Lullaby Doctors

So, I hope you get this message. Anyway, good luck.

Give us a call when you come back and let me know how it goes.

OK. Bye, Besa.

She's got her interview today with the Home Office.

I know you're worried about her, but we've done all we can.

What if it isn't enough?

I've got to go.

See you later.

PHONE BUZZES

Hey.

Ruhma. Hi, it's Emma. How are you?

I'm...I'm fine, Emma.

-I'm keeping busy.

-Good.

Look, I'm calling because, as you know, Mrs Tembe wants to do

an internal review regarding your recent conduct.

And, well, she's asked me and Al to do it.

Right.

So, well, we'd like to do it sometime this week, if possible.

If that's good for you?

Any time. I'm free, obviously.

Good.

OK, well, look, I'll talk to Al and then I'll get back to you.

Ruhma, this isn't personal, you know.

It's not a witch-hunt.

It's fine. Look, do what you have to do.

OK, thanks.

Well, I'll talk to you soon.

-Bye.

-Bye.

DOORBELL

Besa?

Besa?

Besa!

Besa!

Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh.

-WOMAN:

-No sign of her.

-MAN ON RADIO:

-Roger. Thank you.

Are you Besa Kotti?

No! No!

Besa, it's me again. Please, Tamanna is safe, please call me.

Please come back and we can sort this out, OK?

Bye.

Hey. Hey, you.

Miss Kotti.

You really haven't done yourself any favours.

Trying to abscond before you've even had your substantive interview.

I know you've been in hospital.

Are you well enough to do this?

Yes.

If you need a comfort break, or you feel unwell, we can stop.

OK.

Right.

Now, do you understand how important this interview is?

This is your one chance to make your case for asylum.

The more detailed information you can give me, the better.

Now, you have a baby daughter, Tamara.

Tamanna.

Sorry, Tamanna.

But when you were apprehended this morning, she wasn't with you.

So, where is she?

Miss Kotti?

You really aren't helping yourself.

She's with friend.

And this friend is...?

Very good with babies.

No, I meant the name?

I cannot tell.

But she safe.

All right.

I'll leave that.

For now.

Hello!

I'm in here.

We've got a visitor.

-Please don't tell me that...

-Please do not shout.

I'm not shouting.

Where's Besa?

I don't know.

She left Tamanna on the doorstep

and I've trying to phone her and phone her. And I...

-I think she ran away from the hostel...

-What, she absconded?

-Shh.

Because she was absolutely terrified.

-And left you with the baby?

-Heston.

I have just put her to sleep.

Please, if you want to talk about this,

let's just do it somewhere else.

Right.

I know these questions may be difficult, but I have to ask.

Can you remember the date of this rape?

Not just once. Many time.

Can you give me approximate dates?

I don't know!

Your daughter was born on 15th December 2017.

So, that would suggest March.

Yes. March 2016.

2016?

2017.

Last year.

March 2017.

And February. And April.

And May.

But you can't remember any exact dates?

Try and think. Did it happen on weekdays, weekends...?

Any day, every day.

Can you remember how many times this happened?

20, 30.

A lot. I don't know!

Did you go to the police?

No. I cannot.

Did you tell anyone?

A teacher, maybe?

Where I from, you not...

..trust authority.

They not help.

This man Arjan, really, very powerful. He mafia.

-You never made any official complaint?

-No.

So there's no official record.

We've only got your word that he raped you.

I have baby.

That proves you had sex, Miss Kotti.

It doesn't prove you were raped.

It would help if you could be more specific.

This happened! Why you not believe?

Stupid girl!

What chance has she got now?

I don't know.

But maybe... Your friend Martin, he's a lawyer,

he said that Albanians aren't high priority.

So maybe, maybe Besa knew that and that's why she's run.

So, what are we going to do?

I will ring social services.

But I would like to wait, just in case she comes back.

How long are you going to wait?

Five...six at the latest...

-We are in enough trouble as it is!

-Shh.

We've been interviewed by the police, you could lose your job.

I won't be sacked.

We have broken the law!

No. No, technically we haven't...

She's made things 100 times worse.

How could she have made it 100 times worse?

She has just left her baby!

She wouldn't do that if she wasn't desperate...

It is not our responsibility.

Whose responsibility is it then?

Look, if you don't want to be involved, why don't you just leave

for a few hours and then you can claim that you didn't know anything.

