‘Enemy of the People’

It was a brilliant production with an impeccable representation by its stellar cast.

My husband and I were among the audience together with a handful of journalists and members of the public, in its debut at M Space in Msida, a few days ago. An array of emotions ran through my heart as the story unravelled.

The storyline revolves around a doctor appointed by the state to determine the viability of a water source. A brother who is politically exposed and hungry for power. A journalist who backs down from a promise as she succumbs to higher pressures driven by power and greed. A family, faced with the dilemma to do the right thing.

Intense emotions ran through my heart and mind as a postperformance debate ensued. Sadness, frustration, hurt, disbelief and loneliness were some of my feelings. I knew it was not my place to express my emotions. My feelings would have taken over and it was not the time or place for that to happen.

I had to abide by my 48-hour golden rule and sit on my emotions. I had to allow my reason to kick in. I knew that like the doctor’s character in the play, some realities are never allowed to be told. I knew then as I know now, that good has always lived alongside evil and that sometimes good people get caught up in unpleasant realities.

I also knew that, like the doctor in the play, some need to live in silence with the truth for all their lives.

During one particular scene, the mayor confronts his brother the doctor, with the words, “Are you man enough to take the bullet?”

The doctor’s wounded heart and passionate soul was left with little choice as a cruel frame-up threatened to tear his family apart. The audience was left wondering whether the doctor’s character would succumb to the threats or fight back and risk losing his family.

I have lived through enough stories to know that these narratives reflect a human reality which is often left untold.

How many will be silenced into oblivion before humanity turns in on itself and commits suicide? How many innocent souls will be lost before we wake up to this reality?

These and many more questions torment my soul as my silent scream struggles to emerge.

I know the pain of the doctor, the wife, the journalist. The betrayal of the brother, the state and the messenger (the media). I understand the scream of the people who demand the truth and nothing but the truth and understand the pain of the doctor who wants to do the right thing but is gagged and chained to a false reality.

There are inconvenient truths which if exposed would unbalance a system which has been based on lies since time immemorial.

How many more wars fought and how many more lives lost will it take for one to see?

The reality is that we all thrive on a belief system which creates a bubble around us, a comfort zone for us all. Each one of us needs those beliefs in order to survive. An inner psychological world is created based on these beliefs.

When the outer reality conflicts with our inner world (the belief system), tension is created, a tension which leads to anxiety. Very few people choose to bear with this anxiety. It is all so normal, I guess.

There are however, a few good men and women who choose to courageously step out of their comfort zone and challenge that perceived reality.

Men and women fighting for the truth, the real truth. These are today’s heroes.

Are you one of them? Would you take a bullet for your ‘brother’?

I know a couple of brave kind souls who did!