Who will Speak if I Dont?

To commemorate 25 years since the martyrdom of the El Salvador Jesuits, St.

Xaviers college Mumbai hosted two performances of the play A Peasant of El
Salvador. The AICUF unit of the college and the Dept. of Interreligious Studies
under the guidance of Fr. Prashant Olalekar, made arrangements for this play to be
performed in the college hall on 22nd November 2014.
Originally written by Peter Gould and Stephen Stearns, this performance of the play
was carried out by the Mumbai based theatre company QTP. This is the story of a
Salvadoran farmer and his family, set within the context of the political and economic
turmoil of the 1970s. This peasant, like most of his compatriots, is a simple, peaceloving farmer who is content to live out his life in a small corner of the country. His
idyllic existence however is torn apart by economic policies that favour the big
companies and marginalize the subsistence farmers. The Church led by Archbishop
Romero, valiantly takes up the cause of the marginalized, but the government
violently represses all who raise their voices in protest.
Using a minimum of props, the three actors alternately switched roles to portray
different characters in the story. It was a brilliant performance which drew the
audience deeper and deeper into the heart of a tragedy. There were snatches of

humour that provided light relief but did not take away from the seriousness of the
issues raised.
An open discussion at the end of the performance enabled the audience to
internalize this experience and recognize its relevance for our own times.

Fr.

Prashant who was the driving force behind this event has this to say This year, the
Society of Jesus is celebrating the 40 th anniversary of GC 32 held in 1974, the path
breaking event which fired up many Jesuits worldwide to proclaim a faith that does
justice and to pay the price even with their lives. I see this play as an appropriate
attempt to re-educate all people of goodwill about our faith-justice commitment at a
time when the poor and the environment are being rapidly impoverished.
A Peasant of El Salvador is a play that invites its audience to move beyond comfort
zones and engage in the crucial issues of our times.

On the one hand, this

performance left us with a sense of unease in the face of injustice and the apparent
powerlessness to do anything. On the other hand, it also stirred up a deeper desire
to enter into the lives of the poor and speak up for them. We were left with this
challenge ringing in our ears Who will speak for the poor and voiceless? Who will
speak if I dont?
Luke Rodrigues sj (from JIVAN, January 2015)