Though 1692 marked a tragic year in early American history, it wasn’t the first or last witch hunt that ended in the murder of innocent people. The practice thrives in remote areas of the world including: South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon, Sierra Leon, and Papua New Guinea to name a few.
The accusers haven’t changed—zealous, naïve, uneducated Christians who interpret the bible literally. And the “witches” are still the easiest targets in the community. While some are elderly, the rest of these evil heretics may surprise you.
Children. Most are under ten.
Relying on priests and prophets to keep them safe from the devil’s workings and his followers, poor villagers follow “leaders” claiming to have a gift to identify witches. Children are accused of causing illnesses, death, famine…you name it. The parents pay priests to hire local villagers to beat, torture, or murder the children. The families then have to pay the priests for their family to be redeemed from the wickedness inflicted by the wicked child.
It’s a profitable business for the “priests” who own luxury cars and elaborate homes while their followers can’t scrape together enough money to eat.
The lucky children die. The ones who survive are left with psychological scars that often outweigh the physical disfigurement they’ve endured—being set on fire, whipped, and poisoned. And worst of all, these babies, toddlers, and young children have to deal with the knowledge that their parents abandoned them willingly because they believed a stranger’s lies.
Some charities are trying to intervene and even individuals have opened their homes to rescue these forgotten castoffs at great risk to their own safety.
In addition to the horrible brutality taking place, this generational and community-backed genocide raise problematic concerns. How do you change a faith-based belief that’s so ingrained? What will it take to show the masses that the real evil is standing right in front of their eyes…and, sometimes, in their own reflections?
Sources:
CNN
The Observer /guardian.co.uk
Suite101.com – anthropology
Suite101.com – paganism/wicca
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