Black Earth Rising (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - In Other News - full transcript

Kate Ashby returns to work as a legal investigator in the same chambers as her adopted mother Eve. Their relationship is tested when a militia leader is prosecuted at the International Criminal Court.

π’°π“ƒπ’Ύπ“†π“Še π“‰π“‡π’Άπ“ƒπ“ˆπ“π’Άπ“‰π’Ύo𝓃: Shuter

This programme contains strong language,

and some scenes which some
viewers may find upsetting.

I'm sorry, I'm afraid I'm running
out of time.

Absolutely. No problem.

OK, so, last question.

Jay. Go ahead.

Ms Ashby, or Eve.

First, may I say that it's kind of
amazing that you're here.

One of the worlds leading prosecutors
in international criminal law.

And I get to ask you a question.



Which is?

Yes, it's this.

What motivates you to vomit up all
this neo-colonialist bullshit?

- You don't have to answer that...
- No, it's all right.

I'm motivated to see justice done,
wherever the crime took place.

Oh, and it just so happens all these
crimes, they take place in Africa?

We only prosecute those cases a
country is unable or unwilling

- to prosecute for itself.
- Well, what about the West Bank?

I believe that's an active situation.

Situation?

But when it comes to action,
there are at least 40 individuals

being prosecuted by the International
Criminal Court right now,

and each and every one of them
are Africans.

Black Africans.



And I'm sure they all
have a case to answer,

properly represented in a court of law.

But you're telling us you successfully
prosecuted one of those cases.

Yes.

And that doesn't make
you feel embarrassed?

Embarrassed? Not at all.

Really? Why not?

After all, isn't what you do just
the latest example of self-righteous

western paternalism?

Of exactly the same sort that,
for hundreds of years,

has systematically decimated that
continent of its wealth,

its governments, its religions,
and most of all, its people?

And now, having done it, you have
the temerity

to expect them to turn to you
for justice?

For justice that only you can provide,

for crimes that surely would never

have happened had your world not
gone there in the first place.

So, you're right, I wouldn't feel
embarrassed

Cos if I was you,
I'd feel fucking ashamed.

Stop, that's it. I'm so sorry...

African problems
deserve African solutions.

- They don't deserve you.
- That's it.

- Look...
- Enough!

This is not the time.

- Then when is the time?
- Not now.

I'm sorry, I really have gone far over...

Of course. Everyone.

But...

Just a minute, can I just say one thing?

I stand by my record because it is
a record of justice, all right?

Whatever the cause, whatever the history,

we have delivered justice to the
people who needed it most,

when otherwise they might not have
had it at all.

And I'm proud to have done that,
and I'm proud to keep doing that.

So, all right.

And it may help you to know that my
daughter is black,

and she was born in Africa.

It doesn't.

Not unless she's the one with the
solutions.

REPEATED TAPPING

INAUDIBLE

Shit!

MUSIC: You Want It Darker
by Leonard Cohen

β™ͺ If you are the dealer
I'm out of the game

β™ͺ If you are the healer
It means I'm broken and lame

β™ͺ If thine is the glory
then mine must be the shame

β™ͺ You want it darker

β™ͺ We kill the flame

β™ͺ Magnified, sanctified be thy holy name

β™ͺ Vilified, crucified in the human frame

β™ͺ A million candles burning
for the help that never came

β™ͺ You want it darker

β™ͺ Hineni, hineni I'm ready, my lord. β™ͺ

Are you sure you don't want to wait?

This is about me, not her.

And last time, she said she wanted
to be here.

But here I am, and I've come
all on my own.

Maybe that's how she wants it?

And how do you feel about that?

We've had this conversation a couple
of times now.

And how do you feel about that?

Ready to stop having it.

Ever the lawyer, hmm?

Actually, I'm a legal investigator.

Slightly different.

And how are things at work?

Not too much pressure?

Americano, flat white.

Can't give a nut job
too much responsibility.

Do you see yourself as a patient or
a protagonist?

Aah, OK.

Well, I see myself as a patient.

We all are.

Only the truly mad think they are
in control of their life.

Is that Adam West enough for you,
Mr Riddler?

OK.

So, there you are.

- Full supply.
- But?

You read everything we suggested?

