CHELAGAT

A Play in 3 Acts

By Onyango Oloo


© Onyango Oloo 1995

[PUBLIC ADVISORY:This is a play about RAPE. Mature subject matter. Coarse language. Graphic depictions.Some incidents in this FICTIONAL work may be disturbing and even traumatizing to certain individuals. Discretion is advised-author.]

SETTING: Toronto, Canada, early 1990s

Dramatis Personae:

CHELAGAT: a Kenyan political exile in her late twenties;
ODHIAMBO: a Kenyan political exile in his early thirties;
ZUHURA: a Canadian citizen in her mid thirties who was born and raised in Kenya
RAHMAN: a Canadian landed immigrant in his early forties who grew up in Mombasa
SHARON: a Trini-Canadian domestic assault counsellor
CAROL: a Jewish-Canadian lawyer


ACT ONE

SCENE ONE



As the curtain rises, a giant Canadian flag slowly descends. A deafening rendition of O, CANADA!.

Silence.

Hearing Room No.15 of the Immigration and Refugee Board.

A table with 6 microphones and a tape deck. 3 thermos flasks and several clear plastic cups around the table.

On the right, 2 IRB PANEL MEMBERS. Facing the audience, THE REFUGEE HEARING OFFICER. Opposite him, the CLAIMANT'S LAWYER. Next to the lawyer, THE REFUGEE CLAIMANT.

The PANEL MEMBERS, THE R.H.O. AND THE LAWYER all have larger than life masks. With the exception of the LAWYER, all the masks are identical.

The hearing into the REFUGEE CLAIMANT'S claim is conveyed through mime. It ends with the PANEL ruling that the CLAIMANT is not a genuine refugee.

There is an order that the CLAIMANT be detained immediately pending deportation from Canada.

4 IMMIGRATION GUARDS march in and grab the CLAIMANT who is dragged kicking and screaming off stage.

The LAWYER watches as the CLAIMANT is carted off to the Celebrity Inn Detention Centre.

The LAWYER leaves the stage with his arm around the R.H.O.

O, CANADA! floods the room as the scene ends.

ACT ONE

SCENE TWO

[DARKNESS.LIGHT. A group of African women enter performing a traditional dance. The spotlight follows CHELAGAT as she dances to "Our Song", a ballad which chronicles the struggle for freedom in Kenya.]

CHELAGAT

Yes, we refused to follow their foot steps leading Kenya to the edge of a gaping crater. And for that, here we are, scattered all over the world. Go to Stockholm, to Oslo, to London and Baltimore and you'll find us. We are in Tanzania, in Uganda, Zimbabwe, India and Yemen, far away from our mothers because we are all working for a new tomorrow to dawn in Nairobi. We came to Canada with hope only to be repelled with the insecticide of racism and prejudice. The Anglo Saxon refugees cowering from us in Rosedale, Oakville and Markham see in our black faces yet another wave of alien scum landing to pollute the land of the maple leaf with yet another variety of stinking meat curries.

(Enter a man with a mask and a typical Anglo-Canadian accent.)

MAN WITH MASK

I'm sorry but did I hear you say Kenya or Somalia?

CHELAGAT

No. I am not a Somali. I am not from Mogadishu.

(Enter a woman with a mask and a typical Anglo-Canadian accent.)

WOMAN WITH MASK

Do you come from...

CHELAGAT

No!I am not a granddaughter of Emperor Haile Selassie the First!

MAN WITH MASK

Are you...

CHELAGAT

No sir. I am not a South African. I am not a card carrying member of the African National Congress.

WOMAN WITH MASK

But wait a minute! There is no civil war in Kenya! We thought the drought was in Mauritania! Wasn't that Liberia they were showing on the News last night? O God! Africa is such a confusing place! Everywhere it seems, from north to south, east to west women and children are dying like flies from starvation and black tribalism! What could have happened to Kenya, the one sane place left on that mad continent? We always thought Kenya was an island of stability in a very turbulent sea of African chaos.

MAN WITH MASK

Didn't the Queen herself fly over to Nairobi to personally hand over independence to Mzee Jomo Kenyatta in 1963? What is wrong with these people? Correct me if I am wrong but I thought Moi was right there along with the NATO allies during the difficult and triumphant days of Operation Desert Storm. Anyone running from Kenya must be a communist, an Islamic terrorist, a drug addict or a pervert.

CHELAGAT

They know more about our country than we Kenyans ourselves. Their Kenya, their Africa, is populated by fugitives from Out of Africa who live in the Flame Trees of Thika. Their Kenya is a Kenya I have never lived in.

Enter a North American tourist complete with cameras, maps, sunglasses and a colonial cap.

TOURIST

I've been to Kenya three times. I loved the safaris at the Amboseli National Park. The wild primitive dancing at the Bomas of Kenya. But I especially adore the animals. Kenya's got wonderful flora and fauna. You should come over to my house in Bayview to see the videos and slides we shot. Big handsome hunky elephants. Gorgeous lions. Cute chimpanzees. Sexy zebras. Tall exotic Maasai men. Full breasted Giriama women gyrating and ululating to the vigorous rhythms of the famous Sengenya dance...


Enter young woman reading the Toronto Star.

YOUNG WOMAN

Paul Simcoe has just come back from an exciting holiday at the Kenyan coast. He has fond memories of the fun times at Salt Lick Lodge in the Taita Hills. He particularly relishes the day he caught sixteen giant tilapia fish while snuggling on the back of the friendly hippos from the nearby lake... And there was the night he took a break from civilization to wrestle with the dazzling beauties who prey on their Western victims at the world famous Sunshine Day and Night Club in the exotic Indian Ocean city of Mombasa....

