For many people in the United States, what happens in Central America has little or no influence on their everyday life. However, some people from America have taken trips and devoted their lives to promoting peace and solidarity in Central American countries.

Highlighting the work done in Central America is Margaret Swedish, founder and director of the Religious Task Force on Central America and Mexico based in Washington, D.C.

Swedish will be on campus Saturday to present a lecture titled, "The Spirituality of Solidarity: Walking in the shoes of our Latin American neighbors." The presentation will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Weasler Auditorium.

Students and faculty are encouraged to listen to Swedish as she speaks about the importance of remembering and learning from the murders of four American church women in El Salvador in 1980. Swedish also will be presenting information from her book, "Like Grains of Wheat: A Spirituality of Solidarity."

The theology department, thanks to the help of Associate Professor of Theology Michael Duffey, is sponsoring the event. Duffey is a member of the Central America Awareness Committee, a group of various faith communities in the Milwaukee area devoted to aiding those in Central America who don't have a voice.

"Every year the committee commemorates the death of the four American women in El Salvador," Duffey said. "This year we invited the founder of RTFSA (Swedish) to speak."

Duffey encouraged all students to participate. There will be a moment of remembrance for the women and a ceremony, followed by Swedish's talk.

"The talk will not really focus on the deaths, but more on what we can do now," he said.

Many students may be unaware of the unrest in Central America, and Swedish is hoping to change that.

"I want to create a picture of what the global challenge looks like and show how the poor are being affected by the shifts in the global economy," she said.

Katie Line, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, agreed.

"I think it's really important to attend whether you know something about this issue or not," Line said. "Realizing what others go through is invaluable and necessary for one's own experience."

Since it has been 24 years since the deaths, Swedish said the women's legacy still exists and many people today remain displaced. In addition, poverty and persecution continue to go unnoticed by many Americans.

Swedish realizes a talk is not as compelling as traveling to Central America and experiencing the problems, but she wants to challenge her audience.

"My hope is that together, we can have a picture of the world and the poor among us," Swedish said. "To be challenged in how we live and to be inspired to live differently."

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Dec. 2 2004.