WOMAN Yeah, you know, a sausage made from pork intestine.
JOURNALIST Oh. I thought it’s a Ukrainian special.
CAMERAMAN I thought it’s Polish.
WOMAN Well… I’m pretty sure it’s Belarusian. One needs guts, buckwheat, pork scratchings and fresh blood to make it. I once saw people in a village making it. So yes, it’s a Belarusian dish. I’m sure about it.
Everyone is silent for a while.
CAMERAMAN I thought you’d talk about a dish made from potatoes.
WOMAN Oh, go fuck yourself!
JOURNALIST (hides a smile) I’m sorry. Do you remember anything else?
WOMAN No, nothing else. But I’m telling you, I don’t think I ever knew anything there. That’s why I don’t remember. (Everyone is quiet.) Look, it’s really weird. I just realized that I’m kind of jealous of— Well, I’m jealous of African Americans. Because they know the history of their slavery, you see?
SCENЕ 7
Note from the project authors:
Each character in this scene also speaks their native tongue. A Belarusian speaks Belarusian, a Jew speaks Hebrew, and a Ukrainian speaks Ukrainian. In order to preserve the author’s intention and authenticity, here as well we give the original text in three languages accordingly and the translation into English.
The back of a truck. A Belarusian, a Jew and a Ukrainian sit inside. They sit quietly, the car only bounces on bumps sometimes. The Ukrainian woman looks out of the window from time to time.
A BELARUSIAN Якая карысць ад таго, што вы глядзіце?
What’s the point of you watching?
A UKRAINIAN А яка користь від того, що ви?
What’s the point of you watching?
They sit in silence for a while.
A JEW …נכנסים יהודי, בלארוסי ואוקראיני למסעדה
So a Jew, a Belarusian and a Ukrainian enter a restaurant.
A UKRAINIAN Ну ось знову.
Here we go again.
A BELARUSIAN (пасміхаецца) Вусная народная творчасць на тое і вусная, каб яе ўслых… ну, перадаваць.
(smiles) Well, oral tradition is oral for the sake of being spoken aloud. We should pass it on.