CHELAGAT

Well Paul, we Kenyan women whom you bump into on your annual sex safaris are perhaps too friendly for our own good. Were you at the Sunshine Day and Night Club the night they killed Njeri? Do you remember Monica Njeri? Monica, a single mother from Kiambu was forced by Reaganomics Moi style, to the Mombasa meat market to lease her body to the groping hands of Japanese, European and North American seekers of the African orgasm. In return for a few francs and a couple of kronor we are expected to do S&M tricks even with your dogs. It seems like only yesterday, that night in 1980 when Njeri was picked up by that All American marine boy, Sundstrom. He wanted her body as a toy for the night. After huffing and puffing he was deflated for the night. But then like so many before him and since, he refused to do the one simple thing that had made Monica endure all his childish indignities. He refused to hand over the ten or so dollars which was the price they had agreed upon. He completely refused to pay and an argument flared up. She asked him to leave her room and went to the toilet to go and wash off his filth from her body. Behind her back the All American marine boy sneaked into her handbag to steal the few shillings left in her purse. Monica caught him red handed and she flew into a rage screaming obscenities at him to leave immediately. Red faced, Sundstrom took out his big sharp knife, grabbed poor Njeri and stabbed her over and over again. In the morning they found her, belly ripped open, drowning in her own blood with her entrails spread out all over the cement floor of the boarding and lodging room. Later, Sundstrom emerged from his hideaway in the nuclear destroyer docked at Mtongwe to appear in a Simi Valley trial in Mombasa.[Slides show old Kenyan newspaper clippings and pictures of the trial.] The British expatriate judge was so moved by the testimony of Sundstrom's wonderful mother and hard working father who came all the way to Kenya from far away middle America... The judge was so moved by the character of this strong, upright Christian boy who had always dreamed of serving his great country... The judge was so convinced with the mitigating circumstances of this case that he set Sundstrom free on a 500 dollar peace bond.

A slide projector shows images of American soldiers in the Middle East, Vietnam, Somalia and Kenya. In the background we can hear "Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones . Pictures of Third World women. The finale image is just a slide covered from top to bottom with the colour red. "Satisfaction" plays over and over again until it finally fades off...

FADE OUT


SCENE THREE

[CHELAGAT'S apartment. It is a neat bachelor. On the wall are posters depicting African, Middle Eastern, Latin American and First Nations struggles. A bookcase full of magazines, books, audio cassettes, compact discs and videos. An 18" colour TV. A tiny short wave radio. An old Mac computer sits on a small table. Two chairs, an African stool and a reading lamp. A futon which doubles as bed and sofa. Kenyan music in the background. A big NO SMOKING sign. CHELAGAT and ZUHURA are sitting on the futon. RAHMAN is on the stool leafing through a recent Society magazine from Kenya.]

CHELAGAT

Things are really happening at home! Sometimes when I listen to the news or read the papers I can't believe it is the same Kenya that I left four years ago.

ZUHURA

It is not. Two years ago who would have dared to play anti-government music full blast in an overcrowded matatu?

RAHMAN(skimming)

Imanyara exposing tribalism. Odinga calling for a government of national unity. Rubia and Matiba challenging Moi to a public debate on multiparty democracy...

CHELAGAT

And Wangari Maathai, standing dignified and strong against the KANU big wigs...Wangari, defiant Kenyan womanhood personified... Wangari, denouncing them for their shameless attempt to erect a 62 storey monster in Uhuru Park. But we forget, we always do, the tens of thousands who were not interviewed by the London Observer and the New York Times, the nameless teenagers who are the first to sniff the tear gas and feel the rungus of the GSU.

[In the following exchange between Zuhura and Rahman, their body language contrasts sharply with the seemingly hostile bantering.]
RAHMAN

I saw Kamau Kuria the other day on the MacNeil\Lehrer News Hour, listened to him narrate how he hid at the American embassy after the Saba Saba pro democracy rally.

ZUHURA

Isn’t that funny? Today it is the Americans who are "leading" the fight to restore democracy in Kenya. It was just last week that they were training the special branch goons of Nyayo House. These Americans! But as we say,"bendera hufuata upepo", the flag follows the wind.


RAHMAN

I know the Americans are not perfect but I don't think you are being fair. America has been supporting Moi because whether we like it or not, it is a fact that Moi has been the most consistent defender of Western interests in Eastern Africa. Look at the Marxist tyranny in Ethiopia, the clan anarchy in Somalia, the ethnic cleansing in the Sudan, the guerrilla madness in Uganda, and the Ujamaa confusion in Nyerere's Tanzania. If you were Reagan, Bush or for that matter, Thatcher, who would you support?

ZUHURA

Am I glad that not even a miracle would ever transform me into Reagan, Bush or for that matter,Thatcher!

RAHMAN

Come on, with all its faults, America has been the leading beacon of change and champion of democracy around the world. Look at Russia. Albania. Poland. Czechoslovakia. If it wasn't for the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, the Berlin Wall would still be standing between the East Germans and their freedom in the West.

ZUHURA

You mean the freedom to roam the streets of Frankfurt unemployed, window shopping on empty stomachs? Or you mean the freedom the Aryan youth of Berlin and Leipzig now have to firebomb the hostels of immigrants and refugees from Turkey, Mozambique, Bosnia and El Salvador?

RAHMAN

Zuhura, let me ask you something. Why is it that with you even ordinary conversations degenerate into sterile ideological debates?

ZUHURA

Every commonplace remark hides an ideological assumption. Five years ago, before I even thought of moving in with my ex boyfriend here in Toronto, I used to live in the Bronx right in the core of the Big Rotten Apple. Living in the New York projects is worse than sleeping in a trench in the Mathare shanty town back in Nairobi. The crime. The drugs. The trigger happy cops. The racist thugs on the streets. Racists in the stores, racists in the night clubs, racists everywhere. All those years living underground without papers, staring at an empty fridge twenty days out of thirty. Sneaking into the subway penniless dropping dimes instead of tokens...Bravely boarding a bus hanging on to a crumpled transfer long after it expires, hoping to flash it past the redneck driver...Crossing your fingers, praying you never fall sick in a country which does not recognize universal health care. Going to college by day...Washing mountains of dishes and cleaning acres of office space by night... All this in a country which brags about being the land of the free and the home of the brave. Don't tell me about America The Beautiful. I am more familiar with Malcolm X's Yankee nightmare...

[Chelagat serves masala tea with mahamri buns]

CHELAGAT

Here, have some of this.

ZUHURA

What did you put in it? I know there is ginger and cinnamon.

CHELAGAT

Oh. Cloves. Cardamom. Mint. Mace. Other stuff.

RAHMAN

Did you make the mahamri yourself?

CHELAGAT

No. I bought them from that new Swahili donut shop in the east end. You two are always jumping on each other. Sometimes it is hard to believe we are all on the same side, fighting for democracy in Kenya.

RAHMAN (with an ironic smile)

Are we, all on the same side, fighting for democracy in Kenya?

ZUHURA

At least we all agree that Moi must go.

RAHMAN

To be followed by what? Communism???!!

[A persistent ring followed by loud thumps.]

CHELAGAT

There is someone at the door.

[She goes and looks through the peep hole. Slowly unlatches the door.]

CHELAGAT

Odhiambo! You were here yesterday! Surely you know that the bell is still new. You don't have to knock down the walls to enter my apartment.

