The Floor is Yours a diplomatic comedy
by khristian mĂŠndez
for all who believe empathy can change the world.
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
index
introduction
3
The Floor is Yours
5
acknowledgements
51
The Floor is Yours 1
2 The Floor is Yours
introduction
T
his play is a product of seemingly absurd questions that are actually very real. What would happen if we brought the way we negotiate with each other–in this case, about our impacts on other forms of life– to a stage? What would that shed light on? In June 2014, as I sat inside the New York headquarters of the United Nations, that question sprang to life in me. “What if I wrote a play about all of this?” I’m still not sure if it came to me because I had just worked on an acting piece involving a very diplomatic conversation that went to hell, or if all along I had wanted to write something to articulate my (and others’) emotional frustrations with the negotiation process, its peculiar formalities, and the way language gained and lost meaning after it was entered into a declaration. Initially, I believed theatre had contributions to make to environmental policy, and wasn’t sure about what they were. But after seeing the common experience it can create for an audience, and how that common experience (filled with laughter and tears, right Lara?) is a great starting point for a conversation–this play quelled my cynicism in the UN and in all negotiations. I hope, at the very least, that you find it a springboard to re-imagination. And at its best–a pointer towards marginalized (and perhaps seemingly unintelligible?) voices. -khristian
The Floor is Yours 3
4 The Floor is Yours
The Floor is Yours
Characters: SPEAKER SPEAKERETTE SPEAKERIST CO-CHAIR NAURU BENIN UNITED STATES BOLIVIA SOUTH AFRICA
PACHAMAMA HA DEMETER MEDEINA URCUCHILLAY RUAUMOKO NEREID ASINTMAH PROTESTERS
INTERPRETER NEGOTIATOR 1 NEGOTIATOR 2 NEGOTIATOR 3 ILLUSTRATORS OVERHEARD VOICE VARIOUS ANIMALS VARIOUS PLANTS
The Floor is Yours 5
6 The Floor is Yours
one We start with a dark stage. Three podiums stand downstage right, center and left. Behind each one, there is a character. A speaker in stage right, the speakerist in center stage and speakerette stage left. Under darkness, all three hold postures of greatness. Postures of inspiration, and rhetoric: political postures. A spotlight suddenly shines on the speaker, leaving speakerist and speakerette in partial darkness. Upstage left, there is an interpreter standing, who stands quiet. SPEAKEr
Excellences: Representatives from member states, international organizations, observers, ladies and gentlemen. Today, 5th of June of 1972, the city of Stockholm has welcomed us. So let us begin our work. It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to this gathering. We have gathered for the first time in history to reflect collectively on our impacts over the environment. We are here to consider how to minimize our impacts. With this noble goal in mind, this high level of participation, the number of member states present is most encouraging. I would like to remark the reasons why. The problems we are facing are universal, so they must be solved with universal action. Additionally, our collective presence in this meeting remarks our common understanding that there is work we have to do in order to change the course of our history, and guarantee a sustained future. There are a number of issues where man’s actions are having negative consequences over his environment, and we must cooperate internationally to change those impacts. Marine pollution and ocean dumping, overpopulation, destruction of natural resources, the list goes on. And these are only the most visible examples of this destructive behavior. Man has achieved the capacity to transform his environment in ways that endanger him now.
protesters walk onstage from upstage right to upstage left. one of them looks like he just walked out of Woodstock. Another one is presumably a scientist, with his family. There is also a farmer. Walking behind the speaker, speakerist and speakerette, vocalizing their rage at the speaker, the audience cannot hear them. They exit stage left.
The Floor is Yours 7
SPEAKEr (cont.)
We have been provided with a space for us to consider a common outlook and common principles to inspire and guide the peoples of the world in the preservation and enhancement of the human environment.
speaker stops. Looks at papers confused. Begins with strong conviction. SPEAKEr (cont.)
Excellences, ladies and gentlemen. It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this gathering. Today, April 25th, 1987 we will have the honor of listening to the outcome report produced by the World Commission on the Environment and Development. This is the product of many years of hard work. This Commission has been headed by her Excellency, Primer Minister of Norway Gro Harlem Brundtland. I would like to commend Dr. Harlem Brundtland for her outstanding leadership and work, in shepherding this process through. The commission has chosen to title their report in a way that inspires us to think as one species: “Our Common Future� This report holds great contributions to the work we want to do if we are to preserve the environment we live in. There is a definition in this report, that I believe will change the way this generation looks at the environment and our future within it--sustainable development. It is an inspiring idea. Like never before, we have to think about our children and grandchildren when considering our current actions and activities on the planet.
As he flips the page, speaker trails off, repeats previous sequence. He starts again. SPEAKEr (cont.)
8 The Floor is Yours
Excellences, representatives from governments, ladies and gentlemen. It is my pleasure to address you today. We are gathered here in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to solve the challenges that affect humanity. We have a great task at hand. It has been twenty years since we first met, and the international community has made great progress since 1972. It is now 1992. We now know more about our impact in the planet than we did back then and we are taking action to change those impacts. A great example and source of inspiration in these summits is the Montreal Protocol to the Vienna Convention.
It is a shining example that the international community can and will take action to prevent irreversible damage to this planet. It is, after all, our common home. protesters walk upstage right to upstage left behind speaker, holding signs with short phrases that could come from a 1992 protest. they look at the audience with their signs and protest their way to the stage left exit. SPEAKEr (cont.)
As we enter the last decade of this century, we have an opportunity to chart the future we want to sustainably develop into. We are releasing toxic chemicals, we are changing the climate systems of the planet, we are depleting soils and biodiversity. We cannot let this happen. Years of preparation for this meeting have set the stage, and now we must proceed. I see a bright future ahead of us.
speaker stops, takes his papers, looks at them closely and changes them. He begins with great conviction again. SPEAKEr (cont.)
Excellences, lades and gentlemen. We have entered a new Millennium. Today, September 6th of the year 2000, in New York City, we look back and think of all we have accomplished as a species in the past millennium. Most importantly, however, we stand facing at the future. Our work over the past few decades has led us to chart and refine the areas where we want to focus as we step into the third millennium. It has now been 55 years since the United Nations were created, and our system must stay relevant in the changing environment of the third millennium. The astonishing number of world leaders present at this meeting itself signal its importance: this gather is the single largest gathering of world leaders in human history. We are realizing that we must dialogue to find solutions for our collective problems. It is at this level of dialogue that this conversation can best take place. Peacekeeping, poverty alleviation, environmental degradation, deforestation, are all becoming increasingly relevant, and our work here these three days–along with the preceding months and years of preparation–will be another step we take towards a great future.
The Floor is Yours 9
speaker stops, takes his papers, looks at them closely and changes them. speaker begins with great conviction again. SPEAKEr (cont.)
Excellences, ladies and gentlemen. It is a pleasure to address you today. We are gathered here in Johannesburg, South Africa, we have our work cut out for us.
PROTESTERS walk like before with short phrases that could come from a 2002 protest. SPEAKEr (cont.)
It is 2002, and as we enter the new millennium, we are capable of solving the challenges ahead.
speaker stops, takes his papers, looks at them closely. SPEAKEr (cont.)
We can reach agreements to change the course of things in this new chapter. Climate change can be averted. Famine need not exist. Countries can develop in environmentally-friendly ways. Most importantly, we can work together. We have come to realize that–
speaker stops, takes his papers, looks at them closely, and shuffles them again. speaker begins with the greatest conviction he’s had so far. SPEAKEr (cont.)