Don't be ridiculous.

When you're girl in Albania and you grow up,

everything change.

What changed?

When I was 10, 11,

I help with housework, after school.

Just me. And everything I do wrong. Everything.

She said I not good.

She hate me. She hate me. She must do.

My 12th birthday, we had party.

My mother and other woman, Anya, put me in car.

They said, now that I 12, I must become woman.

I thought I was having makeover.

A treat.

Where did they take you?

A farmhouse.

My mother left me there.

She brought suitcase with all my clothes.

And she said stay.

There were eight, ten other girls there, my age.

Anya took me to room.

And she said, "Be brave."

There was bed with blood on it.

I thought girl must have period.

They told me to lie down.

But I didn't want to lie in girl's blood, but they force me.

Three women - very big, very powerful - they hold me down.

Anya had, erm...

..razor blade and she cut me.

FGM isn't very common in Albania...

This happen, but no-one talk.

And they didn't say anything?

Explain...?

They told me, "Stop screaming."

Hey, can you go to the shops for me?

I've got to study this afternoon.

You're not studying now though, are you?

OK, I need nappies, cotton-wool buds,

formula, baby-milk, sterilising tablets.

Oh, and if they've got baby clothes, get 0-3 months.

Try that big chemist on the high street.

Mum, I have no idea what any of that stuff is.

Right, well, college boy, I'm sure that you will work it out.

And if you don't, then you ask somebody. OK? So move it.

Go!

So, when did you first encounter Arjan?

One year. January.

Tell me about that.

My father make good business. He a kryetar. Mafia.

He has colleague... Colleague?

Who come to house and drink, make party.

Arjan was one of them.

He very powerful.

He like your car, you give.

Arjan was like that.

He say he want, you give.

It's OK.

Miss Kotti, Besa.

Take your time.

He start to come to the house, three, four times a week.

My mother and father said it was great honour,

but I can see they very, very scared.

You understand?

He said I pretty.

Mami said he like me, and I should be nice to him.

But he very old, 50.

I don't want anything.

So, when he come, I go upstairs and do my homework.

But one night, he came up to my room and...

He sexually assaulted you?

And this happened in your house?

With your parents downstairs?

Yes.

They let him.

It hurt. It hurt.

It was first time. It was horrible.

And then after, he went straight downstairs.

Just breathe deeply.

I'll get you some more water.

SHE BREATHES QUICK, PANICKED BREATHS

HER BREATHING STARTS TO SLOW

# Three little maids who, all unwary

# Come from a ladies' seminary

# Freed from its genius tutelary

# Three little maids from school

# Three little maids from school. #

Is that Gilbert and Sullivan?

Very cultured baby.

-Has she gone to sleep?

-Hmm.

I nearly tried the Humming Chorus from Madam Butterfly.

You don't think she's a bit too young for Puccini?

One is never too young for Puccini.

You like her.

She's very intelligent.

Go on, admit it. You like her.

She's very sweet.

But we can't keep her.

If your mother knew that Arjan was abusing you,

if she let it happen, didn't she expect you to get pregnant?

She let it happen,

but she pretend.

I told her it was Arjan and that he force me,

but she blame me.

I cry, she scream.

Baba made her stop.

He hug me and say everything OK.

And I believe him.

But...

Go on.

He said Arjan wanted to marry me.

He thought that would be good.

Baby would have father.

No shame for family.

I would have rich, powerful husband.

That this was blessing.

Did you tell him how you felt?

I try.

He said I should be happy.

How?

I tried to tell him about the farmhouse.

And he knew.

And not say anything to stop.

He said now I can be good wife to Arjan.

So your family sold you into marriage

-with the man who'd raped you?

-No, they not sell.

They give me away for free.

I say no.

My father said I stupid girl.

I no say no to Arjan.

And if I didn't marry him, he'd kill me.

Because I bad for family, bad for father's business.

I had to. So...

I say I marry.

Everyone happy.

They prepare big wedding.

Me and my friend secretly prepare to leave.

To UK.

Here, where we safe.

Baby born in free country...

What?

You're... Is that your milk?

It's all right.

It's all right, you can't help it.

Let's have a break.

Good, Shak's bought lots of formula.

We can't keep her.

If Besa doesn't come back, we have to go to the social services.