Am I really going to tell you I didn't?

But the stuff on survivor's guilt?

Hmm, Primo Levi. Interesting choice.

And, did it...

...connect, with you?

See, that's my problem, Doc.

I don't know who it is I'm supposed
to connect with.

I guess that's why I tried to kill
myself.

And did you?

Really?

Oh, if I ever do try,

I'll be sure to take a leaf out of
Mr Levi's book

and jump straight out the window.

I'm just kidding.

I'm just kidding with you, it was a joke.

Thanks.

Do you know your birth name?

- No.
- Want to find out?

No.

There's no-one left alive to tell me.

Oh, for fuck's sake.

- I'll find it myself.
- It's all right!

I'm here.

Oh, my God. I'm so sorry.

- It's fine.
- I was at this lecture...

Fucking horrible, and I couldn't get out.

- It's all right.
- And then it was the traffic,

and now my fucking phone's run out.

I mean, why do they keep putting all
this shit in it

if the battery can't cope?
Look, it's fine.

Really.

Everything is fine.

- You sure?
- Yes.

- It's OK?
- Yes.

- You didn't need me?
- No.

So, what did he say?

Hmm. Patient, protagonist,
some kind of bullshit.

But you don't have to come back?

Nope, not unless I exceed the stated
dose...

- Again.
- Not even in jest.

You're talking to a major
depressive, this is how we cope.

You're fantastic, you know that?

- Mm-hmm.
- No, you really are.

And what doesn't kill us...

Waits for another chance.

But not with you.

Yes?

Not with me.

Come on.

- I love you.
- I know.

You want to go out for supper?

Oh, well, unless one of my 57
boyfriends have called,

I may find myself strangely available.

There are reasons for that, my darling.

Certainly are. Not least watching a
man's dick shrivel to the size of a

cashew nut every time he looks at my
stomach.

So, keep your top on!

Practical advice.

Always welcome.

What else are mothers for?

SHE WINCES

Michael, you knew I wasn't going to
be in the office this afternoon.

- Are you OK?
- Oh...

Yeah. The price of a green conscience.

I once shot at a polar bear.

- Yeah?
- Yep. I missed.

Are you OK now?

Definitely.

- I am, yeah.
- Ready to do some proper work?

Sure.

Come in and see me.

- Thanks.
- Good.

You came all this way just to say that?

I'm looking for your mother.

Oh, she'll be...

- in the office.
- No, I went there.

She's on her way, probably held up.

Her phone's switched off.

- Is there a problem?
- Might be a case coming in.

- Big one.
- Oh, which one?

Simon.

This has been going on for quite a
while now.

They keep stopping my
trucks from entering...

- Yes, they do.
- Why?

Because they keep turning up with
the wrong paperwork.

What paperwork?

Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act,

which requires us to guarantee that
all minerals in the...

Fucking Americans?

...all minerals imported from the
Democratic Republic of the Congo

into our country are conflict-free.

Your trucks have no such certification,

and therefore, they cannot pass.

I am fighting a war...

- I know.
- ..for you.

Simon.

Because the Americans tell you...

Because the war is over.

And in peace time, you cannot keep
stealing from those mines.

How else do I pay my men?

You don't.

You let them go.

My officers would rather die than
leave my side.

Your officers offered to shoot you
whilst you slept.

You have not paid them for a long time.

Because you keep stopping my fucking
trucks!

Simon.

Simon, look at me.

Do you remember Kabale, before the war?

All that?

Anyway, we were in this taxi, you
and me, and I asked the driver...

- No.
- What?

David, with the long story...

- It was just to make a point.
- So make it.

The dog ends up dead in a ditch and
the cat gets away.

- That is your point?
- For you not to be the dog, yes.

There is a someone here to see you.

He's from the US embassy.

- No.
- He has something to offer.

What can a mzungu offer me?

A way to end this, now.

A way home.

I want to go home...

...I just walk there.

LOUD CLANG

I think you're going to have to go
somewhere else first, my old friend.

Where?

General Nyamoya, welcome to the Hague.

In other news, rebel army leader
General Simon Nyamoya

is tonight behind bars in Holland,

awaiting trial for war crimes at the
International Criminal Court.

Tracy Schulman has this report.