Ahem. Excellences, ladies, gentlemen. It is a pleasure to address you today. We are gathered here again in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to solve the challenges that affect humanity.
protesters once more, with photos from natural disasters of the current decade. SPEAKEr (cont.)
10 The Floor is Yours
It is now 2012. 20 years ago, we made a commitment on this same place, to put humanity at the center of all efforts of sustainable development. Furthermore, forty years ago, in Stockholm, Sweden, when we first considered our impacts in the environment. Our understanding has grown since.
SPEAKEr (cont.)
Climate change can be mitigated and we can adapt to its effects. Food can be grown sustainably, and cities can grow sustainably as well. In fact, food can be sustainably grown in cities. Let us spend the next three days working hard to chart out the path we want for the future. Let us write The Future We Want. We have ideas that we didn’t have decades ago: ideas for Blue economies that take into account impact to Oceans, Green Economies that take into account the impact to the whole planet. And I’m sure we can come up with many other colored economies to reach harmony with nature. We have gathered here with dozens of experts, politicians, and members of civil society that we’ve organized in nine Major Groups. The world is moving forward, and we need to write the vision for how we want it to go forward. Civil Society has increasingly grown skeptical of our work, and we need to stay relevant. For example, our plans to feed the hungry have [motions quotes] “Lots of fiber, but very little substance.” We need to change that. I look forward to hearing the great proposals brought here by many governments.
Now, he simply stops. SPEAKEr (cont.)
Excellences. Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome. Today, 25th of September of 2015, we reach another milestone as an international community. As we see the work done towards reaching Millennium Development Goals, we have a comprehensive path, developed through an open process, charted for our next fifteen years: the Sustainable Development Goals. From eight to seventeen, our clustered goals have grown in number, and the interrelationship between them is becoming clearer. We are here to endorse our vision for a future fifteen years from now. This is a critical year for the international community. A new climate agreement is almost ready, and this will chart our path towards a safe future for all. The negotiations on Finance for Development have come to an end, providing us with the financial, technological, fiscal and economic tools to realize our collective vision.
The Floor is Yours 11
SPEAKEr (cont.)
We have a great task at hand, and we are all here in international collaboration to achieve it. I welcome you all.
Applause goes off. Lights down on speaker. Lights rise on the speakerist. He is an older man, ideally brown but speaking with a British accent, and holds his posture and speech very controlled. He is a scientist, and is here to present his findings. SPEAKErIST
Dear representatives from governments, representatives from inter-governmental agencies, representatives from financial institutions, His Excellency Pope Francis, Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, representatives from civil society and the private sector, observers, fellow delegates, and audience in general: My deepest gratitude for your presence. I currently have the honor and responsibility to chair the High Level Panel of Experts on Human Happiness. We are a team composed of world-class specialists which work tirelessly to compile all the best scientific information related to Human Happiness, its composition, origins and implications. Our steering committee, composed of seven experts, oversees and coordinates the work and findings of over 140 scientists from around the world. As a background document to the session of the Open Working Group for a Happy Planet (or OWGHP), we have compiled a High-Level Report that examines what is the future of human happiness. We have made some significant progresses since our last report, back in 2013. The global Happiness Index shows that people are overall happier in the planet. But there are complexities veiled by this statement. A disaggregation of this data shows that in reality some people have become much happier, and others have either stagnated or become less happy. A large threat to the future –and present- state of human happiness is the increasing prevalence of fear, and the prevalence of chronic instability in access to resources which feeds that fear. People can’t be happy if they can’t eat. But more interestingly so, people who eat too much are also less happy. Since our last report, it has become more and more apparent that it is not the countries with the highest development who are the happiest. This raises interesting questions for the political and personal process we are about to start here.
12 The Floor is Yours
SPEAKErIST (CONT.)
Let us begin. I thank you for your attention.
speakerette stares back at the audience, with a powerful, prepared speech. She’s younger than speaker. Dressed with a suit and tie. Sharp look, vibrant energy. SPEAKErette
Dear world leaders, I am 18 years old, and I have come here from Buenos Aires, Argentina. I have a quote that I’d like to share with you all. In 2011, a young woman from the Global South explained to a room full of climate negotiators: “You have been negotiating all my life.” In my case, you have been negotiating since before my parents were married. Since before my conception was negotiated. What has it all led to? I would like to start my address asking everyone in the room why have they come here. Have you come seeking answers? Or have you, like us, like me, brought solutions to the table? The world’s systems are collapsing. It’s not just what we have gotten to call ‘the environment’ that are collapsing. Worlds are being cut down to make space to grow food. Cultures are being bulldozed off the earth. Our inactive and passive leaders are watching islands begin to drown, and they are still not inspired to act. You indeed have been negotiating all my life. I want to recall everyone in the room, that we are the future. Youth are the future, and therefore our voices must be counted. I didn’t exist during the first paragraph of this play. But I have grown since, and I have grown concerned. Can we green our economies to be friendly to the environment? Is it better to blue them and make them oceanfriendly? Can we make them rainbow-colored so they are friendly to everyone and everything? But that would still leave out darkness and the absence of light. Is there a world without light? Should the UN be concerned with that? I ask these questions of you this afternoon as we begin our work. Let us look beyond what we have thought already.
The Floor is Yours 13
SPEAKErette (cont.)
After 13 sessions of the Open Working Group for a Happy Planet (or OWGHP), we are trying to keep the word happy with its current meaning: no, not the release of serotonin or endorphins. While these may cause our bodies to feel happy, our souls who live inside are immune to hormones. The way we talk about poverty needs to change. Negotiators, you say body-emaciating poverty should be ‘eradicated’. I say we need to stop dragging that phrase from declaration to declaration. Words also get tired of being pushed around. We know the way to eradicate poverty is deeply linked to political will (and its lack). Negotiators, you have detracted and have forgotten the real meaning of poverty and environmental degradation. The piles of photographs and the thousands of likes on Facebook photos that denouncing environmental degradation in 140 characters or less are clear: we don’t need more illustrations about the meaning of poverty. You're so fixed in your turn to speak you forget to listen. After this honorable opportunity to address the meeting, and after spending the next few day frustrated, exhausted and ultimately feeling like this was all a performance, I will not go on to the next one. I will go home. And I will face the future being written here. And in 15 years, my children will have began their lives in the world being written here. Let us begin. But, as you lay down your work, I ask that you consider both the content of this conversation, and the way it is taking place. Maybe what we need are no more plans, but different ways of coming up with those, which can dramatically alter their meaning. Before us –before you, negotiators, there is a massive task. We have come here to share with each other, to listen and feel, and I cannot stress enough the importance of tuning your senses to what other people feel and express throughout this week. This will be crucial to achieving the Future we Want. The challenge is ours—but first and foremost, yours.
Lights out.
14 The Floor is Yours
two Lights rise. Two co-chairs sit upstage right, and five negotiators downstage left in a semicircle all facing the two co-chairs. On center downstage, there is a waterfall comprised of the covers of several publications written about the contents of the conference and all the conferences before this one. The semicircle is composed of five negotiators, one for each country represented: the u.s., bolivia, south africa, nauru, and benin. CO-CHAIR
Member states, welcome to the afternoon session. We are in the home-stretch. It has been a long way, and our thirteen meetings over the past year have brought us here. So let us continue with goal 18, which is up on the screen for convenience. Before we read it, my co-chair and I would like to ask each of you to be brief and concise in your statements. Remember, we are crafting a document that is not for bureaucrats, it’s for civil society and the world at large. We are charting the world that we want to see in 2030, through our sustainable development goals for human happiness. We have pulled up the text in the screen for convenience.
