With President Obama on
his way to Africa, is it time for him
to step up and join the battle to
eradicate witch hunting?
Africa Needs Obama to Join Fight Against Witch Hunting (Xewmedia, Senegal)
"President Obama should ask Africans to draw a lesson from European
witch hunting and the Salem witch hunts that occurred in America and condemn the
ritual killing of albinos in Tanzania, hunchbacks in Nigeria, and witch
killings and abuses in Kenya, Nigeria, Lesotho, Uganda and Sierra Leone. .. The
American president should speak out against these superstitious and irrational
beliefs, which cause Africans to commit such atrocities."
Believe it or not, people across a large swath of Africa, like these Kenyan children, are killed every year in witch hunts. Should the American chief executive make a point of mentioning the issue when he visits Africa next week?
Later
this month, President Barack Obama arrives in Africa for a three-nation tour.
Obama will visit Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania and will use the
opportunity to strengthen ties and promote issues of mutual interest. In his
speeches and meetings, Obama will spell out his priorities and emphasize what
is important to the American interest in the region.
I
hope during his trip, President Obama speaks out against witchcraft-related
killings and abuses in Africa. Unfortunately, most world leaders have
maintained a scandalous silence over the wave of witch-hunting ravaging many
parts of sub-Saharan Africa. They refuse to incorporate the issue into their
foreign policies or global development programs.
The
belief in witchcraft and magic is strong and pervasive in Africa, including in Senegal,
South Africa and Tanzania. Accusations about witchcraft are widespread, and
abuses are rampant. Witch hunting is a major human rights, humanitarian and
development challenge for the continent. In fact, beliefs in malevolent magic
and other occult powers presents the greatest obstacle to enlightenment and an African
renaissance. It poses a threat to human dignity, peace and harmony, to mental
growth, to intellectual awakening, morality, and cultural progress.
Most
Africans take their belief in witchcraft quite seriously. The term "witchcraft"
evokes fear, panic and apprehension in hearts and minds. Accusations of witchcraft
corrupt and poison friendly and familial relationships. Many Africans think
witchcraft is a real crime, and treat suspected witches as real criminals. They
attribute all of their misfortunes - poverty, death, disease - to witchcraft
and evil magic practiced by family and community members and commission local
witch doctors to "sniff out" these enemies within.
Those
accused of witchcraft are treated without mercy or compassion. Suspected
witches or wizards are attacked, tortured, lynched or exiled from their homes.
They are subjected to various forms of trial and ordeal. Some are forced to
drink poisonous concoctions to confirm or to disable the powers of witchcraft they
harbor.
Most
accusations of witchcraft and ritual murder take place in rural communities,
and most victims are never found. Such accusations are a symptom of development
failure.
In
Ghana, suspected witches are banished to make shift camps in the north of the
country. In Congo and Nigeria, children accused of witchcraft are abandoned and
forced to live on the street, and in the name of exorcism are subjected to
torture, and inhumane and degrading treatment by pastors. In Uganda, old women
are often branded witches and children killed for ritual purposes. In Kenya, witch burning is rampant, particularly in the Kisii region. In Malawi, elderly women were until recently
jailed for witchcraft. In Cameroon andthe Central
African Republic, witchcraft is recognized by law and suspected witches are
tried in state courts. In Nigeria, accusations of witchcraft are illegal, but
accusations continue across the country with impunity. Witchcraft-related
murders often go unpunished.
In
one of the countries Obama is visiting, Tanzania, albinos are targeted and
killed for ritual purposes. The body parts of albinos are harvested, sold, and
used for ritual potions that many people believe will bring good luck, power
and wealth. Some people mistakenly identify witchcraft as "African science,"
and witch hunting as part of African culture. Many people are afraid to speak
out against witchcraft-related abuse because they believe witches exist and that
witchcraft is real.
During
his visit, President Obama should help raise the profile of the campaign
against witch hunting and related murder and abuses, and help bring an end to
this phenomenon from the dark ages.
Obama
should add his voice to those working and campaigning to stop witch hunting in
the region. He should pressure African leaders to be proactive about
eradicating these horrific abuses by decriminalizing witchcraft, enforcing laws
against witch hunting and supporting the accused victims.
President
Obama should ask Africans to draw a lesson from European
witch hunting and the Salem witch hunts
that occurred in America and condemn the ritual killing of albinos in Tanzania,
hunchbacks in Nigeria, and witch killings and abuses in Kenya, Nigeria, Lesotho,
Uganda and Sierra Leone.
Obama
should also help rally global support for witchcraft accusation victims and people
internally displaced due to witchcraft who languish in camps in Ghana and
Burkina Faso, and children accused of witchcraft living on the streets of Congo's
capital Kinshasha, and Nigeria's AkwaIbom and Cross Rivers states.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
The
American president should speak out against these superstitious and irrational
beliefs, which cause Africans to commit such atrocities. He should ask African
schools, colleges and universities to rise up to the challenge of public
education and enlightenment, combat superstition and other forces of the dark
ages by inculcating the values of scientific temper, critical thinking and
human rights.
From
recent developments in the UK, it should come as no surprise to Obama that
witchcraft-related abuse is taking place, at least among African and Asian
immigrants in the United States. Obama should take the opportunity of using his
upcoming trip to Africa to make a clear and categorical case against witch hunting,
witchcraft-related killings and abuse. This is not only in the interests of
Africa, it is in the interest of the United States and the world.
