Witchcraft

Is Witch-hunt back in Europe?

The convenient assumption that Witch-hunt, a synonym for the combination of medieval cruelty and barbarity, is just a dark chapter in history that we all love to forget as if it didn’t exist, was dealt a severe blow this week with the disturbing emergence of the details of the practice among some immigrants of African origin in the United Kingdom.

The details of the torturous death of Kristy Bamu, a 15-year-old boy, at the hands of his own sister – and her boyfriend – that emerged during the trial of the murder at the Old Baily, clearly indicate that it was not a one-off incident.

The Metropolitan Police did not mince its words when issued a warning that children are being abused and murdered in increasing numbers in Britain because their African relatives think they are “spirit children” – in other words, potential witches.

Kristy Bamu, a French national of Congolese origin, was hit in the mouth with a hammer, had his ear twisted with pliers, had bottles smashed over his head, and finally drowned in the bath by his sister, Magalie, and her boyfriend, Eric Bikubi at their flat in Forest Gate, East London on Christmas Day, 2010. He had died after suffering 101 horrific injuries at the hands of the pair.

According to the eye-witness account of another sibling, a teenage sister, the only ‘crime’ committed by the unfortunate boy was wetting his pants.

The boy was killed as the culprits had been convinced that the victim was possessed by evil spirits. The macabre findings were pertinently described by the prosecutor Brian Altman QC, when he said that the defendants were responsible for ‘unspeakable savagery’ over four days in the locked eighth-floor flat.

This is one of the high-profile incidents involving the witchcraft among the African communities in Britain. In 2000, there was another barbaric murder of a young girl in similar circumstances which shook the nation to its core: Victoria Climbié, an eight-year-old girl from the Ivory Coast, was tortured to death by family members who believed she was possessed by the devil.

In both cases, the involvement of the own family members of the victims, menacingly stands out to symbolize the cultural element of the practice. Since some Africans believe in the witchcraft, authorities fear the practice may be much more widespread than it appears on the surface. There have been instances where mutilated body parts of African children were found dumped in rivers in mysterious circumstances – yet another element of the evil practice.

There is ample evidence that the slaughter of ‘spirit children’ by their thousands in certain African countries. Then, there were the murder of albino children – and selling their body parts - in the same context in Tanzania and Burundi. However, a few thought that African immigrants would be able to extend the practice towards the heart of Europe while defying the openness of the society in every sense.

It is an acknowledged fact that in Democratic Republic of Congo where Krsity Bamu originated from, thousands of children have been forced to live in the streets – having being accused of sorcery.

The scale of the problem in Europe has been aggravated by the fact that some Africans believe in the occurrence of witchcraft – and everything associated with it – despite living in the 21st century Europe. So, the experts believe that certain communities are well aware of the abuses that take place in the form of children being beaten, starved, burnt, and blindfolded or having chilli rubbed in their eyes – something they choose to ignore due to misguided belief in the practice.

The exponential growth of the number of churches with typical African’ flavour’ gets in the way when authorities tried to nip the practice in the bud in the past. These churches accept the existence of witchcraft and the right of the church to exorcise the affected – almost as an extension of its divine authority.

When a church could be set up in a place as modest as a living room or a garden shed, the crack-down on the rogue institutes becomes much more challenging than conducting an arbitrary raid. Since these churches are often exclusively for the Africans, what goes on in the name of exorcising is anyone’s guess, especially in the light of brutal murder of a few kids in England.

In this context, it is no exaggeration that the assessment made by those who really want to see the end of the practice in Britain - as the recent trial being the tip of a large iceberg. Therefore, it is high time human intervention preceded the divine intervention, as this is a very special case.

http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2012/03/04/witch-hunt-back-europe

Yep. I've read that there re still a lot of people in African nations being accused and harmed because of this. I suspect it is mostly done by the uneducated and in rural areas of Africa. But immigrants are bringing that stuff (belief in and persecution of) witches to the more...civilized (for lack of a better word) nations.

Dennis324 wrote: the more...civilized (for lack of a better word) nations.

Well, if one definition of civilized is you don't torture children to death because you think they're a witch, then yeah, the west counts as more civilized....

And what can you say about a place you can have stories like this:

http://www.iol.co.za/the-star/invisible-penis-case-put-on-hold-1.1117330

http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/01/24/us-goat-idUSTRE50M4XT20090124

I liked this part.

His wife was also accused of turning into a snail and terrorising the community

Dennis324 wrote: I liked this part.

His wife was also accused of turning into a snail and terrorising the community

Yeah, would have to be one seriously bad-ass snail to terrorize a whole community.....