1994, and while the world looked
elsewhere,

the small East African state of
Rwanda stared into the abyss.

800,000 massacred in a 100-day
killing frenzy,

while the international community
stood by.

The perpetrators?

Members of the Hutu majority

led by a genocidal
government who, overnight,

turned on their Tutsi neighbours
following years of ethnic tension.

The saviours? A returning Tutsi
army, the RPF,

which General Simon Nyamoya helped
to lead.

The RPF brought the savagery to an end,

and were applauded the world over
for their heroism.

But, a quarter of a century on,
a different story.

Today, Simon Nyamoya is no longer
the heroic victor of yesteryear,

but instead wears the badgeless

beret of a Congolese mercenary,

fuelling endless conflicts

on illicit riches stolen
from the region's mines.

That Nyamoya is finally to face his
day in court

may indeed be cause for celebration,

although having already been
ostracised by his old allies,

whether he remains an actual threat
to the region is harder to assess.

Indeed, Bibi Mundanzi,

Rwanda's long-term president, has
yet to comment.

However, she has previously questioned

why the West charges men like
Nyamoya when far worse criminals,

some responsible for the genocide itself,

remain at large, and untouched.

Of course, there are many people
hiding in our neighbouring forests

responsible for acts of genocide
against this country,

but they cannot hide forever.

And they will be caught.

In the meantime, you're
happy to be sending

Simon Nyamoya, your one-time ally,

to the International Criminal Court?

General Nyamoya gave himself up to
the Americans.

We did not send him anywhere.

But is the president happy to see
him tried there?

She is happy to see justice occur
wherever it is delivered.

But in the past, she's been highly
critical of the ICC.

Officially she doesn't even recognise it.

We have a great faith in the
international community.

I may remind you that, in the last
year alone,

we have enjoyed investments of 1.2
billion dollars,

and not just in charity but business.

In banking, mining, tourism,
construction, all regulated,

certified and guaranteed.

Our doors are open. The world is welcome.

And is General Nyamoya the price for
that?

What price?

You keep saying this.

General Nyamoya gave himself up

to the scrutiny of international justice.

And because of this,

I am certain he will receive exactly
the trial he deserves.

No.

She goes on a list, that's the best
I can offer.

The last time Eve Ashby
prosecuted a case here,

she won in record time.

You could do with another one of those.

And she will be carefully considered
along with the others.

Come on, Capi, what do I have to
do to make this work, hmm?

Join a queue.

- Madam Secretary?
- Assistant Secretary, Peter.

More talk like that will get me fired.

I thought we'd lost you for the day.

But now I'm back.

That's politics, baby!

God, I'm starving.

So, what can I have?

You told me to resist these questions
as if you were the devil himself.

So, what CAN I have?

A small handful of unsalted almonds.

OK. And a copy of the indictment in
the General Nyamoya case.

A perfect complement.

And set up a call with
Capi Petridis, ASAP.

And with whose authority are
you making this request?

Capi, I'm head of the Bureau of
African Affairs,

I think it's fair to say that my
authority is all you need to hear.

OK, I've heard it.

And what are you going to do about it?

Eunice, her name is on the list
along with the others.

And what I'm suggesting to you is

there should only be one name on
that list. Eve Ashby.

Your suggestion is noted.

Noted? Capi, I'm not sure you're quite
getting what I'm offering here.

My government has yet to ratify the
Rome Statute,

and therefore we still do not
recognise your court.

But here is a perfect opportunity for us

to take a big step towards that.

I strongly advise you to grab it.

Just because she's an old friend of
yours?

Because she's the best prosecutor
there is.

And you'll need her.

You knew she was going to do that.

We're on.

You can't do it.

- I've said yes.
- Say no!

I understand your feelings...

Which one? I have so many!

I know it must feel very close...

Close? General Nyamoya is a Rwandan
Tutsi, Mama.

Who is accused of 13 counts of war...

Who helped stop the genocide!

And then he went into the Congo

- and he did a lot of bad things...
- I'm a Rwandan Tutsi, Mama.

No!

You have a British passport and
you're my daughter.

Yes, only because I survived.

And without them, how would that
have happened?

It's not so simple, darling.