ODHIAMBO [out of breath]

I've just been speaking to Hamadi's room mate. He went to see him last night at the Celebrity Inn Detention Centre.

CHELAGAT

How is he?

ODHIAMBO

He is being deported on Friday.

CHELAGAT

That gives us only three days!

ODHIAMBO

Saidi said Hamadi is in very bad shape. His right arm is broken.

ZUHURA

What happened?

ODHIAMBO

They tried to force him to sign a statement claiming that he had agreed to go back home voluntarily. He refused. Remember Robertson, remember him from the last time we went to bail out Kamau and Mutiso in Mississauga? Robertson called Hamadi an African monkey who was being taken back to his jungle home. Hamadi kicked him in the balls. That's when the three other guards began kicking and punching Hamadi. He can't remember exactly when his arm was broken but he is pretty sure it was Robertson who did it.

RAHMAN

Are you sure about all this? I am a true African and even truer Mswahili and I know that we can be very, very creative with the truth. After all, this is Toronto, Canada.

ZUHURA (very angry)

Rahman can you shut up! I am sick and tired of you putting down your own people! Why do you always do this? I have never seen somebody filled with so much self hatred as you!

RAHMAN

Who are you to speak about what I know and feel about my own community! Tell me about Somali customs and traditions...

ODHIAMBO

I am not a Mswahili but...

RAHMAN

You are one of those land grabbing Kikuyus!

ODHIAMBO

Actually, for your information, I am a Luo.

RAHMAN

So what? Luo Kikuyu, Kikikuyu, Kijadholuo, who cares? It doesn't matter. All you Muslim hating, Swahili dharauring people from up country think you can just come to Mombasa and other parts of Pwani and grab whatever you want! Do you know how many Luos were hired at the Ports when Moi made Okundi Managing Director of KPA?

CHELAGAT

I know that I too, don't qualify, being a Kalenjin from Baringo Central, Moi’s own back yard. Rahman, I won't be surprised if you accused me of taking part in the so called ethnic clashes. But don't you think it is rather childish to be wasting precious time on these backward tribal arguments when a Kenyan is languishing in detention?

ZUHURA

From the way Rahman is talking one would think that Hamadi poked himself in the eye and broke his arm over his own knees to get a little extra attention.

CHELAGAT

Which flight are they putting him on?

ODHIAMBO

We don't know yet. He told them he'd rather die in Canada than be sent back home to face Moi's terror. That's when they told him he was a suicidal nuisance. One of them was laughing as he told Hamadi that they would give him medication so that he could not disrupt the comfort of the other passengers on the flight back to Nairobi.

RAHMAN

They what?!

ODHIAMBO

Hamadi has refused to eat.

ZUHURA

What about his lawyer?

ODHIAMBO

Nowhere to be seen. Yesterday he was in court all day. According to his secretary. He has not returned any of our calls.

CHELAGAT

How about the Amnesty people?

ODHIAMBO

Kate Shields who looks after the East African cases told us that there is very little Amnesty can do for somebody once the Refugee Board rules that a claimant has no credible fear of prosecution.

ZUHURA

What do they want? Should we arrive at Pearson International Airport with fresh gun shot wounds? Or do they want a two hour video tape of the Nyayo House torturers doing the third degree?

RAHMAN

I think Amnesty has tried their best. Let's give them some credit. For God's sake we have to know who are our enemies and who are our friends! Why are we always whining about discrimination? Amnesty can't go beyond their mandate.

ZUHURA

Look at you, making excuses already for their dithering!

RAHMAN


Frankly,I think there is very little that even we can do.

ZUHURA

So what should we do? Throw ourselves off the CN tower in despair?

CHELAGAT

Let's call a meeting and see what the Kenyans in Toronto think.

RAHMAN

That's a rather tall order. You expect all these people to agree with each other just because they come from the same country? If at home Luos don't see eye to eye with Gikuyus and Watu wa Pwani resent Watu wa Bara, what makes you think that they will agree to come to a meeting about a refugee claimant they don't even know? Besides, are you inviting the York University and U of T students as well? Half of them are the sons and daughters of ministers and permanent secretaries!

CHELAGAT

There is only one way of finding out who will come to the meeting. Let's see how many will show up. We have to start calling them right now. And we have to get a place. Remember that place on Spadina and Bloor? The Four Twenty Seven. There is a Caribbean sister who works there as a wife assault counsellor. Sharon Persaud. I met her last month at the solidarity benefit for Cuba. She is very good. I am sure she can help us book the place and link us with some good doctors. Hamadi must be examined by a doctor before we can do any public action.

ZUHURA

She has dreadlocks doesn't she? I saw her in the Share newspaper leading the protest against the police shooting of Sophia Cook.

CHELAGAT

No. Not her. You are talking about Malaika Manley from the African People's Defence Committee.

RAHMAN

Why do these Jamaicans call themselves Africans? I wouldn’t want to be mistaken for a Jamaican. These people and their drugs. No wonder the police are always shooting them.

CHELAGAT [grabs Rahman by his collar and shakes him VIGOROUSLY]

Listen Rahman! This is not the time to deal with your usual narrow minded garbage! We have someone in detention who might be deported any day from now!

PAUSE.

Like I was saying, Sharon is a very good sister.

ODHIAMBO

I'll go and see her first thing in the morning.

CHELAGAT

Try her in the afternoon. With all these provincial government cutbacks they can only afford to pay her part time. I'll phone some lawyers.

ZUHURA

I can handle CKLN, CIUT and CHRY. Odhiambo, why don't you add Share,METRO WORD, the African Times etc to your list for tomorrow?

ODHIAMBO

Sure.

RAHMAN

We must do the big media as well. I have nothing against all those tiny community radio stations and papers you just mentioned but what is the use of talking to three listeners for eight minutes on a Thursday night?

CHELAGAT

Why don't you work with Zuhura on a press release? You can then fax it to the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, the CBC, CTV, NOW, Maclean's... You name it...

ZUHURA

And we must not forget all those community and solidarity groups. Rahman can we work on these ones as well?

RAHMAN

Yes and we can get Wamalwa, Njoroge wa Ciku and Kathini Kavisi wa Mbingu to help. They volunteer for half the groups in Ontario.

CHELAGAT

I'll go and see Dan Heap tomorrow. He seems to be the only Canadian MP with a moral backbone when it comes to standing up for refugees in this country. Jamani, there is no time to waste. My God! Look at the clock! It's one thirty already. I have to throw you folks out.