Text appears on the screen behind the co-chairs. sdg 18:
achieve universal human happiness and wellbeing
18.1 by 2030, all of humanity has recognized the importance of intercultural understanding in sustainable development, understanding that body language, visual cultures and other forms of nonverbal communication are an essential aspect of human understanding and empathy by 2020, all countries have created programs and 18.2 mechanisms for humans to achieve a state of wellbeing, including, but not limited to through creative expression, reaffirmation and exploration of cultural identity, and exploration of their inner selves
The Floor is Yours 15
18.3
by 2030, governments have established the Art and Creativity organization (ACO), which produces knowledge and understanding about human work in the arts, and fosters further creative research and innovation through these fields. The founding texts for this organization will be written through a stateled process in consultation with other stakeholders
18.4
promote artistic investigation informed by and inspired by the United Nations’ work to keep finding new ways of exploring our processes and underlying premises as they apply to the human condition -- but we should avoid being too self-referential. Special emphasis will be given to artists whose voices have traditionally been silenced.
18.5
by 2030 all humans, especially children, have access to resources that foster creative thinking, un-schooling and an appreciation for little experiences that shake your world, like walking on top of an air-vent on the street.
co-chair (cont.)
16 The Floor is Yours
For those of you who are new negotiators to this process, we would like to remind you that this is an informal-informal hearing. There will be no formal negotiation taken, and no brackets will be inserted in the text. Generally, in formal negotiations, when there is a conflict over specific text, brackets are inserted to mark the disagreement between two or more parties. If the parties agree on the text, the brackets are removed. If the parties cannot agree, the text is removed at the end of the negotiation round. We have found, over the past year, that this approach can stifle negotiations by focusing our energies too much on specific lines of text, and we think it more useful to spend our time working on hearing everyone’s general perspective--and coming up with new text after each hearing. After this round of negotiations, we shall take a break, and reconvene next month. The new text will be put out two weeks from now, to give each of your capitals enough time to prepare inputs for our next meeting. Unless there are any questions, we shall start.
The u.s. negotiator raises her hand. co-chair (Cont.)
United States, please.
united states
Thank you co-chair, we commend your efforts in working to bring these areas together. Indeed we have a big task ahead, and therefore, on behalf of the Western bloc, we would like to put forward some suggestions on human happiness and wellbeing. We would like to emphasize that a human happiness and wellbeing goal cannot be complete without making reference to the importance of love in human lives. This is also true of the larger set of goals we are trying to accomplish here. Therefore, we must think of the importance of love. Love is a source of motivation for people, it gives meaning to their lives. On top of scientific knowledge and reason,
The bolivian negotiator raises his hand. love is what motivates people to protect biodiversity, and to care for the environment. It is not just the acute awareness that their survival depends on it. It is the drive to care about baleen whales, jellyfish or golden frogs no matter what. It is this drive which ultimately make us realize that it is all connected and it all matters. I am happy to expand on this as needed. We do not have any specific targets or suggestions on language. Thank you co-chair. co-chair
Thank you United States, on behalf of the Western bloc. I see that the G77 have raised their hand. We will now hear from Bolivia, on behalf of the Group of 77. Bolivia, you have the floor.
bolivia
Thank you, co-chair. We, also, would like commend your efforts in this process. The Group of 77 and China (which in reality is 134 countries) has specific comments on the text up on the screen. On target 18.1, we agree that the importance of intercultural understanding should be stated, but we would also like to add ‘within and across nations’.
The Floor is Yours 17
bolivia (cont.)
We do not believe in target 18.2, as human wellbeing is something that cannot be addressed through government mechanisms. Human wellbeing and happiness has to do with the wellbeing and happiness of other forms of life, and a sense of place. Therefore, if we are to keep any mention of creating programs, they should be about fostering a sense of place, and harmony with nature. The Group of 77 and China believes that target 18.3 is putting the cart before the horse. We would be hesitant to talk about creating an organization that dedicates itself to specific activities that we haven’t agreed are critically important. The idea of an Art and Creativity Organization could be the appropriate one. But we need to be careful when framing this. We already have specialized agencies that focus on eradicating food security worldwide, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization. They produce knowledge and hold political fora aimed at reducing hunger. But these are not working at their full capacity yet, so maybe we need to examine the model of a specialized agency and see if it Is the best fit. We are hesitant, at this point, about this target. On target 18.4, the group of 77 and China would like to underscore the critical importance of having a selection process with which we can choose who creates work about the United Nations. This has potential to be inspiring, but may also raise voices that we may not be comfortable with, and we would like all conversations that are even attempting constructive criticism to be framed in a harmonious manner, to guarantee their successful outcome. We would support it under specific conditions. Finally, we think we should drop target 18.5. I have no more comments. Thank you, chair.
nauru raises his hand. co-chair
18 The Floor is Yours
Thank you, Bolivia. I see Nauru have raised their hand, Nauru please.
nauru
Thank you Co-Chair. I speak on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States. We would like to express our gratitude to the other members of this Open Working Group and the co-chairs who have patiently led us through this process. We have a lot of work ahead, but we are still engaged in the process and would like to see it through. Our governments are concerned that the current text does not express in enough detail the actions needed to really achieve human happiness and wellbeing, and that a single Sustainable Development Goal is not the appropriate format to achieve what we want. Let us look at the other parts of this set of goals: in goal 13 we address climate change, goal 2 addresses food security, goals 14 and 15 address biodiversity conservation, goal 11 addresses cities and so forth. How will we measure whether humanity has or has not achieved the goal of human understanding? All of the other goals are clearly measurable. It is highly subjective compared to everything else. We suggest deleting the goal, so we can have a short, concise and concrete set of goals. Thank you, Co-Chair.
co-chair
Thank you, Nauru. We would like to remind countries that none of the text on the table is final, and that the document functions as a package. None of it is agreed until all of it is agreed.
benin raises his hand. co-chair (cont.)
Benin has put in a request for the floor. Benin?
benin
Thank you Co-Chair. We are very thankful for this process and the way you have handled it over the last year and a half. Now, we would like to share with you and the rest of the delegates some of the perspectives from the Least-Developed Countries group. The Least Developed Countries believe that for human happiness and wellbeing, all of the previous 17 goals cover what is needed, for there can be no happiness and wellbeing without water, and there can be access to water without happiness and wellbeing. Happiness is what we will achieve if we have the other seventeen goals.
The Floor is Yours 19
benin (cont.)
Additionally, each goal implies new funds, new programs, new work that each country must undertake, and this places a higher and higher burden on the poorer countries of the world. We cannot agree to support any of the goals until we have established the clear way in which countries who have already benefited from development will assist the smaller countries of the world with their own development, considering historical circumstances like colonialism, and the principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibilities. We therefore, agree with Nauru and the AOSIS group that this goal should be eliminated, and we should stick with the current 17 goals. That is all, thank you very much.
CO-chair
Thank you Benin. I believe that for now, we have reached the end of the speakers’ list.
There is silence. CO-chair (cont.)
I think I see some convergence taking place here. Parties in the room that have spoken have expressed they place high value on human happiness and wellbeing. We are approaching a point in the negotiations where we need to decide on the exact, common approach that countries would like to take to address human happiness.
The u.s. raises her hand again. CO-chair (cont.)
