Assassin’s creed

It is not about the outrage being expressed over the attack on a public figure. People in positions of influence are attacked, all over the world, all the time.

And it is certainly not about the politicking and pontificating that flooded the media after the terrible incident.

This article is actually about a young boy. He used to be what Fr Harvey would call a victim. You see, this boy wanted to be an assassin.

In theatre sessions, his first instinct would be towards killing any opposition. One reaction was to ban him, but we begged for him to continue with our programme.

Coming from very humble circumstances, he attends a school with a large proportion of vulnerable young people, many with stories like his or worse. His parents separated, his grandparents did not show him love and his mother could not cope.

Although we were not sure how, we promised that we would turn the situation around.

But we had something to work with; his natural talents as a musician and the fact that basically he is a very loving, giving person. Also, we worked on his mother, forced her to stop wallowing in self-pity and take responsibility for her boy child.

He ended up being one of the lead performers in our productions, was on stage with us at Carnival and has performed publicly with his classmates, without us being part of the process.

I was drawn to the story of another boy. The Church of St Martin de Porres, where Fr Harvey knelt praying when he was attacked, was named for a man who was rejected by society because he was extremely poor and descended from enslaved people.

According to research, St Martin de Porres was born in Lima, Peru, in 1579. He had to leave school early to work, as his father had abandoned him, his little sister and mother. St Martin de Porres was drawn to the church, but the law in Peru did not allow descendants of Africans or Indigenous peoples to “become full members of religious orders.” Over time, he persevered and was eventually accepted into the Dominican Convent of the Rosary in Lima. He became renowned for his healing powers, miraculous abilities and rapport with animals.

The story is told that during an epidemic, when he was reprimanded for breaking the rules of the convent by caring for the sick, his response was, “Forgive my error, and please instruct me, for I did not know that the precept of obedience took precedence over that of charity.” Naturally, after that they left him alone to continue his good works, including founding a safe space for orphans and abandoned children.

Like St Martin de Porres, Fr Harvey displays a stubborn determination and clarity of purpose. It was Fr Harvey who in the 1970s broke unstated church rules to introduce the drum and local music into worship. He understood that the spirit of revolution needed to find relevance in the spiritual realm.

He also understands that the boys who attacked him are really the victims. The boy who wanted to be an assassin only just escaped this life, but he has left behind too many young people for whom this life is a reality, and too many parents who cannot cope.

So, I guess in a way this article is about Fr Harvey. He has been calling for urgent action to curtail the attraction of the assassin’s creed in the communities he serves. Maybe, now that his life has been put in danger, maybe now someone will listen.

D a r a Healy is a performance artist and founder of the NGO, the Indigenous Creative Arts Network – ICAN