It is to me. I mean, to me, what
you're doing,

it's like the Second World War is over,

and we're Jewish, and suddenly,

you've decided to prosecute
General Eisenhower

because he tried to stop Hitler!

Well, if Eisenhower had
committed war crimes,

- he would have been prosecuted.
- Yes, but not by you!

Not you, my mother, because for me,
it's like the SS is still out there,

and all you're trying to do is prosecute

one of the few men who tried to
stop them!

Are you... Are you trying to drive a
wedge between us, Mama?

Make me stand on my own two feet?

Do you think you can't?

Did you think I should?

I think you're ready, yes.

I think if you have me hovering
over you for the rest of your life,

you'll never, ever fly.

So...

So all this is... Is what,
a way to cut me loose?

No!

You can't choose when something
happens, Kate.

If it was 18 months ago, of course
I wouldn't have done it.

But it's not, it's now, and now you
are better.

And now I have to take this case.

- But why?
- Because it's the right thing to do.

Who...

Who for?

You?

- Everyone.
- Not me.

Everyone.

Trust me.

There are still men in the Congo

responsible for the genocide, Mum.

You want to do the right thing...

...you should prosecute them.

Ah, it's fine.

- You sure?
- Yes, yes.

It's just a mole. Not cancer.

OK.

It's quite large, though.

I can remove it for you, peace of mind?

No, no. It's fine.

It's very simple. A few minutes, no
problem.

No, no, no, no, no.

I'll wait until I go home.

You don't trust me?

No, no, no, no. It's just...

Well, you know.

- Know what?
- It's fine, Doctor.

Really. Thanks for looking.

It's much appreciated.

Do you want francs or dollars?

You suspect I will flee the country?

Francs.

...the fuck?

Who was that?

- Who?
- That guy, just went through.

I don't know.

I do.

You work for the hospital?

Or do you work for him?

Oh, it's OK. I already know.

Major. Major!

You've not paid.

Do you know who that guy is?

That guy is a war criminal with

an international warrant on his head.

No!

Oh, yes.

His name is Patrice Ganimana.

He's like a Hutu general, took part
in the Rwanda genocide.

He is responsible for the death of
about a million people.

- No.
- Right here in your hospital.

Sitting in a wheelchair.

Pretty nurses and everything.

Who?

Patrice Ganimana.

Yeah. He may not be the ace of spades,

but he is certainly the 10 of clubs.

Sometimes...

...Europeans have difficulty telling
our faces apart.

- No, no, no, no, no, no.
- You're mistaken.

The fuck I am.

Please, sir, you're in hospital.

Yeah, and he should be in the Hague.

Please.

Just pay your bill.

Aah...

Keep the change.

Oh, yeah.

I know them.

You haven't answered the question.

And you haven't picked up that file.

It's an immigration appeal.

I'd like your opinion on it.

Why did you give her the Nyamoya case?

I'm not saying there is any pressure
on your room rental, Kate,

but obviously I wouldn't be saying
it if there wasn't.

They are prosecuting the wrong man
on the wrong side,

and you've chosen the wrong person
to do it.

Because he's a Tutsi?

And so am I.

And you'll be delighted when
the judge agrees with you.

It isn't your world.

- The Congo?
- The genocide.

I prosecuted one of the first cases
for the ICTR in '98.

Your mother was my junior.

It's where we met. I'd go so far as
to say it's why you're here.

And I don't want to go back to any
of it, ever.

Do you think your mother loves you, Kate?

You think she'd ever do anything to
harm you?

- It's a silly question.
- It is, so why do you keep asking it?

Your mother is one of the most steadfast

and loyal people I have ever met,

and most of that has been directed
at you.

She's also one of the smartest.

So if she's chosen to prosecute
Simon Nyamoya,

I'd trust her to do it.
Let her do her job, Kate.

And you...

...do yours. I'd like that back in
the morning.

- Oh, Miss Ashby.
- Hi, Frank.

Sweetheart?

Sweetheart, would you close the door?

- Yes.
- Thank you.

Mine's a flat white.

Are you taking on a new case?

Just an opinion.

Well, that's a start.

I didn't think this was allowed.

Um-hmm?

Thought we weren't allowed to be in
the same room together.

