Benny and Omar

68 Benny and Omar

Benny Shaw’s life is going to change very soon: His father – his ‘da’ – has to go and work in Tunisia, and he wants to take his family with him. If he does not go, he will lose his job. After difficult goodbyes and the first language problems at the airport in Tunisia, the Shaw family arrives at Marhaba village – a ‘walled camp’ 1 as Benny calls it – near the city of Sfax. On their first day in Marhaba, the village manager Talal Khayssi comes to give the Shaws – Benny, his father, his mother, and his little brother George – an introduction to their new life in Tunisia. There are many things that Benny has to learn about life in Tunisia – and about himself.

“Here in Africa, things are not the same as in Europe,” said Mister2 Khayssi. “There are certain things to be careful of. A scorpion sting3, for example …” “Excuse me?” “A scorpion, Madam4. A small insect with a poisonous5 sting. It lives in Africa.” “I know what a scorpion is, Mister Khayssi.” “Do not worry, Madam. In three years we have only seen one scorpion in Marhaba village. And never once a snake6.” Benny started to listen. “Snakes? Now, wait a minute!” Talal Khayssi smiled. “Please, young man, let me continue. If – and this is a big if – you have a scorpion sting, you have more than one hour to get to a hospital.” “Oh, sure, that’s great then.” “Benny! Sarcasm is not going to help us here.” “There is a nurse7 at the factory. And I have here a paper which says ‘I have been bitten by a scorpion’ in French and Arabic.” “What about English?” “I thought you spoke English, Mister Shaw. In any case, the nurse’s English is not so good.” “That makes me feel better.” “You really need not worry about this, Mrs Shaw. The chances are very small.” “What about snakes then?” asked Da. Talal Khayssi looked at his papers. “Snakes, as I say, have never been seen in the village. They do not like to climb walls.” He laughed nervously. “Also, your children are too big: A snake could not eat them whole.”

1walled camp !wC:ld *kxmp? • 2Mister !*mIstE? • 3 sting !stIN?• 4 Madam !*mxdEm? • 5 poisonous !*pCIznEs? • 6 snake !sneIk? • 7 nurse !n3:s?

George looked ill. Benny knew he should say something sarcastic, but his stomach was turning somersaults8 at the moment. “A small snake might be able to get under the gate9 at night. If a snake bites you, please remember the colour of the snake and go to the factory immediately.” “Is there any special colour we should worry about?” “No, no, Mister Shaw. Except maybe black. Yes … worry about black. But, as I say, we have never seen snakes in the village. It has been months since anyone has died in Sfax.” Ma grabbed Khayssi’s water and drank it all. “Do you have any good news, Khayssi?” “Of course,” smiled Talal Khayssi. “Your car has arrived. It is a Toyota Landcruiser.” Da tried not to smile, but lost. The scorpions and snakes didn’t sound so bad now. Not with a big shiny jeep parked outside. “There is a radio in the jeep. Always have it with you in the car. You are … ah … Zulu Three. Central is Bravo One. The locals10 get angry if another local is hurt, even though it’s usually the locals’ fault11. The young people are very wild on their mobylettes12. If there is an accident, lock13 your doors and drive straight to the station of the Garde Nationale.” “Or?” “Or if a fundamentalist is watching, he may try to start a riot14.” “A riot! But this is a stable15 country. They told us this!” “It is, Madam,” answered Khayssi. “I am only telling you about the worst things that could happen, but they probably16 won’t happen.” “I see.” The Tunisian saw that his glass was empty. He stood up to leave. “Oh, and one more thing. Please be very careful when you cross the train tracks. The warning lights often do not work. We have lost one car already this year.” “Aah …” said Da. His jeep didn’t look quite as good any more. “If you need anything, call me at the office,” said Khayssi. Everyone shook hands and Talal Khayssi left. No-one said anything for a while, then Ma decided she needed to have a talk with her husband. In private. Benny suddenly felt the weight17 of Africa on him. He pulled himself out of the chair and went for a sleep. What he didn’t know was that it wouldn’t be a scorpion or a snake that got him that afternoon. Instead, a tiny little mosquito got into his room, landed on Benny’s forehead18 and sucked19 a few drops of blood out of him. This was a pity20 because Benny was allergic to mosquitoes. Benny has trouble with his new school, the other kids, the teachers and the rules. With everything about his new life. Then he meets Omar, a local boy who lives on the streets, and he begins to feel more at home. He learns about Omar’s Tunisia – the real Tunisia, which is very different from the country Talal Khayssi knows.

8 (to) turn a somersault !+t3:n E *s0mEsC:lt? • 9 gate !GeIt? • 10 local !*lEUkl? • 11 fault !fC:lt? • 12 mobylette !+mEUbI*let? • 13 (to) lock !lOk? • 14 riot !*raIEt? • 15 stable !*steIbl? • 16 probably !*prObEbli? • 17 weight !weIt? • 18 forehead !*fC:hed? • 19 (to) suck !s0k? • 20 (to) be a pity !bi E *pIti?