Well, suppose we did keep her? Suppose we adopted her?

We can't. We're not approved, we haven't planned for it...

I know. But...she's here and we're here.

She should be with her mother,

-which is the best place for both of them.

-But is it?

Because if she gets deported,

or what if she gets stuck in that detention centre?

Tamanna's not even a month old, Heston,

and she's been shunted from pillar to post.

I know, but she's not ours.

I wish she was.

I wish that we could keep her.

And so do you.

-Well. I...

-Hey.

We'd make good parents, you know.

I got you a coffee.

It's from the machine, but it's drinkable.

And I got you a sandwich.

You should eat.

Why?

You're sending me back.

And I got you this.

I was going running after work, I won't have time now.

This is mine. It's clean.

You can have it.

And one of my colleagues,

she's breast-feeding,

she said you'd need these.

Breast pads.

I want to clean?

Sure. I'll leave you for a minute.

Hey, Besa!

Are you OK?

Yes. Tamanna?

Yeah, Tamanna is good. Tamanna is good.

But where are you?

They caught me. Immigration.

What about the interview?

They doing it now.

They interviewing me.

Besa, I...

..I have to call social services and tell them where Tamanna is.

What have you told the people?

Nothing. I didn't want to make you in trouble.

OK, right. Well, you tell them the truth.

That you know me from the hospital, I gave you my address

and so you left Tamanna with me.

OK.

I have to go.

You... DIAL TONE

-Have they arrested her?

-Yeah.

She's being interviewed right now.

-OK, I am going to ring social services.

-What?

Because you told me to do that.

Officially, you have no relationship with this girl.

-What are you doing to say?

-OK, this is going to be fine, Heston.

Because we are going to tell the truth.

Not all of it, some of it.

That I delivered Besa's baby,

I gave her my address at the hospital.

I wasn't supposed to, but I did. And that's it.

Everything else, we don't even mention it.

Have you ever thought of a career in crime?

That's not even funny.

If I stay here, I will work hard.

I pay my tax.

I don't want charity.

I want a chance.

For me and my daughter.

You love her?

Yes.

I didn't think I will.

But...

..without her...

Even after what her father did to you?

It's not her fault.

He father, but she not belong to him.

She's a new person.

A new life.

And yet, this morning, you were prepared to abandon her?

I want to keep her.

But she needs better life.

Do you understand, Catherine?

If we go back to Albania,

same thing happen to her like to me when I was girl.

Better she stay here, I never see her, than that happen.

Look, I don't want to get your hopes up,

things are really stacked against you.

But I'm going to recommend that you're seen as a special case.

Thank you.

# Hush, little baby, don't you cry... #

HE YAWNS, SHE CONTINUES TO HUM TUNE

Sorry, we woke you.

I think she's going to need a feed in a bit.

-I'll get a bottle.

-OK.

Don't stop. It's nice.

# Hush, little baby, don't say a word

# Mamma's gonna buy you a mocking bird

# And if that mocking bird don't sing... #

DOOR OPENS

I'm so very sorry...

BABY CRIES

Refused?

-Here we are.

-Thank you.

Hey, and here she is.

Look, here's Mum. Here's Mummy!

-How has she been?

-She's been good.

She's had a couple of bottles this morning and I changed her nappy.

Thank you.

How are you?

I'm OK.

I not give up.

We go to new city.

Make new life.

So no-one hurt her.

Will you make contact with your family?

No, I cannot. Not safe.

I don't care.

I never see them again.

They never see grandchild.

They don't deserve.

That will be hard, not being able to go back home.

That not home.

That not family.

This my family.

Yeah.

You are strong.

You are a fighter.

Remember that.

I know.

Because all this happen.

-I strong.

-Yeah. Yeah.

I wish you could come with me.

I wish you were my mother.

Yeah.

I wish I was too.

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. Shh, shh.

It's OK.

It's going to be all right. It's going to be all right. Shh, shh.

It's OK.

And even though every orthopaedic surgeon in Liverpool thinks

they're the best orthopaedic surgeon in Liverpool, break your leg,

-it's Mr Coleman you'll want fixing it.

-Right.

What are you doing?

Come on, Ayesha, I know something's going on.

-I don't know what you mean.

-Just tell me.

-I can't.

So, we're just going to let him get away with it?

-No. We'll watch him like a hawk.

-Watching him won't stop him.