- Um-hmm. Of course we are.
- Alone.

I'm leaving, Kate.

What?

Your mother's asked me to be her
permanent rep at the Nyamoya case.

You're going to the Hague?

- Yep.
- Wow.

I mean, she only got it yesterday.

Yeah, but...

We saw it coming.

- How?
- All I know is

everyone was pushing Nyamoya to
hand himself in.

The DRC, Rwanda,

us, the Americans.

- Everyone.
- Why?

He was a warlord.

There are others still
out there, far worse.

Oh.

Same thing's happening to them.

- I haven't seen it.
- Yes, we have.

There's a genocide...

Genocide.

Look, the region just wants to move
on, Kate.

A fresh start.

So should you.

FIB have been informed.

And when do you think they'll show up?

Well, next week, next month, next year?

And, how long does it take to get an
X-ray?

Because I think that's what he was
having.

What are you trying to do here, Major?

Not to repeat past mistakes, sir.

- Like?
- Well, I come from Quebec,

and the last time a Canadian was in
charge of this sort of thing was

over in Rwanda during the genocide.

It didn't end so well.

I'm hoping the same thing won't
happen to me.

Or, and with the greatest respect,
sir, to you.

Me?

You're French.

Some people think it was you guys
back then

that helped people like this

Ganimana here to escape in the first
place.

Not me, Major.

In '94 I was reading Lucky Luke.

Well, then you better hope that some
of that has rubbed off.

You carry on like this, you're going
to need it.

SHOUTED COMMAND

IN FRENCH: Continuez.

Man.

Oh, Evie.

Save it for the judge.

You may want to choose a corner, there.

There's not a day passed I hadn't
thought of telling her.

And when she...

...when she tried to do what she did,
I knew why I hadn't.

It's what we all agreed.

But what if I was wrong?

What if it's the other way round?

What if she only did what she did
precisely because I hadn't told her?

You can't think like that.

No, because it damns me both ways.

You rescued a child.

And you gave her a life.

But not her past.

And you're about to do that, too.

Well, what if I was right in the
first place?

And what if she's still not ready?

That it?

Yes.

Maybe you should have let me
take the case.

She's my daughter!

But it's not just about her now, is it?

It's about that, and this.

And seeing this done at last.

I know what it's about, Michael.

Well, then you've answered during
question, haven't you?

This is our chance. It might not
come again.

We got to take it while we can.

You're right, of course you are.

Been a long time coming.

Over 20 years.

And sometimes I feel whatever it is
we've been holding out for,

or clinging onto, I don't know...

It's dragged me out so far...

...I'm not sure I can never get back.

But, I mean, you will.

You'll be fine, and so will Kate.

I wish we'd fallen in love.

Well, we didn't.

Why we're still friends.

She has connections with Rwanda?

Oh, yes. She adopted a Rwandan child,

and she helped prosecute one of the
first cases after the genocide.

Against the men who carried out
the genocide?

Yep. Which I helped bring to an end.

So, she and I...

...we are on the same side.

- We better hope so.
- There is no hope about it.

We are on the same side.

It's not about sides.

Isn't it?

Back then, you and Nyamoya were
chasing the same thing.

Evil Hutus. You as a lawyer, him as
a soldier.

And because of that, you're asking
me to do what, exactly?

To remove him from the field, no doubt.

But also, perhaps,

to allow him to return to an
entirely peaceful retirement

in the not too distant future.
He was a hero, after all.

A hero?

Just because you asked me to forget,
doesn't mean I did.

The indictment accuses him of the
enlistment of child soldiers for the

purposes of war in the DRC from 2004...

- It's not the date I'm interested in.
- ..to 2006.

- Then, which?
- I just told you.

The one you asked me to forget.

Back then.

I thought I was visiting a friend?

Friends don't ask people to lie.

And friends don't try to undermine you.

By telling them the truth?

David, isn't that exactly what
friends are for?

Oh, Eve, we are used to seeing
zealots in dog collars,

but not in horsehair wigs.

Neither will save my country.

It's a little more complex than that.

Isn't it?

We have a duty to memory.

Whose?

Hers?

Yours?

Everyone's.

Some things are best left forgotten.

Not this.

Tell them now, David, now that the
going's good.