ACT TWO

SCENE ONE

[Winter. Outside CHELAGAT's apartment which she now shares with ODHIAMBO. We can hear their voices as they argue and shout about sharing the housework. The sound of furniture and kitchen utensils crashing and breaking. ODHIAMBO slaps CHELAGAT, who screams. A door opens and slams. CHELAGAT hurriedly puts on her winter coat and stomps off with a Kenya bag over her shoulder. Moments later ODHIAMBO comes out of the apartment to throw out CHELAGAT's TV which is shattered beyond repair. He slams the door. Our eardrums are almost shattered when ODHIAMBO plays Lingala music at full blast.]


FADE OUT


SCENE TWO

[Inside ZUHURA's apartment. It looks like CHELAGAT's except for the furniture and the African textiles on the walls and the carvings on the fridge and table. She does not have a TV. ZUHURA is busy at the ironing board with walkman headphones on her ears. From time to time she goes over to the stove to check the food. At first she can not hear the banging on her door. It gets louder. She takes off the headphones.]

ZUHURA

Who is it?

CHELAGAT (from without)

It's me.

ZUHURA (opening the door)
Karibu Ndani.

CHELAGAT

(She takes off her coat and hangs it carefully on the rack next to the door and puts her boots on the mat)

Ahsante. It is freezing out there.

ZUHURA

They said the wind chill factor would make it minus eighteen. What are you doing in Etobicoke at this ungodly hour?

CHELAGAT(sitting down wearily)

I should have called. I just found out as soon as I got to our place that I had locked myself out.

ZUHURA

Is Odhiambo still doing that night job?

CHELAGAT

No. The temp agency sent him there for only a month. The Alliance for Employment Equity chose him as a delegate to yet another conference. He is in Vancouver for this seminar on Visible Minority Workers And The Canadian Trade Union Movement. Another talk fest funded by the provincial government in British Columbia.

ZUHURA

When is he coming back?

CHELAGAT

I expected him yesterday but he called last night to say he would be in over the weekend.

ZUHURA

Something to drink? Sorry I only have hot chocolate.

CHELAGAT

Thanks a lot. Don't worry, I'll fix it. Want some too?

ZUHURA

Sure. Open the last cabinet and look in the left corner of the top shelf.

[CHELAGAT starts preparing the drink. ZUHURA stops ironing, walks over to CHELAGAT and holds her by the shoulder from the back, turns CHELAGAT around and looks her keenly in the eyes.]

ZUHURA

What's wrong Chelagat?

CHELAGAT(fiercely)
Nothing.

ZUHURA

You look very down to me.

CHELAGAT

Just tired. Shuffling boxes in a factory is not fun.

ZUHURA

No less stressful than being a legal secretary. If it wasn’t for the recession I would have quit a long time ago.

PAUSE.

ZUHURA

Have you been crying?

CHELAGAT

No! It's just my allergies. Living near the Gardner Expressway and Lake Ontario does not help either.

PAUSE.

ZUHURA

What's that swelling on your temple? There is a nasty bruise on your left arm.

PAUSE.

CHELAGAT

Oh... I... slipped and fell. Didn't see the ice when I got off the streetcar. This is the second time I have landed on my butt this winter...

PAUSE.

The hot chocolate is ready.

[She takes out the mugs and pours a drink for ZUHURA and herself.]

CHELAGAT

So how are things between you and Rahman.

ZUHURA

OK, I guess. Rahman still goes for physiotherapy. They don't know whether he will ever walk again.

CHELAGAT

And that Canadian driver went scot free.

ZUHURA

Surprise, surprise.

PAUSE.

CHELAGAT

Remember how surprised we all were to find out you two were seeing each other?

ZUHURA

On the other hand, who didn't know that you were stroking Odhiambo?

[They both laugh.]

ZUHURA

Rahman is a great lover. I mean before the accident. But he still drives me bananas with his tongue!

CHELAGAT

You mean tongue lashing you over your position on Thailand and the Virgin Islands?


ZUHURA (with a chuckle)

You'd be surprised over the number of positions we agree on when we are all alone. The Rahman you know is so different between the bed sheets. What's up with you and Odhiambo? Still fighting over the dishes?

CHELAGAT

I wish you wouldn't make it sound so trivial. Odhiambo is a wonderful comrade. I just wish he wasn't drinking so much. And yes, things would be much better if we both did our share of housework. We both come home after eight thirty yet he still expects me to cook and do the dishes. It's a battle to get him to take out the garbage on Wednesday night.

ZUHURA

But Odhiambo is so advanced compared to Rahman around women's issues. He is always helping out during International Women's Day and taking on his friends for using words like "bitch","mankind" and "postman".

CHELAGAT

I wish every day was International Women's Day. And there is more to sexism than just chauvinistic language. It looks guys are injected with this virus even before they climb out from their mothers.

[The phone rings. ZUHURA answers it. Puts her hand over the receiver.]

ZUHURA

It's for you. Odhiambo.

CHELAGAT

(She picks up the phone. Listens for about a minute.)

Can you stop bothering me? Why did you call here? Who told you I was here? I hate you! I hate you!

[She bangs the phone angrily and breaks out into uncontrollable sobbing. ZUHURA takes CHELAGAT in her arms and comforts her.]

ZUHURA

Don't worry Chelagat. Everything will be OK. You will be fine. Everything will be OK.

[CHELAGAT is now weeping openly, loudly. ZUHURA holds her tightly wiping the tears away from CHELAGAT's eyes.]


FADE OUT



SCENE THREE


[Inside SHARON PERSAUD's office. Prominently displayed on the walls are posters with captions like: "Wife Assault- It's A Crime" "Break the Silence", "End The Violence Against Women". Sitting in a triangle facing each other are CHELAGAT, ZUHURA and SHARON.]

ZUHURA

And I was telling her that if it had been me I would have left the guy after the very first beating.

CHELAGAT

But you see Zuhura, I am not you.

ZUHURA


What I don't understand is how you can take all this crap. You have always been the strongest among us. You have been the core of our movement in Toronto. You have taken on the Kenya government. You have taken on the Canadian state. You don't take nonsense at work and you don't let landlords push you around. Why can't you just dump him?

CHELAGAT

I am not some kind of superhero woman OK? Besides I am actually in love with this guy. He is a pig when it comes to housework and all that but he has so many other good qualities. I can handle the shouting and the cursing because I do that too. I only wish he wouldn’t hit me. And he only does that when he is drunk.

ZUHURA

Stop making excuses for him!