United States, please.
united states
Thank you, co-chair. Respectfully, we would like to say we do not believe we have reached consensus. No single other party in the room recognized the importance of love, and its importance as a driver not only of sustainable development, but also of economic growth. Maintaining language on love
bolivia asks for the floor.
20 The Floor is Yours
u.s. (cont.)
and its critical importance to civilization as we know it today is highly important for us. We would like to express that without this clear mention of the importance that love has, the western bloc does not think we can sign on to these goals.
nauru asks for the floor. benin soon follows.
u.s. (cont.)
That is all, chair.
co-chair
United States, thank you, as always, for stating your clear interests. Bolivia?
Bolivia
Thank you co-chair. We would like to remark that something that may not have been clear in our last address. The government of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, supported by the Group of 77, has always put forward the approach of harmony with nature in each of these fora where we consider harmony with nature. What is harmony with nature if not the full realization of love from humans towards other non human beings? We do not think it necessary to include specific language on love, since we believe it may limit the application of human emotion towards other purposes that ultimately support its existence. That is all, thank you.
co-chair
Thank you Bolivia. Nauru has asked for the floor, and then we have Benin.
nauru
Some of our concerns about the position presented by the Western Bloc have been addressed by Bolivia, so we will refrain from speaking adding much more, aside from pointing out that we are very opposed to the idea of a stand alone goal on human happiness, supporting Benin’s previous comments. I thank you chair.
co-chair
I thank you Nauru, for being brief. Benin?
The Floor is Yours 21
benin
Chair. We believe our views and the views of the Less Developed Countries are being ignored here. This should be a process to reach a compromise, not to pretend that we are being listened to, and taken into account, when we are not being listened to, nor taken into account.
co-chair
Benin—I request that you give due patience to the process. It is important that we all do. I believe it is time to take a break. South Africa, we have not heard from you or the African Union in this round. May you have any contributions to the floor before we adjourn this session?
south africa We do not have any comments at this moment chair. Thank you. co-chair Lights out.
22 The Floor is Yours
I thank you, South Africa. We will return to this room at 3pm this afternoon.
three Lights up. Empty stage. 3 chairs. negotiator 1 and negotiator 2 sit on the stage facing the audience, interpreter walks to downstage center, with his back to the audience. None of them look at each other. negotiator 1 speaks to the audience in a negotiator fashion. He uses a tempered tone, conveying intelligence and confidence of his position. OVERHEARD VOICE
Welcome, delegates, to this second round of negotiations. We have almost reached a point of inflexion in these negotiations, and I am looking forward to hearing what each of the parties has to contribute. We will proceed with an open exchange between two delegates that feel particularly strong about one of the hard spots we seem to have found in the negotiations— whether we should use the phrase political will or not.
negotiator one
We are sorry chair, for us, it is deeply important that political will is not embedded with areas of work that allow us to continue our fight against hunger, this is about projects on the ground and feeding people, not about political will.
interpreter
Minta maaf, tuan. Untuk kami, adalah penting supaya keazaman politik tidak dimasukkan ke dalam kawasan kerja yang boleh membantu kami membasmi kebuluran. Isu ini adalan tentang projek-projek di atas tanah dan pembasmian kebuluran, bukan keazaman politik.
Negotiator two
Ya, tapi kami tak kenal cara ini. Manalah ada bahasa dunia yang semua orang tahu?
interpreter
Yes, but we do not recognize this approach, there is no universally agreed language on this way of working.
one
But that doesn’t mean we can’t create it here.
interpreter
Walau bagaimanapun, itu tidak bermakna bahawa kita tidak boleh wujudkannya di sini.
two
Dokumen ini bukan untuk orang tu saja-Mimpi-mipi dan target mereka boleh bawa unakna untuk orang ramai untuk faham tapi adalah penting bahawa kita ada kuasa politik di sini. The Floor is Yours 23
interpreter
This is not meant to be a document for technicians and bureaucrats; ambition based targets and goals may be valuable in order for laymen/civil society to understand. It is crucial that we have political will here.
one
In that case, co-chair, we would like to receive comments from capital about the creation of this new organization. This can be a rolling text.
interpreter
Jikalau begitu, tuan, kami ingin menerima maklum balas daripada pihak ibu pejabat mengenai penubuhan organisasi ini. Maklum balas boleh dihantar sebagai teks bergolek.
two
Kita perlu berganding bahu bekerjasama dulam perbincangan ini dan saya rasa korang takde semangat tu di sini.
interpreter
We have to be here in the spirit of negotiating, in a spirit of cooperation, and that is not happening.
At this point, A representative from civil society enters stage with a big sign that reads “you have been negotiating all my life�, they wave fists in the air, gesticulate screams and walk off the stage. one
We believe that negotiating is listening to all points of view, not just those who want to dominate conversations.
interpreter
Kami percaya bahawa proses perundingan adalah untuk mendengar semua sudut pandangan, bukan mendengar sesiapa yang ingin menguasai perundingan ini sahaja.
two
(very, very passionate, almost angry) Adakah perasaan benci ini sebenarnya cinta yang masih bersemadi untukmu? Ku enggan berpura-pura ku bahagia.
interpreter stops, shocked. Says nothing. negotiator 1 gets up and starts pointing at his ear, trying to get the attention of someone above and across the room where he’s sitting.
24 The Floor is Yours
interpreter
(overwhelmed) I know, I know, I just couldn’t understand what he said!
negotiator 2 gets up and starts pointing at his ear, also trying to get the attention of the interpreter. interpreter (cont.)
I’m sorry. You have to try another way of communicating.
two
(starts singing) Cadangan yang kau candangkan tak betul! Otak udan betul lah kau ni!
interpreter
(overlapping with negotiator 2) The approach … that you are suggesting is not … one that you can take … if you are here to negotiate.
one
(Pauses and re-considers. He calmly begins talking. ) We would be willing to consider less restrictive approaches, we don’t like language that mentions human rights and rights based approaches.
jnterpreter
Kami sanggup mempertimbangkan langkah-langkah yang kurang ketat tetapi kurang selesa dengan penggunaan bahasa yang hanya fokus pada hak manusia.
two
(keeps singing very passionately standing up.) Kalan kau tak suka perbincangan, kenapa kau kat sini dan tak kat rumah tidur?
jnterpreter
(Waits, and then starts) If you don’t like agreeing …. Why are you here negotiating … in the first place.
one
Because international cooperation is of the utmost importance for our government. Our country was founded on ideals of freedom. We are the land of the free.
jnterpreter
Ini adalah kerana kerjasama antarabangsa adalah faktor yang paling penting kepada kerajaan kami. Negara kami telah ditubuhkan berdasarkan impian-impian kebebasan. Negara kami adalah tanah bebas . We are the land of the free.
The Floor is Yours 25
negotiator 2 is shocked after hearing the interpretation. Shuts up and sits down. Stays in silence. interpreter stays quiet. one
So you agree with us?
interpreter
Adakah itu bermakna bahawa anda bersetuju dengan kami?
negotiator 2 gets angry, gets up and yells for a good five minutes. He’s expressing the extent and nature of his frustration. two
Kau ni bodoh kea pa? Kan tadi aku cakap aku tak setufu korang ni yang cakap bahasa inggevis ingort kan raja ke? Bengang kan! Macam ada kepala otak udangje. Dahlah muka tembok dan hindung tinggi. Dah, aku dah habis di sini. Perincangan, kepala otak korang lah.
interpreter
No.
overheard voice
(Interjecting.) Esteemed negotiators, I feel we have reached a good point in the negotiations. We must take a break to re-consider, we’ll reconvene at 8pm tonight in the Green Room, on the third floor of this building.
negotiator 1 and 2 exit stage. interpreter remains.
