Last night Channel 4 broadcast Saving Africa’s Witch Children, as part of its Dispatches strand. The programme focused on children accused of being witches by Pentecostal pastors in Akwa Ibom state in the Niger Delta area of Nigeria, and the work of the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network. Several pastors were featured, including Helen Ukpabio, who has featured on this blog several times in the past, most recently here. The problem makes for grim viewing: we see children who have been horribly mutilated, and in one case left brain damaged after having had a nail driven through her skull; others appear withdrawn and tearful after being rejected by their families and threatened. We also see the hostility of aggressive and angry adults against the charity workers who challenge the witch teaching and offer support to children living rough.
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It use to be Christians burned people at the stake. Now they hammer nails into children's heads. Anyone feel this just might possibly be child abuse and that pentecostal pastors everywhere should be rounded up? I mean it is their beliefs that are at the base of this if the posting is to be believed.
It just goes to show how medieval and evil fundamentalism really is. The blood of innocent children cries out for pity and revenge!
ZI am disgusted and revolted, and very angry for these children.
It's not enough that they try to make a theocracy here. It's not enough that they try to take over all of society. It's not enough that they try to force their ideas in Iraq. It's not enough that they killed Jews, Muslims, and Pagans in the past. Now, they go into Africa, and rip children away from their parents and force their beliefs there too. Christians can just go fuck off and die.
I think I saw that program, or one like it. The shamelessly manipulative propaganda, put out by Christian organisations, that has fueled the current witch hysteria in Africa would give Sam Raimi a run for his money in terms of nerve-wracking, visceral depictions of horror.
The problem with Africa is that the Church IS NOT HELPING. It supplants and adds it's own stupid to the mix. Suffer not the witch to live, is a horrible line to say when you think witches are real.
We fight these things by education and common sense, but that's the problem. Those things kill religion and the church does not want to lose it's power over man. It lost it in it's home land but not in it's new followers who merely added more crazy to the list.
The "Charity Workers" often are NGOs from christian groups since the church refuses to work with atheist charities (except for things like Medicin Sans Frontier)
@Mortok: you misunderstand, the charity workers mentionned here aren't missionaries spreading babblical bullshit, they are sensible and decent people trying to protect and shelter the young victims of the "witch kids" collective hysteria currently ravaging Nigeria. The culprits are the unscrupulous Xian "preachers" (who should be called witch doctors) who prey on the superstition of the poorer and least educated parts of the Nigerian population.
This is a highly lucrative racket: once the "witch finder" has accused a kid (and even babies aren't safe) of being possessed by a witch-spirit, even parents who don't believe that bullshit have no choice but to pay for an exorbitant exorcism or to attempt to flee, if they don't want to find themselves the targets of a superstitious mob. The whole thing reinforces the power/influence of the "pastors" (who would risk speaking against them, when that means that one of your own kids will probably be the next "witch"?), and it lines their pockets: one exorcism can cost as much as what the parents earn in one year, with cases of kids held hostage until the parents have fully paid...
This is confusing. It's the Pentecostals nailing children shit, whoops, I mean mutilating children, and the Nigerians telling them to fuck off?
It gets a little blurry near the end.
anonymous #836571,
As someone who was accused of being possessed as a child, all I can say is where the hell do I sign up to adopt one of these kids?
3 dogs, 6 cats, possibly a horse (my instructor has a SPCA rescue coming in tomorrow), what's a couple of kids thrown in the mix.
Edit:
I have to say, this is the first one here that has really choked me up. I've been over to the site; they want to return these children to their parents? What the hell? That seems insane!
Nowhere, no time, no place, should this sort of thing happen to children. This is absolutely abominable.
Alot have been said about the witch-finder in the person of Helen ukpabio. If in the near future you discover that all that have been said about her are false, what will you do? you have heard so such about this woman and you believe all the stories, if actually you are concern about what is happening to those children, why don't you come over to the city of calabar in cross River State and gather the primary source of information about the whole matter before expressing your grievance
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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