SHARON

Chelagat, under the law, any assault on your person is a criminal offence which should be immediately reported.

CHELAGAT

It is not that simple. You two don't see where I am coming from. Do you know what would happen if I called the cops? Sure they would come and arrest Odhiambo. I would then be forced to testify against a comrade that I have done so much with, both personally and politically. I just don't see myself being the star prosecution witness who will earn Odhiambo a few years in the Don Jail and a one way ticket to Nairobi after that. It is not going to be me.

ZUHURA

A true comrade should never have to resort to violence to win an argument.

SHARON

This is about power and control. Abuse never gets better it gets worse, unless there is some intervention.

CHELAGAT

Maybe if he sought help with his drinking problem then he wouldn’t be so violent.

SHARON

Chelagat, for once stop and think about yourself! Why is it that women are always thinking about taking care of others and neglect their own needs?

CHELAGAT

I am an African who was raised to think of the good of the community. I have been a political activist for most of my adult life. I have always struggled against the individualism borne of this selfish Western culture.

SHARON

You forget that I was born in the Caribbean where we have the same community values. Before you become anything you are first and foremost a person, an individual.

CHELAGAT

I am not really in the mood for an academic debate. I came here to seek your help.

ZUHURA

That's what she is trying to do! Whether you look at yourself as an individual or as a community activist the fact remains that you have to deal with this abusive relationship right now.

SHARON

Perhaps you should go to a shelter for a while.

CHELAGAT

I will never do that!

ZUHURA(exasperated)

So what do you want us to do?!

SHARON

Why don't you want to go to a shelter?

CHELAGAT

I don't need some patronising advice from some white woman gloating at the spectacle of yet another Third World victim. I can almost hear her: "Isn’t that terrible what he did to you? Those kinds of things never happen here in Canada.."

ZUHURA

I told you about my ex husband. You get no whiter than Alexander Campbell's family. Seventh generation Canadian of English stock. Family owns a car dealership in Don Mills. Alex is a chartered accountant. We met in New York and he fell in love with me. Or that's what I thought. He came across as very liberal and open minded. A member of Green Peace. A volunteer with the Toronto Anti-Apartheid Committee. Subscribes to Mother Jones. Listens to CIUT and watches PBS. We even adopted an Ethiopian child through World Vision. All that did not stop Alex from beating the living daylights out of me. I remember how he threatened to withdraw the immigration sponsorship if I left him. I tell you, boys will be boys will be boys whether they are white, black, brown, yellow, red, green or blue.

SHARON

Chelagat, look at me. I am from the Caribbean and I work here as a wife assault counsellor. Not all shelters are run by white middle class women. You can go to Shirley Samaroo, Ernestine's or Nellie's.

CHELAGAT

I still want to try and work things out with Odhiambo before I consider going to a shelter. Things are bad but not out of control.

ZUHURA


Are you waiting for him to bash your face in before you do something about it?

CHELAGAT


Come on Zuhura, it's Odhiambo we are talking about. Not Jeffrey Dahmer or some serial killer for God's sake!

SHARON

I don't think there is anything more we can do. It's your life. All the same, why don't you take down these numbers just in case something does happen. You never know.

ZUHURA

Don't say I didn’t warn you. Like I told you, my place is your place. You don't even need to call.

CHELAGAT

I guess we better be going.

[ZUHURA and CHELAGAT leave SHARON's office.]

BLACK OUT

SCENE FOUR

Early evening at CHELAGAT's apartment. She is at home, busy at the computer. From time to time she picks out a book from the shelf for reference. After a few minutes, Odhiambo comes home. He takes off his jersey and jacket and throws them on the floor. He walks all over the carpet with his wet boots. Goes to the fridge and takes out a beer. Walks over to the phone to order a pizza.

SILENCE.

ODHIAMBO pops in a Tracy Chapman CD into the music system . He goes to the fridge takes out another beer and forgets to close the fridge door properly. He picks up the remote and increases the volume. CHELAGAT looks up from her work but does not say anything. ODHIAMBO gets up again, goes to the table where CHELAGAT is working and picks up an old magazine which is lying next to the computer. He goes back to his chair. CHELAGAT pauses to go and put the kettle on and make some coffee. She prepares two cups. Puts one in front of ODHIAMBO, who ignores her. CHELAGAT resumes her work at the computer. The CD ends and ODHIAMBO puts on a Bob Marley album. He increases the volume when it gets to Redemption Song. CHELAGAT again looks up, this time with obvious irritation but she still does not say anything. Goes back to her work. ODHIAMBO goes to the fridge for another beer. He opens the beer with his teeth and the froth overflows on to the floor. He does not bother to mop it up. Plunks in his seat and continues listening to Bob Marley. CHELAGAT finishes what she was doing exits from the program, switches off the computer and replaces the books in the order in which she found them. She goes to the sink, washes her cup, picks up ODHIAMBO's untouched coffee pours it down the drain and puts away the cups to dry. She wipes the table and mops the floor where the beer spilled. She goes into the bathroom and we can hear her running the water and brushing her teeth. She comes out in her kimono ready to retire for the night. She switches off the light by the kitchen and goes to sofa/futon. She looks at ODHIAMBO indicating she would need his help to make it into a bed. He ignores her. She struggles with the futon. Finally it is transformed into a bed. She gets out the sheets and the duvet. She gets an extra comforter which she places on one side of the bed. She gets into bed and covers herself.

ODHIAMBO

Your mother wrote you a letter.

[CHELAGAT does not say anything.]


ODHIAMBO

She says that things are really bad at home. A loaf of bread is now fifty shillings.

PAUSE.
She wonders what devil it was who possessed you to get mixed up with a Luo like me.

CHELAGAT(shocked)

Odhiambo! You have started going through my mail!

ODHIAMBO

You two thought that you were being quite clever writing to each other in your language. You forget that I was born in Eldoret and went to school at Kabarak.

CHELAGAT(furious)
Give me that letter right now!

ODHIAMBO

It is inside that new Society magazine.

[There is a buzz at the door. ODHIAMBO opens the door. It is the pizza delivery person. ODHIAMBO pays him and starts wolfing down the pizza at the door. CHELAGAT gets up from the bed to retrieve her mother's letter. She reads the letter two or three times before putting it away. For a long moment she sits up on the bed staring ahead of her in deep thought. Finally she gets into bed. ODHIAMBO finishes eating and leaves the pizza box on the table. He switches off the light and then gets into bed. In the darkness we can hear both of them twisting and turning. The fumbling and groping of hands and rustling of bed sheets. Tossing and turning, CHELAGAT grunts with obvious disapproval.]