26 The Floor is Yours
four The interpreter, walks to center stage and faces the audience. interpreter
Respectable members of the Open Working Group on Human Happiness and a Happy Planet, government delegates. I have been practicing as an interpreter in this building for over ten years. Although my voice has been heard through these hallways and in these negotiations over and over and over again, it has only embodied my thoughts in on a few occasions. I come before you today with a set of questions. Can you change what you cannot articulate? What if your drafters didn’t write your statement properly and you stand in front of negotiators not being able to articulate the future of your peoples in perfect grammar? How do people bargain for a comma of difference? How big of a difference can a comma make in somebody’s future? Is English the reason we are speaking about a common future for humanity? What about a world where we can fit many worlds? Where do the languages that are not honored in this building fit in that future? Can we talk about a universal goal, a single future for humanity? Spanish and French occupy 20% more space on paper than English. Is that 20% void of meaning? Or are we getting 20# less meaning through English? Or does the cookie crumble differently? Can you change the climate in portuguese? Or do you mudas o clima? Can you mudar what you cannot say? If the meaning of happiness (as it becomes felicidad) changes as you cross a border, and a word like it doesn’t exist in every language, how can we talk about a universal human happiness and wellbeing? Puedes resolver el climate change dans l’UNFCCC? And how do you ask for help? The Floor is Yours 27
A third negotiator walks onstage. interpreter
How do you think we can feed the hungy?
three
I think we must grow more food.
interpreter
Ah, é isso o que precissamos?
three
Sim, é já temos a ciência para fazer a diferencia.
interpreter
three
(oh, is that what we need?)
(Yes, and we have the science to make the difference)
Não achas que a Climate-Smart Agriculture posse ter malas consequências?
(don’t you think Climate-Smart Agriculture can have bad consequences?)
Yo creo que no. (I don’t think so)
interpreter
Pero los pueblos tienen otras cosas que decir. (but the peoples have another point of view)
three
Si, pero no hablamos el mismo idioma.
interpreter
Usted no cree que las voces pueden hermanarse por el idioma?
three
yes, but what does that have to do with feeding people?
interpreter
As pessoas não quer ser alimentada. As pessoas querem alimentar-se, na sua língua.
(yes, but we don’t speak the same language)
(Don’t you think voices can become twinned by language?)
(People don’t want to be fed. They want to feed themselves, in their language)
Language and food are related. The word ‘plants’ does not exist in maya kaqchikel. They are either trees or bushes. And there’s no word for moss. three
28 The Floor is Yours
So?
interpreter
If we want people to be fed with new crops, we must do it in their terms. We can’t feed them corn and English. Há feijão e há também portugués. (there’s beans and there’s also Portuguese)
three
I’m lost.
interpreter
INTERPRETER I’m not surprised.
The delegate leaves, frustrated. but the interpreter returns to upstage left. interpreter (cont.)
And so, even as you speak through different languages, if you still can’t reach an agreement—what do you do? Is there a place in The Future You Want for the people you don’t like or understand? For the countries you don’t agree with? For the other entities that have done you wrong and exploited you and may never recognize it? And if no one language, no one entire way of thinking can never account for everything that matters to all humans, how many do we need? And how many do we need to know? Is there really an us versus them? How many ‘us’s and how many ‘them’? And is such an ideal conducive to any future we want? Are the ideals of Progress, Our Mission, Change, Tomorrow, the Future void of conflict?
Lights out. interpreter leaves.
The Floor is Yours 29
30 The Floor is Yours
interlude Lights up. We can hear acronyms voiced over one another. The voices are a mix of institutional, confident voices and sarcastic ones. On stage, a set of illustrators come dressed in black. They have a set of movements to articulate each concept. Access And Benefit Sharing: (noun, ideal and political goal) Also known as ABS. A set of conditions under which people can exploit from living things ‘for the benefit of humanity’ and –in theory– figure out a way to share the benefits to everyone from these accessions. Highly controversial concept. See also Convention on Biological Diversity Agenda 21: (noun) A 700-page document negotiated and agreed upon at the original Earth Summit in Brazil. 90% of the people who have access to a copy will not read it, 5% will read it because they have to, and we want 5% more to read it because it looks prettier. See also – Earth Summit. Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions: (noun) Also known as BBNJ. A term used to describe living beings that are diverse, special, unique and live in the high seas (see High Seas). They exist outside of designated political borders, without people who care for them: for better or worse. See also - Convention on Biological Diversity Bretton Woods Institutions: (collective noun) A set of institutions created as part of a larger financial and economic system. Their name comes from the conference that gave birth to them, held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States. See also – Mesoamérica Resiste. The Floor is Yours 31
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety: (noun) An agreement in relation to the Convention on Biological Diversity, with specific provisions related to the use of Living Modified Organisms—LMOs as products of biotechnology and the impacts LMOs can have on biodiversity. Common but Differentiated Responsibilities: (noun) One of the 21 principles of the Rio Declaration on the Environment and Development. It is often a source of fierce conflict when applied to environmental treaties. Disaster Risk Reduction: (very abstract noun) The ways in which humans can prepare for natural hazards, and reduce the man-made aspects which make these into natural disasters. Three conferences have happened on the subject, but even then, this concept didn’t get its own Sustainable Development Goal. Economic Growth: (noun) With economic growth, countries can develop. Without it, we don’t like to say they can. Ultimate goal under which natural resources can be and are exploited, communities can be and are displaced, and right-wing policies are passed. In its absence, arts and culture activities, like plays, are the first ones to get their funding cut. For more, see bullshit Geneva Agreement on Tariffs and Trade: (noun) Also known as GATT. An organization that is 46 years old and will always be so. Recognizing that their relations in the field of trade and economic endeavor should be conducted with a view to raising standards of living, and many other things that sound great on paper, governments decided they wanted to eliminate tariffs and trade preference “on a reciprocal and mutually advantageous way.” 32 The Floor is Yours
Group of 77: (noun) Bloc of 134 developing countries which often state common positions at several United Nations forums. Established in 1964. As expressed by a negotiator last June, their positions represent the interests of two thirds of the countries in the world. South Africa is the chair of the G77 for this year. High-Level Panel of Experts: (collective noun) Group of experts at the Food and Agriculture Organization which prepare various reports that should lead to more informed policy debates at the Committee on World Food Security. International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture: (noun) Also know as ITPGRFA. A treaty to create a common bowl of plant genetic resources which is to be shared. The commercial use or patenting of any plant varieties derived from this common bowl should generate funds that will support Its status with relation to other, conflicting agreements is not defined. Large and important countries, like Mexico, South Africa and China are not signatories. Other large and critical players have not ratified it, like the United States of America. Killer amendment: (adjective, noun) A suggested change to agreed text that would revert or nullify the meaning of the original text.