Thank you for the drink.

And for what you did for us,
all of those years ago.

Aah.

- Transfer. I want to stay...
- Hey, Harper.

- Mikey.
- How's my girl today?

Oh, grand.

- Just grand.
- What you reading her?

Just an old Graham Greene.

Oh, she'll love that.

So...

I'm on my way.

Great, thanks, Harvey.

Next time.

Great.

- Give my love to Jenny.
- Bye, Hannah.

He's better for your mother,
wouldn't you say?

Much, much better.

Oh.

You've got some colour in your cheeks.

That's nice.

Oh.

The Nyamoya case is about to begin.

I don't think it will give us all
the answers, but it's a start.

It's a start, darling.

And Daddy'll find the end, I promise.

So, where we at?

Frank? My mother just called.

She needs me to pick something up
from her office on my way home.

Is she still in there?

Give that to me. Give it to me now!

- How much did you see?
- I...

It's illegal, what you're doing.

It's illegal.

Is... Is this a taxi rank job?

You didn't have a choice?

Of course I did.

And I... I just...

I don't understand. Why?

Take a long, hard look.

Look at it.

And you remember it.

Remember it. And then one day,

hopefully, one day soon
you'll understand.

Take a look at this.

Take a good, hard look.

This is what they did to me.

I don't remember my family.

Or my country.

Nothing.

I don't know my own name!

The only thing I know is that it
happened to nearly a million people,

and I will never forget it, and
neither should anyone else.

And no-one will.

Except you're going to
give them the excuse!

I don't know what's in there.

But it won't match this.

But you push that, and everyone can
go back to what they really think.

That down there, genocide, war crimes,

that's just what they all do
to each other!

That we're all just cats in a bag!

That we're all just monkeys!

I don't give a shit what they think
up here.

I'm only talking to the people that
matter,

and if they don't want to see their
country turn into another...

- The arrogance!
- ..Into another fucking Yugoslavia,

they'll need to listen.

And so will you.

And you're the only one to tell us.

Yes, I am.

I really, really am.

Spoken like a true Mzungu.

Don't. I'm leaving tomorrow.

And I will never understand why.

Don't expect me at... home.

β™ͺ A charge to keep I have

β™ͺ A God to glorify

β™ͺ A never-dying soul to save

β™ͺ And fit it for the sky. β™ͺ

It's Corporal Benoit, right?

Sir!

You want to make a difference, Corporal?

Then don't end up like me.

CAR ENGINE RUNNING

BANG

Mum!

Mum!

Mama!

Mum!

Mum!

- Mama...
- VOICE MAIL: Please leave a message

after the tone.

It's me. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry, Mum. What I said was
unforgivable.

I'm sorry. I love you.

Call me.

I know who owns these vehicles.

Your boss is one of the most wanted
men in Africa.

Now, where is he?

Where is he?

Tennis! Tennis!

On Doctor's orders.

Secure the area!

What the fuck do you think you are doing?

Oh, what does it look like I'm doing?

Stand them down.

This is an indictment
against Patrice Ganimana.

It is not a warrant.

It'll have to do.

Apparently, he's playing tennis.

Stand...

...them...

...down.

We're blue hats, Colonel.

You can't shoot until you're shot at.

GUNSHOTS

Who fired? Who fired?

Weapon down! Weapon down!

On your knees. On your knees.

Who fired first? Who fired first?!

Please...

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

Shit. Shit. Christ.

Benoit. Benoit!

Medic!

Medic!

Oh, shit.

Fuck.

Please...

Oh, fuck. You're not Ganimana.

Oh, fuck. You're not Patrice Ganimana.

But I saw him. I know it.

Christ!

Look, I can only say what I always have,

that although this place may be many
thousands of miles from the events

upon which it must adjudicate,
I believe that what we do here,

particularly now,

when nations are turning their backs
on international responsibility,

what happens here becomes all the
more important

for countries that have
no recourse to justice,

for people who believe that day will
never come.

We're trying to make a difference.

Thank you.

No matter what.

π’°π“ƒπ’Ύπ“†π“Še π“‰π“‡π’Άπ“ƒπ“ˆπ“π’Άπ“‰π’Ύo𝓃: Shuter