CHELAGAT

Odhiambo, I'm not in the mood OK?

[We can hear her moving away from ODHIAMBO. After a few minutes, ODHIAMBO jostles closer again, trying to fondle CHELAGAT.]

CHELAGAT

Odhiambo! Can you please leave me alone?! How can you even think of sleeping with me when we have been fighting for the last week?

ODHIAMBO

Chelagat, I'm really sorry... I don't know what I should do about this terrible temper of mine. Why don't we just forget about all those bad things?

CHELAGAT

What do you take me for? Some kind of a fool or something? You think you can give me hell the whole day and then expect me to open my legs for you to fuck me at night? You must be joking.

PAUSE.

Besides, you are not even wearing a condom.

ODHIAMBO

How many times must we go over this? You know perfectly well that I am not seeing anybody else. You know that I have never been one to sleep around.

CHELAGAT

You are making the dangerous assumption that I ever believed your stories in the first place. That is not even the point. Here we are in the nineties and I still have to persuade a self declared revolutionary that safer sex is the way to go.

PAUSE.
But why are we even wasting time over this? The furthest thing from my mind right now is sex. I am trying to find some sleep.

ODHIAMBO

Chelagat you know that I don't have AIDS. Even before I went to prison I used to live a very disciplined social life. Just ask the comrades who knew me at the campus.

CHELAGAT

So when did you start drinking? And did you live a disciplined life in prison as well?

ODHIAMBO

Chelagat, what are you trying to say? Are you suggesting...

CHELAGAT

You were in Naivasha prison for all those years. You are only human. Don't tell me you were wanking off by yourself all those years. You must have craved for some punani.

ODHIAMBO

Ooh Oh! So! What a twisted filthy mind! I never thought I would live to see the day when I would hear something like that from you of all people. How can you even suspect me after we have been living together for this long?

CHELAGAT

Odhiambo, sex to me, is not a crime whether it is outside or inside prison walls. What I am trying to say is that having lost so many friends to AIDS I can no longer assume that anyone is safe including myself. I am going to the Hassle Free Clinic to be tested next week. Like I told you last week, I am serious. You are not getting anywhere near me without a condom. And for the last time, as for tonight, condom or no condom, you are not sleeping with me!

ODHIAMBO

(enraged, he punches CHELAGAT, who screams)

So that's why! That's why you treat me with so much madharau. You think I am a bloody homosexual hiding in the closet. You don't think I am man enough for you? Well I'll show you tonight that I am a full blooded African MAN!

[There is a vigorous struggle as ODHIAMBO tries to rape CHELAGAT.]

CHELAGAT(crying)

Odhiambo you are hurting me! If that's all you want please stop twisting my arms and squeezing my breasts. I'll let you do whatever you want. Just stop hitting me please.

ODHIAMBO

Hurry up you bitch!I am going to give you a lesson you'll never forget! So you think I am gay?! Let's see if a fucking faggot can do to you what I am about to do!

[We can hear ODHIAMBO breathe heavily as he tears off the clothes from CHELAGAT. We can also hear the wheezing, grunts the thumps and the thrusts...CHELAGAT is sobbing. Suddenly, a frightening blood curdling scream. It is ODHIAMBO. CHELAGAT jumps up and runs out of the apartment.]


ODHIAMBO

(Writhing in agony, he fumbles to switch on the light.)

Uuuuuwiiiii!!! My stomach!! What have you done to me Chelagat?!! This woman has destroyed me!

[We see ODHIAMBO clutching his abdomen with a puddle of blood at his feet.]

BLACK OUT


ACT THREE

SCENE ONE

[A donut shop in Toronto's east end. About a dozen Kenyan men in their twenties and thirties are huddled over coffee tables talking excitedly.]

MAN 1

I tell you! I don't know what I would have done if somebody did that to me...

MAN 2

Ali was saying that she almost cut it off.

MAN 3

It must be all this Lorena Bobbit thing on television. I am sure that's where she got the idea from!

MAN 4

She is lucky it wasn’t me! A woman could never get away with that in my case!!!!!!!!

MAN 1

That's why I am importing direct from my sweet home in Nyalgunga. You can't trust any of these Kenyan women here in Canada even if they are from back home. Drunk with dreams of equality! When things are good you think you have a nice Kenyan woman in your arms and then one day you wake up to find this feminist monster sleeping in your bed. You can't trust any one of these filthy double crossing creatures.

MAN 3

Call me old fashioned but I am letting my old man handle all the arrangements. My fiance is from a good family and there will be no question as to who is the boss when she gets here.

MAN 2

Chelagat has been charged with aggravated assault.

MAN 1

I can't wait for the trial to begin next week. She must be taught a lesson. Imagine what kind of example she could set for our women here. She has ashamed all Africans in Toronto.

MAN 4

And yet Chelagat has done so much for us. if it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be here today. Do you know how many times her telephone has been disconnected because of long distance calls about human rights violations in Kenya? I have seen her in every demonstration against Moi. How many people from the President's own tribe are prepared to work for his downfall? Chelagat is usually the first one to sign a petition or post bond for someone detained by immigration. Who knows more refugee lawyers than her?

PAUSE.

Why did she have to be such a fucking crazy feminist bitch?

MAN 3

I always had problems with the way she tries to look like a man, speak like a man and dress like a man. She is so beautiful. Why doesn't she put on a skirt like a proper lady. Somebody told me that she is a secret lesbian.

MAN 2

Now we are all agreed that Kenyan women these days are brainwashed but what you are saying is absolute nonsense. These are the 1990s not the 1890s!

MAN 1

Well guys, I have to go. I am on night shift this week.

MAN 3

I am on night shift every week. At home !

[Several of the men scatter. The rest chatter on.]

END OF SCENE.


SCENE TWO

[ZUHURA is in SHARON's office.]

ZUHURA

Who is this lawyer you were telling me about?

SHARON

Her name is Carol Blackman. She has a very good record. Remember the Margaret McKenzie case?

ZUHURA

You mean the woman who took the Etobicoke fire department to court for not hiring Canadian women as fire fighters?

SHARON

She helped Margaret get a handsome settlement. She is also involved in the appeal against the Thibbadeau decision.

ZUHURA

It sounds like she has more experience in civil matters.

SHARON

All I know is that she is a strong feminist lawyer. And that is what Chelagat needs right now.

ZUHURA

Does she take legal aid cases?

SHARON


Of course. Do you want to try other lawyers?