The Floor is Yours 33
Kyoto Protocol : (noun) Agreement signed in Kyoto, Japan, which was designed to help governments reduce their emissions of greenhouse effect gases. The United States signed, but never ratified it. Canada left it. Minamata Convention on Mercury: (noun) A convention which bans the creation of new mercury mines, and mandates phasing out existing ones. Opened for signature in 2013, and signed by 100 countries as of September 2014. Named after a Japanese village where a company released a slew of chemical elements into the local water. The victims of the ensuing poisoning had mercury levels in their hair that were 176 times higher than the average human. Several of the patients, however, were compensated economically. Post 2015-Development Agenda: (noun) The international agenda that will enter into force after the expiration of the Millenium Development Goals. It should seek human wellbeing and fulfillment of all human needs around the world. Composed of goals, with no clear plan of action. Although we probably have enough plans at this stage. Sustainable Intensification: (oxymoron) Term used to express ways in which more can be obtained from current exploitative practices, in a way that supports their long-term existence. The Future We Want: (noun) Outcome document of Rio+20. Outlines actions to be taken by governments to ensure the action needed to develop sustainably. Mandates the creation of— The sound suddenly stops, and the illustrators are kept in position. Blackout. 34 The Floor is Yours
five When the lights go up, the stage has a roundtable (in a semi-circle) with 9 name tags on them. pachamama is at the center. ha, demeter, and urcuchillay are stage left of pachamama. medeina, nereid, ruaumoko and asintmah are stage right. The chairs are empty, as an exotic song begins to play (ideally, the Mombasa Love Song), the deities come onstage. They each walk and bow to the audience, before taking their seat. pachamama, urcuchillay, medeina, nereid, and ruaumoko are very matterof-fact about their entrance. They’ve done this before. asintmah is clearly nervous. demeter seems extremely happy to be here, and smiles and waves at the audience. ha does the same, and he is the last one to enter stage. Each deity is dressed with clothes that almost seem normal, except for key differences that highlight their divine nature, and the natural phenomena they represent. If used, the song should end before they talk. Pachamama
(with an air of impatient grandiosity) Goddesses, deities and other creatures, humanity –once again– has brought us together. Once our worshippers and guardians, they have become irascible and arrogant, and have changed the face of this planet. We have tried to give them chances to mend their ways, we have increased the power of the disasters that are befalling over them, but they are deaf to our voices, and no longer seek us nor our advice. The nature of human behavior poses a question to those of us who are not part of their kin. Sadly, not all of our brothers and sisters can be here tonight, but we must decide on a common approach, for the recklessness of human behavior will not only drive them to insanity, it may erase us or damage us as well. Let me, finally, welcome those of you who are new to this process.
ha raises his hand.
Pachamama (cont.)
I see Ha has raised his hand. Ha, please.
ha is an old man. He has a light beige skin or make-up resembling the color of the desert. He is slow in his delivery of his words, but firm.
The Floor is Yours 35
ha
Thank you your majesty. I was once remembered as the god of western desert. My kingdom is a silent extension of land no longer fertile for human activity. I have come here personally to object and reject the existence of this meeting. There are several points that I would like to put forward to convey this, but I will refrain to the most pressing one. As a result of human action, my kingdom is growing. More and more land is reaching its resting and peaceful state as a desert, where it will finally escape the abuses of humans. Human activity, as it is today, will eventually bring them to their own decay, and (with a hint of joy) it’s not necessarily bad for everyone. demeter raises her hand. ha (cont.)
Thank you.
Pachamama
Thank you, Ha. I see Demeter has her hand up. Demeter, please.
demeter is juvenile, and has eyes the colors of hazel, and a dark skin that feels ripe as fruit. She wears a colorful dress with earth shades. Her speech is faster than ha’s, but equally firm. Her necklace is made of seeds. She sighs and begins. demeter
Thank you, Pacha. I was first worshipped in what today is called Ancient Greece. I was known as the goddess of harvest. Even though now I’m only remembered in the cardboard boxes containing breakfast nourishment, before humans I was virtually unknown. Animals can’t engage in agriculture. After I started working with the sons of Prometheus, and revealed them the secrets that plants could bring to their lives, their brains, I began to feed off the strength of their work. It was because some of them listened to me that I am great now. So I would support Ha in saying that not everything they do is dangerous.
medeina, across the stage, begins to shift in her seat, uncomfortable and clearly pissed. demeter (cont.)
36 The Floor is Yours
But I think Medeina has something to say.
pachamama
Medeina?
medeina is a skinny, white woman with black hair. She is angry. As the goddess of forests, she has a crown of pine-needles on her, and a black tattoo of a hare’s silhouette on her right cheek. medeina
You selfish beings should not be sitting on this table! Have you any idea of what you just said? Let’s leave them as they are? She pauses. What about the rest of us? Humans will eventually die, and bring us down with them. I would like Nereid to tell us how many of her fifty sisters are left, having escaped tuna fishing boats. I’m sure others here have been in close calls as well. Does anyone else here agree with me?
pachamama
It is always a pleasure to have you in here, Medeina. For those of us new in this working group, Medeina comes from the primeval forests, out of which few remain.
nereid
(Without asking for the floor. ) My father, my sisters and I were once gods. We didn’t allow humans to even see us. Those who barely saw us would madden or be considered celebrities in their villages. Now, people have named a stupid piece of rock that they call a moon after me. Humans only like to take our names and our stories, but do not respect us. Another one of my sisters was trapped in their trawling nets—to be canned and sold.
pachamama
It would be useful if we respected our rules of procedure. We don’t want this becoming some sort of humanistic process.
nereid
Let me say this again, my sisters have been canned.
pachamama
I thank you Nereid, for your contribution. Others?
urcuchillay raises his hand. pachamama (cont.)
Urcuchillay, please.
The Floor is Yours 37
urcuchillay
I am in the same boat, if you pardon the pun, as the Nereids and other sea creatures. The animals I oversee in the Andes are not exactly getting canned, but it’s ridiculous how we are treated. There are humans who believe it’s okay to take off the beaks from chickens before they die and without anesthesia. My wool is made into ugly sweaters that they cuddle in. Thank you.
demeter has raised her hand. pachamama
Demeter.
demeter
Fellow members of this working group. I would like to remind you that humans have shaped us as much as we have shaped them. We don’t even know if, were it not for domestication, my seeds and your animals would still continue to thrive, Urcuchillay.
At different points, ruaumoko, medeina and ha raise their hands. Pachamama
I will take a few more comments from the floor, and then I shall propose steps forward. On the speakers list I have Ruaumoko, Medeina, and Ha. Ruaumoko, we haven’t heard from you until now. Why don’t you go first.
ruaumoko is, for a god, very middle age looking. He’s got short hair, and a beautiful beige and blue shawl on top of him, with a a red and black border around the neck. ruaumoko
38 The Floor is Yours
I thank you, Pachamama. Humans are of little importance to me and my domains. Me and my volcanic children function in timescales that outlast the span of human lives, and they have little capacity to change the way we function. If anything, it is my existence that is a nuisance to them. My nephew in Iceland stopped their air traffic for a good week in over twenty countries, a few years ago. Plus, the ashes that we release into the atmosphere are ultimately nutrients for plants, right Demeter?
pachamama
It seems to me, however, that we are reaching a point of consensus. I will defer to Pachamama on that.
pachamama
Thank you, Ruaumoko. Up next is Medeina.
medeina
I agree with Ruaumoko. SCREW THE ENTIRE HUMAN SPECIES. That’s all.
pachamama
Thank you for your… brevity. Medeina. Last on the speaker’s list is Ha, and then I will proceed to summarize our points so far.
ha
We don’t all help each other. I don’t need volcanic ash to survive, thank you very much. And neither do the Nereids, or humans themselves for that matter. I think, since most of us have been so profoundly affected by human activity, we probably need them in some capacity to maintain the status of our respective domains of this planet.
pachamama
Thank you, Ha. The sense I am getting from the room is that we can’t agree on whether humans deserve to retain their existence and sovereignty over this planet. While their existence and impacts present clear threats to at least one of us, their actions clearly benefit some of us, and has little impact on others. I would like to recognize a fundamental aspect that we are overlooking: we all did exist before humans. Their impact over the planet is not even, and not all of benefiting equally from the way their civilization functions maybe we should get rid of them.
ha
It’s interesting to me, Pachamama, that you say that and that you out of all of the members of this working group are the one who is advocating for their elimination. After all, you are the only one of us who is still remembered by them to this date and used as a symbol in their negotiations and demonstrations.
pachamama
I would like to make an acknowledgement to the floor, Ha. Humans’ regard of me has absolutely nothing to do with my actions towards them. I turned my back on them once they stopped respecting me and began spending their energy and time in accumulating possessions.
