video & dialogue
Clockwise from top left: Shamalang, Murtaza, Munir, Arifa, Isak, and Qayum
scene: in the garden
from Back Home Tomorrow. DVD. Directed by Fabrizio Lazzaretti, Paolo Santolini. 2008; Italy: Magnolia
Films, 2009. (1:19:40-1:22:57)
Shamalang: Murtaza…
Murtaza: Yeah?
Shamalang: Are you happy to be in this hospital?
Murtaza: Nope.
Shamalang: Why not?
Murtaza: I’m happy at home.
Shamalang: How did the mine do that to you?
Murtaza: I brought it into my house. I left it there for twelve days then I was playing with it. I put a magnet on top of it. It made a noise and exploded.
Shamalang: When it made that noise, did you faint?
Murtaza: Nah.
Shamalang: Does your hand hurt now? (Pause) Are you sad about the amputation? Huh? Don’t you speak Farsi or Dari? Do you speak Pashto?
Murtaza: (Does not respond further?)
Shamalang: Qayum…How did you set off the mine.
Qayum: I took the mine and slammed.
Shamalang: Against what?
Qayum: I took it and slammed it against a rock!
Shamalang: When you hit it and made a noise, did you lose all of your senses?
Qayum: Behoosh! I passed out. My head rang.
Shamalang: And you, Isak? How did you do it?
Isak: The mine was in the house for two days. On the third day, I took it and hit it with a nail. When I hit it, it exploded in my hand.
Shamalang: When I took the mine, I kept it at home for a few days. My younger brothers brought it to play with. It was still wrapped up. I took it out. Then took off the safety and threw it on the ground. Then I picked it up and it made a noise. That noise…
Isak: Shamalang, what are you going to do when you go to school?
Shamalang: When I go, I’ll greet my classmates and my teachers. After that we’ll study and then we’ll go out.
Isak: And if someone says, “Look at that hand!” Will you get upset?
Shamalang: No, I won’t give it much importance.
Isak: Good! That’s how real men behave!
Shamalang: Yes, that’s what real men are like.
Isak: If someone were to say to Munir, “Look at that injured hand!” He would start crying, “Dad, they made fun of me.”
scene: two brothers
from Back Home Tomorrow. DVD. Directed by Fabrizio Lazzaretti, Paolo Santolini. 2008; Italy: Magnolia
Films, 2009. (1:14:51-1:16:08)
Isak: (Isak hands his little brother a bright pink flower bud.) If you see the gardener, hide it. He wouldn’t say anything to you but he’d beat me, understand?
Arifa: You’re older and you knew…
Isak: I’m older…but how was I supposed to know it was a mine? I asked what it was… They said it was out of use. How am I to blame? You were the one who brought it inside.
Arifa: I didn’t do it.
Isak: I brought it inside?
Arifa: Yes.
Isak: Oh Allah! He’s blaming me… If you hadn’t brought the mine in the house, we wouldn’t be here right now. We would be at school. We would be studying. It’s your fault that I’m behind in my studies.
Arifa: (Playing with flower.)
Isak: Don’t tear it.
Arifa: It’s tearing by itself. It’s wilted.
Isak: It can’t be wilted I just picked it.
Arifa: It’s hot and it wilted.
Isak: What do you mean? It’s not hot.
scene:recovery room
from Back Home Tomorrow. DVD. Directed by Fabrizio Lazzaretti, Paolo Santolini. 2008; Italy: Magnolia
Films, 2009. (43:38-44:19)
Isak: Your hand will heal and then we can play together. You’ll be enrolled in school.
Arifa: But I don’t know anything.
Isak: I’ll teach you.
Arifa: I don’t know my times tables.
Isak: That’s okay. I’ll teach you. Okay? We won’t touch those things anymore. Okay?
Arifa: We won’t go anywhere anymore.
Isak: From now on, if you see those things outside, don’t pick them up. They could be mines. Even if you find a pencil or a pen, don’t pick them up. Understand?
Arfia: Mom buys us pens anyway.