|
Witch Hunts: Alive and Well
Posted March 13, 2009 by Shakti Sombrero
Good old fashioned witch burnings are alive and well in March of 2009. If you thought we, as human beings, left this kind of panic and mass hysteria behind us hundreds of years ago, here's a short list of news stories from Africa in just the past few days.
Three Mozambican brothers allegedly lynched their two uncles by burning them to death in Maputo, for apparently being witches, Televisao de Mozambique reported on Sunday.
Jeremiah, 10, stares blankly at a window, tears rolling down his burn-scarred cheeks recounting how his father doused him with petrol and set him ablaze accusing him of witchcraft.
Around a dozen phony pastors have been arrested -- one on murder charges after he confessed in a documentary film to having killed 110 child witches. He now says he killed only the witches inside the children, not the children themselves.
Twenty people have been arrested over last week’s lynching of five people in Kanunda village, Kisii District, over witchcraft allegations.
As old women, they face being hacked to death as "witches", blamed for every virus and sickness blowing across the savannah.
...
"Your days are over, old woman," they said after smashing in her front door with a rock. Her granddaughter ran into the next room. "Stay there and shut up, or you will die, too," they shouted after her. Then they slashed into Shikalile's skull with machetes, and tried to cut off her hands – suggesting this was a witch-killing. Her granddaughter hid until morning, then ran for help.
It was too late. Shikalile's blood still stains the walls, and the small wooden chair where she sat in her last moments of life. Her family – huddled here for the funeral – have to sleep in this room. They have nowhere else to stay until they return to their own villages.
Witch killings are a daily event in Sukumaland. The victims are almost invariably old women, living alone.
Sibayan location chief Paul Kipyegon Koech told the court that residents were baying for Philip Chumo’s blood and urged the court to keep him in custody until the situation calmed down.
Mr Chumo, who is facing a charge of possessing charms, had been granted a Sh10,000 bond with a surety of similar amount but declined to go home fearing for his life.
Finally, an extremely disturbing video from Kenya in which five people suspected of "carrying charms" (typical evidence of witchcraft) were beaten and burned alive just days ago while the whole village watched. This video is graphic and disgusting, but a shocking reminder of the dangers of irrational mass panic. You've been warned.
Witch hunts still claim thousands of lives every year in Africa. Precise statistics are unknown but the killings appear to be on the rise rather than in decline. Superstition, lack of education, belief in supernatural powers, and economic hardship all drive this sickening phenomenon.
|
Top Threats!
Jan 25 - Mar 8, 2008
|
|||||||||||||||||
© 2008 Panicwatch.org