The Floor is Yours 39
pachamama (cont.)
But let us return to the matter at hand. Would anybody else like to add comments here?
asintmah raises her hand. She’s young, and has a fresh air to her. She wears a ch’adhah ik, an Athabascan skin dress and has no jewelry. Her hair is up. pachamama
Asintmah? We would like to hear your thoughts.
asintmah
Thank you. It is difficult to watch this happening. I am even unsure about why was I invited to this meeting, given that the only reason I am worshipped or considered a deity, is because I was the first woman, the first human to walk the entire planet. I do not command any of the elements, and I do not have any secrets for humans to make their lives easier. It seems to me, Pachamama, that we are approaching a consensus. Ha pointed out that humans did not create us, but we created them. They have changed the extent of our manifestations in this planet, and have taken only our names and stories, but do not respect us anymore. For some of us, the case is worse, we are not even remembered. I think the consensus is clear for all of you. I am just‌ not sure that I want to take part in it if it agreeing with you all means gradually eliminating the people that gave birth to me.
pachamama
(Takes a moment) Thank you Asintmah. I believe your sensibility speaks truth to you.
There is more silence. pachamama
Lights out.
40 The Floor is Yours
I think this working group should adjourn for this morning. We shall begin drafting our statement and subsequent agenda for action in the afternoon session. I thank you all for being here today.
six Lights up. bird 1 and bird 2 are on a wire. One of them is trying to crack a seed with its beak, so it can eat. bird 1
You know, the UN is meeting again this week.
bird 2
(Disinterestedly) Huh.
Bird 1
Yeah, I was in by their building with Gertrude and the kids. They’re talking about this thing, they call it ABS.
bird 2
(Stops for a minute.) as in Absolute Bullshit? Isn’t that what they talk about all the time?
Bird 1
Uh…. No. bird 2 keeps cracking the seed. bird 1 (cont.)
It has to do with who can use the lives of non-human beings for their purposes–
The seed begins to crack bird 1 (cont.)
If the humans who ‘access’ things get any benefits for this, like money, they talk about who should benefit or how they would
The seed cracks bird 1 (cont.)
share things. Some countries have more resources to, you know, access what they want.
bird 2
Right.
Begins to bring the seed closer to his mouth as bird 1 watches the seed move. bird 1
The fact that some things are hard to… crack, shouldn’t mean some birds, I mean, countries, have to go hungry.
The Floor is Yours 41
bird 2
(Eats the seed) Well, survival of the fittest.
bird 1
You’ve been reading that bearded guy again, haven’t you, the one who spent time in the Galapagos?
bird 2 looks at him, and flies away. bird 1 flies in a different direction. The wire they are sitting on exists stage soon after. dolphin 1 and dolphin 2 enter the stage, swimming. They position themselves downstage right, where they continue to do their swimming motion, but they stay in the same place.
dolphin 1
So, what’s the plan once we cross their line?
dolphin 2
What do you mean?
dolphin 1
Well, we’re going beyond their borders now. Does that mean we’re free and can’t be hunted anymore?
dolphin 2
We’re BBNJ. Biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions. It just means that no one can fish us as part of their fishing rights. That doesn’t mean we’re protected. Someone could fish us, and nobody could say anything about it.
dolphin 1
Really? then why are we out here?
dolphin 2
Because we’re safer until someone finds us there.
The dolphins swim offstage. A corn plant sprouts from center stage.
corn
42 The Floor is Yours
Dear Members of the Audience. I have important thoughts that must be shared with you immediately. We have been ignored for far too long. I believe your kin has called me zea mays, or corn. I am angered, I am furious! I am mad because your foolishness, your pride, your lack of imagination are painfully visible, shaming your species among all others in this planet and beyond it.
corn
For the last 10,000 years the people of the corn have tended us in exchange for many of our children. The people of the corn, in the area you call Mesoamerica, have a long tradition of sacrifice others for their need but they have tended to us at the same time, each year there is prayer, the cultivation, and the harvest. Now there is little respect. No longer do humans grow with the Alux, they do not see or think about the community, they no longer grow plants for the soil, the think they can get more from my brothers and sisters without giving back. Your pride does you wrong, humans. Once you discover only a few of ‘our secrets’, you began to think you can master my clan, my kingdom. You are nothing but foolish: if you find one solution that will work, you stop trying for new ones. You don’t even use the right soil! Not only foolish, you’re also boring! Why don’t we get to have sex with our wild relatives any more? no more parties? no more diversification? You want all of us to look exactly the same, so you can manage us. And you place your highest hopes in our Genetically Modified versions, who are so, so weak. They can only grow with pesticides, which ultimately poison the land and yourselves-deleting the soil carbon to feed the most diverse community in the world. The soil has millions, billions, trillions of beings in it! It is a reflection of our galaxy stretching across the rich black sky. Go, work in your negotiations, negotiate what to do with my Biological Diversity in your Convention. But at least do it aware of your foolishness, ignorance and pride.
The plant goes back to the soil it came from, and a little piglet comes from stage left.
The Floor is Yours 43
piglet
(Making piggy noises) There was once a little piglet who wanted to own a grocery shop when he grew up. The shop would have all kinds of food in it. It would be a happy shop, serving people from far and near. It would be a small shop, so it would stay friendly and the owner could always know everyone. It would be pretty, made of wood and located in the most beautiful part of pigland. The piglet dreamt of the shop every day. When the other piglets were going to the piggery, and asked him to come down and play with them, he would reply “no, no. I have to work to open my grocery shop one day.” The other piglets did not understand this, but they didn’t care—the mud was much too fun to ignore. One day, the pig, no longer a piglet, finally was able to open his shop. It was a happy, small and pretty shop. It welcomed products for pigs of all genders and sizes. Then the other pigs would go to the bar, and asked him to come down with them, he would reply “no, no. I have to work to expand my shop.” The other piglets did not understand this, but they didn’t care—the sand bar was much too fun to ignore. The shop ran happy, until one day, things began to slow down. People from far away stopped coming. Then people from near stopped coming. The pig, now very old, was confused. Perhaps the pigs in town didn’t need his products anymore? Perhaps he had gotten too chatty? Perhaps there was something he didn’t know? One day, our piggy friend talked with another pig in town who also owned a shop. “There is a new chain of stores opened called Big Pig just outside of town.” said his friend. “Once upon a time these were unknown in Pigland, but they have been started by pigs from other lands.” Our pig was beginning to get scared. “They have big stores, and very low prices.” continued his friend. “Why did the Pigsident had allowed these shops to come here?” asked the pig. His friend replied “Because they would promote what he called ‘economic growth’” “What does he mean by that?” asked the pig to his friend. “I think, dear piggy friend, it is something the Pigsident made up so he could keep everyone happy.” The end! *oink, oink*
44 The Floor is Yours
piglet goes offstage. Another plant blooms. A rose—she’s on the phone. rose
Oh! Oh my gosh. Shut up! Noooooo… shut! up! Did she really? Lily, don’t listen to her. God, she’s such a loser. And what did Mr. Pine say? Sigh… Ugh. And what did she say? And he said nothing to that? God. This is such an exercise in futility. You know, when all of those stupid senior plants are gone, and I run the club, the club will be different. Any plant who wants to sit with us will be able to do so. Who needs to be in the team of the corn crops anyway.