ZUHURA

No. Why do you say that?

SHARON

It's just that I was beginning to get the impression that you don't really like Carol?

ZUHURA

What's wrong with you this morning Sharon? Can't I ask you a question without you thinking I don't trust your judgment?

[SHARON reaches out and gives ZUHURA a long affectionate hug. For a few minutes they do not say anything.]

ZUHURA

It's been a nightmare ever since they arrested her. I remember that night when she showed up at my place with the bloody knife in her hand and the fire in the eyes. But she was not afraid. She was not happy. But then she was not sad either. She said she just came to tell me what had happened. She insisted on calling the police. I tried to persuade her to leave town, tried talking her into going to stay with my friend in Vancouver for a while until things cooled down... She wouldn’t hear of it. She said she had done nothing wrong, nothing to be ashamed of. Before I could say another word she was dialing 911... Oh my God! What an experience! I have never seen so many cops in one room at the same time. Uniformed police, detectives in street clothes, the special guys from the SWAT team... Firefighters stumbling over ambulance drivers... And I don't know how City TV and the Toronto Sun got there so fast... The worst part was when they pinned her against the wall and searched her for weapons... The handcuffs.. I just could not bear the sight...

[ZUHURA breaks down and sobs.]

SHARON [still comforting ZUHURA.]

Chelagat will be alright. Don't worry. We'll see this thing through to the end...

SCENE THREE

[A court room in downtown Toronto. It is packed with spectators and the media. A judge. A prosecutor. A jury. CHELAGAT is in the prisoner's dock. Her lawyer is skimming through a thick law text as the prosecutor makes his final submissions.]


PROSECUTOR

Your honour the crown had the burden of proving that the accused assaulted the complainant, Odhiambo Otieno, causing actual bodily harm. We have attempted through our witnesses and the introduction of material evidence to discharge our burden of proof.

Your honour I believe the crown has successfully discharged its burden of proof.

We have the recorded testimony of the accused herself. In that document, which the accused wrote herself after being advised of her rights there is a direct admission of guilt.

The accused goes into graphic details to show how she planned and carried out this heinous act on the unsuspecting complainant.

She states, and we quote her: " I took the knife to bed with me. I was determined to teach him a lesson if he dared to touch me that night. I stabbed him the moment he tried to penetrate me by force. I had been waiting for this moment. My only regret is that I cut him in the abdomen. I wanted to chop his ding dong thing off."

PAUSE.

Your honour, those are the words of a cold, calculating, diabolical and violent felon. This was not a crime of passion. This attack did not occur on the spur of the moment. It was no accident.

No amount of abuse would justify the callous way in which the defendant took the law into her own hands.

Your honour, she is no victim who deserves your pity or mercy.

All that Chelagat Sabina Chepchumba deserves is to be punished to the full extent of the law.

Members of the jury, you have seen the demeanour of the accused. She has shown no remorse.

She has not denied that she took a sharp knife and deliberately ripped open the belly of a man who thought of her as a lover and a companion.

Members of the jury, we urge you to return the only verdict which is consistent with the law and with the facts. That verdict is "guilty as charged."

Your honour, members of the jury the prosecution rests its case.


JUDGE [Motions to Carol Blackman to make her submission]

CAROL

Your honour, members of the jury this case is about aggravated assault. It is a case about violence. It is a case about a cold premeditated crime.

PAUSE.

The only problem with this case is that the wrong person has been charged. It is not my client Chelagat Sabina Chepchumba who should be on trial. She is not the one responsible for perpetrating an act of violence on a defenceless human being.

PAUSE.


Your honour a crime has been committed and it should be punished. Justice must be done and seen to be done. Members of the jury there is somebody who is guilty of the offence of aggravated assault.

PAUSE.

That person is right here in this room. Your honour, members of the jury, it is not my client who should be standing trial today. The real culprit is the complainant.

PAUSE.

It is the complainant who is guilty of systematically assaulting my client. My client has medical records showing a history of physical abuse at the hands of this man.

Members of the jury, you heard the testimony of Sharon Persaud, a respected wife assault counsellor affirming and verifying the horrible psychological nightmare that my client has had to endure at the hands of this man.

You heard from Chelagat herself testifying how this man raped her and put her life at risk by sexually assaulting her without even bothering to use a condom.

PAUSE.

Your honour, members of the jury, is this not assault? Does her pain count less? What is rape if it is not one of the worst forms of physical assault? Why are we
here today trying a woman who was at risk at the hands of this brutal monster?

PAUSE.

Members of the jury, it is our submission to this court that Chelagat was a victim at the hands of this man who has the nerve of prosecuting somebody he had so shamelessly degraded and abused.

Your honour it is our submission that Chelagat is a victim suffering from the Battered Women's Syndrome.

SILENCE.


[Chelagat who has been impassive throughout the trial breaks into a sudden shout.]

CHELAGAT

NO!!!!

[Several people gasp in shock. There is a murmur throughout the court room.]

JUDGE

Order! Order!

CAROL

Your honour can we go on a five minute recess so that I can consult with my client.

JUDGE

I will grant that request on condition that we resume the submissions and finish this case.

[Brief recess. Carol Carol can be seen talking animatedly to Chelagat who keeps shaking her head vigorously. An obviously flustered Carol tears at her hair in frustration. She goes back to her desk, collects her books and files and waits for the judge to reenter the court.]

JUDGE

The court is now in session. Counsel, have you conversed with your client?

CAROL

Yes, your honour.

JUDGE

Are you prepared to continue with the case?

CAROL

She is your honour.

JUDGE

Can you finish your final submissions counsel?

CAROL

Actually your honour, I am afraid that I cannot proceed.

JUDGE

I don’t think I am quite following you counsel.

CAROL

Your honour, during the recess I had the occasion to talk to my client. She told me that she objected to being classified as suffering from the Battered Women's Syndrome. I explained to her that this was a key element of the defence's case. I emphasized that her actions could not be explained or justified without reference to the Battered Women's Syndrome. She persisted in her belief that she was not a victim of the Battered Women's Syndrome. I made it clear to her that I would be unable to continue with my final submissions without such a key plank in my arguments. Your honour, I have done a great deal of research (pointing to the heap of files and books on her desk) on this subject and I was going to cite case law and precedents to support my arguments. I was going to demonstrate how the facts in this case fitted similar circumstances where the courts have ruled in favour of the accused in cases where domestic violence could be proved to have been a factor. Your honour I was going to recommend that the accused be acquitted subject to psychiatric assessment and treatment. I had explained the gist of my strategy to my client and there was no objection. I am therefore surprised and disappointed at this turn of events. Your honour, I have given the best legal advice to my client. She has chosen to disregard my expert opinion. Under the circumstances, I have no option but to withdraw forthwith from this trial. Your honour, I would like to apologize for this inconvenience to the court. I deeply regret it.

