provide labor rights.

Bailey: The US lost its second main source of oil, no war was fought but the economy grew.

Rebecca: But this era of diplomacy ended with the outburst of the greatest war in history.

Austin: Roosevelt's diplomacy died with him before the end of war.

Bailey: After his death, President Truman had a different approach:

Nuclear explosions.

72
11.

Rebecca: War is so convenient for industries that it's natural that a new enemy would be born.

Bailey: We must protect ourselves against the rise of Communism, that comes to take away
our money and destroy the American Way of life.

Austin: During the cold war, millions of people from Africa, the Middle East, Latin America
and Asia, died over the chessboard where the USSR and the US used to play.

Rebecca: Even more than World War 2.

Bailey: Most of them were victims of a monster, created by President Truman in 1947.

Rebecca: It's alive! It's alive!

Bailey: The monster was called CIA, it was made from other agencies' corpses.

Rebecca: He's paranoid and he likes to attack first, but that's the nature of monsters.

Bailey: When he found a government that displeased him, he would find the opposition

Austin: You Weapon Kill Communist!

Bailey: In 1954, a United Fruit backed dictator was overthrown by revolution in Guatemala.

Rebecca: After the revolution, Jacob Arbenz was democratically elected.

Bailey: Guatemala is not a Banana Republic anymore. If United Fruit refuses to grant
proper salaries and conditions to its workers, we will have to expropriate

Rebecca: And thus, 30 years of Civil War followed.

Austin: During the 60s, Lyndon Johnson's CIA imposed Military dictatorships through

73
 Coups in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Brazil.

Bailey: Then it fought fiercely in Vietnam, as Indian Veteran Evan Haney testified:

Rebecca: The same massacres happened to the Indians 100 years ago. I got to know the
Vietnamese people and they were just like us. We are destroying ourselves.

Austin: During Johnson's government, murder rates rose 30%, civil right movements
exploded and the US saw more protesters in the streets than ever.

Rebecca: When the Vietnam war became unpopular. President Nixon found a new enemy.

Bailey: Drugs are the main cause for the crimes in the US. We must eliminate this threat!

Austin: This war tripled the amount of OD deaths and served as a weapon of segregation.

Rebecca: Prisons were soon overcrowded. 90% of the inmates were Latinos and Negroes.

Austin: During Nixon's administration, the CIA activities overthrew elected governments in
Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

Rebecca: The new US backed military dictatorships were given weapons and training.

Bailey: 100 thousand people were disappeared by these dictatorships.

Rebecca: In the 80s, US interests were threatened by communism and drugs.

Austin: In Nicaragua, the Sandinista Front for National Liberation overthrew the US backed
dictatorship after more than a hundred years of constant abuses.

Rebecca: President Jimmy Carter started counter operations by arming and sponsoring the
Contra Guerillas, responsible of half a million deaths in Latin America.

Austin: The next president, Ronald Reagan, got so obsessed with overthrowing the
Nicaraguan government, that he financed the Contras through drug trafficking

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 Cartels in Mexico, Honduras, Colombia and Panam.

Bailey: The route of Cocaine into the US is through these Banana Republics.

Rebecca: Reagan took the war on drugs to a whole new level, by providing allied governments
with the most sophisticated equipment and military training.

Austin: Meanwhile, the CIA provided Warlords and Drug Cartels with weapons to
overthrow the left wing governments in Nicaragua and El Salvador.

Bailey: More than a million people have died in Central American wars since then.

Rebecca: In less than 50 years, the CIA attacked more countries, destroyed more governments
and killed more people than all the previous history of the US.

Bailey: In Latin America, the CIA indirectly caused more deaths than the Nazi holocaust.

Austin: Murder rates in the US grew from 8,000 a year in 1960 to almost 25,000 in the 90s.

Rebecca: Even now, our police kills 6 thousand Latinos and Negroes in duty each year.

Bailey: We hear countless justifications for these blood.

Austin: But war is the natural state of our species. We keep on looking for more.

Rebecca: Saddam Hussein, the Taliban, Al Qaeda, ISIS the Mara Salvatrucha, the Zetas and
practically all our current enemies were indirectly armed or trained by the CIA.

Austin: Since the Wars on Drugs and Terror started, no lives have been saved. Terrorist
organizations and cartels are more dangerous than ever.

Bailey: Each year, the death toll is higher, just like the budget for war.

Rebecca: We were told since children that history is the price we pay for our development.

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Austin: But in the last century, this development has threatened life in so many ways that we
should at least ask ourselves if we're on the right track.

Bailey: Since Columbus' time, 85% of the species on Earth have disappeared or are dying.

Rebecca: We have enough weapons to destroy the world, and more enemies than ever.

Austin: Our species is swimming in the trash we've accumulated in our short existence since
our family first left Africa.

Rebecca: There's more money in the world than ever but more people are starving.

Bailey: The forests are just 12% of what they were; water supplies are drying out.

Austin: Climate change has displaced billions of people in less than 10 years,

Rebecca: We criticize a religion for their treatment of women while our culture reduces
women to a mere sexual objects.

Bailey: We live on products from companies that induce misery and poison our world.

Austin: Our commodities exist thanks to hundreds of millions who barely survive while we
ignore awful truth about this world.

Rebecca: That there is always someone paying with his life for all we take for granted.

Bailey: But nothing's for granted. If we continue messing with the Earth and its people like
this, we won't get a second chance.

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