The rose goes away, and a quinoa plant grows out of the ground. quinoa
Let’s see… mmm. (takes a minute) Hi everybody. I’m Quinoa, or I should say, we are quinoa. I can see there’s about (random number) of you here. So, how many of you know where Quinoa comes from? Would you raise your hand? (waits and sees) How many of you have heard the word Chenopodium before? Yeah? Let’s see. Great. That’s our last name, or at least the last name you have given us. Anyway, can anybody who’s eaten Quinoa here raise their hand? (Regardless of the audience’s reaction.) Ha. Now that’s interesting. So. I wonder here, how many of you know our story. The loooonnng version of it, not the story of how the quinoa in your plates made it there.
The Floor is Yours 45
quinoa (Cont.)
I’m afraid of asking you to raise your hands, so I’m just going to ask you to read it. I was domesticated in the highlands of what you call Bolivia nowadays. Before our latin name, Chenopodium Quinoa, we were Chisaya Mama. The mother of all grains. Yes, exactly what it sounds like. All grains came from us. Corn, or how he likes to call himself now, King Corn, is our nephew. Wheat was born of out boredom. It seems to me that your species remembers that boredom well somewhere in your DNA, since you mostly make that boring white bread with it. Let’s see.. who else. Oh, Rice! Rice doesn’t really know this, but they were a bit of an accident. What we were really trying to make were beans, but I was curious of what it would look like if I didn’t add the final touch of the recipe I had been perfecting—the black shell. Hence, rice was born. Finally, we created beans. And they had no trouble replicating themselves. After millennia of being worshipped, our varieties developed and diversified. And it was all fine, until one day. That particular day, when a group of humans showed up. They came to where we lived and where we were sacred.
Silence. From your silence, and the tension you are feeling right now, I think you know at least the general, colonial, gory details of this particular junction of our history together. Needless to say, I went from being worshipped, to being criminalized. Nobody was allowed to cultivate me. And so I became a stigmatized meal, stripped of my former glory. Fast forward until the end of your 20th century, and someone, mind you someone white again, is smart enough to realize the reason we were worshipped. Someone discovered that we have a lot of nutrients that are very, very good for you, and very, very hard to come by together. So we went from being the mother of all grains, to being forbidden, to being a superfood. Then, all of your leaders and presidents gathered at your United Nations building. The one in the place you call New
46 The Floor is Yours
quinoa (Cont.)
York. It was proclaimed that there should be a whole year to highlight our greatness to the world. Really, I think the Bolivian president wanted to prove the world that not only Bolivia could feed itself, it could feed the rest of the world as well. We were called a solution for world hunger. A delegate from Latin America said that cultivating us could be a way to achieve the Right to Food. And then, the event. The event that signaled the wastefulness of your species. At your other United Nations building. The one that looks like a jail. No, not the one in Geneva. The other one that looks like a jail. The one in Rome. We are still recovering from the event you held in Rome. Thousands, and thousands of us. Laid on the floor. The same grain, the same seed that was being sold in your store for an outrageous amount, was laid on the floor to demonstrate abundance. Abundance, and plenty.
The quinoa stops. It starts weeping. It wanes. A spruce grows in its place. spruce
(Moved by the quinoa speech.) I need a few minutes to gather myself after that. Us trees, we can be so sentimental sometimes. It is hard listening to all of these stories. Listening to them and thinking of the many others that are not even represented here. Unless we are killed by humans, us trees die standing. The only way you can see our beauty and age is after we are dead— after you have cut us. Other plants believe we can withstand anything. But we are, in reality, so, so sensitive. I feel angry. I feel disappointed at the children of the apes. But you know what? I have just chosen to wait.
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spruce (cont.)
There is little else I can really do. We have tried to make this story work. Us, non human beings have learned to fulfill our needs and, to some extent, to work with each other. There is, however, very little we can do to mitigate human impact. There is very little to do except to wait. Because this cannot continue much longer. My kin, the spruces, and our friends the firs, any many other woody plants that can be turned into pulp, have been witnesses of these processes for decades. The words that are responsible for our destruction are ultimately written on our processed corpses. Pages and pages and pages and pages of printed words in an endless stream of drafts of negotiated texts. And once they are negotiated, thousands of copies printed to advertise this new successful ‘agreement’ to the world. Sadly, both the product and the process have gotten so removed from humans’ ability to create works of aesthetic and emotional value. These are words void of feeling and of meaning. I believe I must stop here now. For it is time for us all to leave. Children of the apes, it has been a pleasure addressing you this evening.
The spruce freezes in place. Lights out.
48 The Floor is Yours
seven interpreter
Dear people of the 21st, century, We are gathered here today, to solve the challenges that affect humanity, to address the conditions that trouble us, and do not let us sleep peacefully at night. We have been working on this for more than 60, almost 70 years. This group can work together and take action. Have we made progress, you ask, over the course of our work? Has hunger increased? Has the climate changed and have deserts grown? Have golden frogs gone extinct? Have schools stopped you from questioning and made you bored with your condition? Do we live fulfilled lives? Can we move to the words of politicians? And more importantly, can we have a future where many other futures can fit? Can we have a future where many narratives can co-exist? Distinguished delegates, representatives of civil society organizations, observers from other international organizations, members of civil society organizations, observers from academia, the floor is yours.
Blackout. Curtain. End of Play.
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50 The Floor is Yours
acknowledgements
A
s I release this balloon into the atmosphere of the internet, there’s tons of people I think about and have to thank. Theatre is inherently collaborative. I’d like to thank: Michael Griffith, for pointing me in the direction of College of the Atlantic, where I found meaningful ways of creating work. Doreen Stabinsky and Ken Cline, for taking us to these negotiations and making sure we’re the most prepared youth there. Jodi Baker, for believing in my crazy idea, and everything else. Karen Waldron, for listening to my wandering thoughts when I needed, and for planting questoins in my garden of thought that still continue to bloom from time to time. Suzanne, Victor, Niko, Natalia, Melisa, Makiko, Michelle, Gracie, Nimisha, Marissa and Christina–for bringing the voices of my characters to life (once and then once again!) Augustin, Maria, Lucy and Angela for building with their bodies and minds my conceptual political dictionaries. Lucas, Andrea and Colin for reading drafts and drafts and giving me feedback throughout the entire process. Judith, Faris and Michael at the CSM, for letting me and the other Earth in Brackets kids stand behind them and watch them speak for those they represent at the negotiations. Zach Soares for being a last minute super-hero. Last but not least to all my Earth in Brackets friends who have influenced me and supported me way or the other: Anyuri, Nimisha, Clara, Adrián, Bogdan, María, Julián, Katie, Anna, Stevie, Cara, Nada, Ana, Mariana, Nathan, Lucas, Trudi, and Anjali.
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52 The Floor is Yours
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