[With that, she scoops up her files and books and exits the court after a brief bow.]

SILENCE.

[Everybody seems to be talking at once. Rustling of feet. The media people in the court are feverishly jotting down notes.]

JUDGE

May the accused stand up.

[CHELAGAT complies.]

Chelagat Sabina Chepchumba.

CHELAGAT

Yes, your honour.

JUDGE

You have heard what Ms. Blackman has said.

CHELAGAT

Yes, your honour.

JUDGE

Did you understand what she had to say?

CHELAGAT

Yes, your honour.

JUDGE

Do you realize the full implications?

CHELAGAT

Yes, your honour.

JUDGE

Do you wish the court to grant you more time to retain another lawyer?

CHELAGAT

No, your honour.

JUDGE

Are you then prepared to proceed with this case without legal counsel?

CHELAGAT

Yes, your honour.

JUDGE

Are you sure? Do you need some time to reconsider your decision?

CHELAGAT

No, your honour.

JUDGE

Can we then proceed with your final submissions immediately?

CHELAGAT

No, your honour.

JUDGE

Miss Chelagat Sabina Chepchumba, did you not, a minute ago, indicate to this court that you wanted to go ahead with the trial without a lawyer?

PAUSE.

CHELAGAT

Yes, your honour. But I have only one small request that I want the court to grant me.

JUDGE

What is that request Miss Chepchumba?

CHELAGAT

Can the court give me five minutes to prepare my submission?

JUDGE (relieved)

The court hereby is going on another five minute recess to enable the accused person finish final submissions for the defence.


[COURT RECESS. The same excited chatter from people in the room. After five minutes the Judge calls the court back in session]

The court will now hear from the accused who has opted to act in her own defence.


CHELAGAT

[Standing up. She looks dignified, calm and in control.]


Your honour, members of the jury, I stand here before you accused of assaulting Odhiambo Otieno causing him actually bodily harm. In a few minutes you will pass judgement on me.

The main facts are not in dispute. I stabbed Odhiambo Otieno in the abdomen. He required medical attention. I called the police and gave myself up. I wrote a statement in which I admitted that I had assaulted Odhiambo. I was charged with
committing a felony contrary to section... of the criminal procedure code. I am here before you today awaiting judgement.

What is in dispute is the characterisation of my actions and what motivated me to do what I did.

I reject the image painted of me by the prosecution.

The notion of me being a cold, calculating felon is as ridiculous as it is monstrous and false.

I have been living with Odhiambo Otieno for four years. I have been madly in love with him for three of those four years. This mad love blinded me to the gross abuse that I had endured at the hands of Odhiambo. This man who was supposed to be mylover, my comrade, my best friend tortured me in a way familiar to most of the women in this room.

I had to cook for him, wash his clothes for him, clean up after his mess every single time.

I had to have sex with him every time he felt like having sex with me, no matter whether I was in the mood or not. If he felt like having sex with me five times in the night I would have sex with him five times in the night. If he felt like having sex with me at 7:30 or 8 O'clock in the morning before I went to work I had sex with him at seven o'clock in the morning. If he was in the mood for action at six o'clock in the evening when I had just arrived from work we would have to do it then.

On the other hand, if I wanted to have sex and he was not in the mood then I would not have sex. If I wanted to do it a different way, in a different style he would stick to the missionary position.

In the meantime Odhiambo used to beat the shit out of me whenever we had an argument. What were our arguments about? They were about what some of you may call " the little things". You know, so called "trivial matters" like doing the dishes, sweeping the floor, not leaving the toilet seat up... throwing out the garbage.. If I asked a question like "Odhiambo, why didn't you take the garbage out last night?" I would get a tongue lashing about how I was always nagging him when he had more important things to think about.

Two of my ribs were broken by Odhiambo three months ago. Last year he knocked out one of my teeth. I have a scar on my chest from the time I cut myself on a broken beer bottle during one of the many beatings I endured. Odhiambo has tried to literally choke the life out of me on two occasions. A year and a half ago I miscarried after Odhiambo kicked me in my belly because I did not have dinner ready and had pleaded with him to stop drinking.

The first time I said no to Odhiambo's constant demand for sex he went ahead and raped me anyway, forced himself on me without a condom to punish me for suggesting that he may have had a homosexual encounter when he was a political prisoner in Kenya several years ago.

That night when I said no for the first time was the same night that I stabbed Odhiambo. It is true what the prosecution said, I was trying chop off his dick and I honestly and sincerely regret I was not able to do that.

PAUSE.

You have seen a very capable lawyer walk out of this court unable to continue with my defence. I respect Carol Blackman for her professional competence and the strength of her feminist convictions.

I thank Zuhura and all those women who rallied to find a lawyer and raise funds for my case.

PAUSE.

However I cannot agree with Carol Blackman's characterization of me as a victim suffering from battered women's syndrome.

I am not a neurotic or psychotic woman who needs psychiatric help.

I refuse to be pathologized.

PAUSE.

Fighting against oppression is not an abnormal condition which needs psychiatric intervention and years of therapy and counselling.

PAUSE.

What syndrome are the South African people suffering from? How about the Palestinians and the Irish? What mental illness are the militant people of South Korea grappling with? Under what strange delusions and feverish hallucinations do the people of Guatemala and El Salvador find themselves?

Are working people insane when they resist exploitation? Are colonized people mad when they struggle against imperialism?

Are people of colour off their rockers when fight against racism?

Are people with disabilities neurotic when they reject the madness of the able bodied power elites? Are young people demented when they tell grown ups to get off their case?

How about lesbians, bisexuals and gays? Are they crazy when they stand up against homophobia? Are we women raving mad, are we really insane, are we actually psychotic when we take up arms against sexism, when we say no to patriarchy and defend ourselves against male violence?

PAUSE.

Your honour, members of the jury, that is all I have to say.

LONG SILENCE.

[The jury retires to consider the verdict. They do this by going to sit among the audience. After a few minutes a member of the jury stands up in the audience indicating that they have reached a verdict.]

JUDGE

Members of the jury, have you reached a verdict?

FOREMAN

Yes, your honour, we have.

JUDGE

What is your verdict?



THE END