Liam Neeson’s The Marksman is a work of fiction but the timing of its release necessitated this intervention. The world is in an emergency, from the point of view of victims. The world is currently riddled with victims of all shades and forms. Many have nowhere to look for deliverance. Abuse, molestations, oppression, discrimination, deprivation, defamation, destruction and so many other manifestations of victimhood. The capabilities of traditional agencies and constitutional instruments of state, are being stretched such that they are almost struggling to catch up with the pace of, and manifestation of man-made wickedness and evil, in many places across the world.

As a metaphor, the marksman is an announcement that the cry of today’s victim has transformed into a pull on the conscience of certain persons to heed the call to battle. Every now and again, we are advised to pick our battles. The advice has its merits as has been proven by history. But what happens when instead of picking our battles, the battles pick us? That’s the context to situate Liam Neeson’s The Marksman as a metaphor. He was minding his business, struggling to meet his mortgage obligations, and continually grieving the death of his beloved wife, when ‘the cry of the victim,’ dragged the battle to him. He was hesitant at first but later decided to ‘own the fight.’ He could have walked away but he didn’t because the ‘battle’ had picked him for the assignment.

In the following days we would present ten deductions, in terms of recommendations, for those who may be selected by the battle to stand up and fight for the victim.