Global Voices Online

Stories

Angola: Children as young as 6 face accusations of witchcraft

Clara Onofre · 22:38 · Sub-Saharan Africa

lingua → pt · fr · de · zht · zhs · es

Angola was recently shaken by terrible news of abandoned, ill-treated, tortured and killed children accused of witchcraft. One of the recent cases was in the municipality of Sambizanga in Luanda. According to local newspapers, the National Police rescued dozens of children who were locked inside a room where a bonfire was lit burning jindungo (a type of chilli). One of them faces the danger of losing an arm due to gangrene caused by blade cuts. The abusers believe that through this method the evil living in the children's bodies can be released.

This evil practice is usually promoted by members of certain “churches”, which in most cases are illegally open to the public. Driven by a mystical, malicious, ignorant spirit or simply by the desire to get rid of one more mouth to feed, family members are primarily responsible for such attitudes. By believing in witchcraft, they condemn their sons, nephews or stepchildren to appalling suffering when something goes wrong in their homes.

Blog Angola Saudades brings one of these sad cases to light:

“Makiesse é sobrevivente de um fenómeno perturbante que surge em Angola nos ultimos anos: acusações de feitiçaria contra crianças acompanhadas de maus tratos, abandono e nalguns casos, a morte. A madrasta acusou Makiesse de ser feiticeiro e ter provocado a doença que matou o seu pai. Não podia comer com a família, dormia na latrina, levava porrada diariamente e era forçado a rituais de purificação que mais parecem tortura – jejum, golpes e reclusão. Makiesse tinha seis anos. “Eu dizia que eu não sou feiticeiro, que talvez o feiticeiro usa a minha cara à noite. Mas ninguém acreditava”, conta Makiesse ao PlusNews. Um dia os familiares deitaram-lhe petróleo. O tio impediu que o queimassem vivo. Cedo, tirou-o sorrateiramente do Uíge para a capital Luanda a 345 quilómetros. Deixou-o num centro da igreja católica que abriga crianças de rua. Isso foi há três anos. Makiesse apenas foi visitado duas vezes pelo irmão mais velho”.

“Makiesse is a survivor of a disturbing phenomenon that has appeared in Angola in recent years: accusations of witchcraft against children followed by abuse, neglect and in some cases, death. Makiesse's stepmother accused him of witchcraft and of having caused the disease that killed his father. He could not eat with his family, he had to sleep in the toilet, he was beaten every day and was forced through purification rituals that seemed more like torture - fasting, punches and incarceration. Makiesse was six. “I would say that I am not a witch, the witch might have used my face at night. But no one believed me,” said Makiesse to PlusNews. One day the family threw petrol on him. His uncle prevented him from burning alive. He sneaked him from Uige to the capital Luanda, 345 km away. He left him at a Catholic church that shelters street children. This was three years ago. Makiesse has only been visited twice by his older brother.”

A few years ago, a study on the impact of such practices against children from the perspective of human rights' protection, carried out by the National Institute of Children (INAC), was released. The study reported that such charges against children became common at the end of the 90's, with no relation to local peoples' historical traditions. According to the study, the appearance for this type of attitude is due to the changes in family structure and in the meaning of kinship relationships, such as maternal ties and their respective connection with taking care of children.

In Angola, accusations of witchcraft and abuse against children are deemed valid, which minimizes the seriousness of cruel acts carried out by families in the eyes of society. After being charged, children rarely reintegrate themselves within their families because of stigma and discrimination. This brings us to another issue: the increase of street children. Feeling uncomfortable under accusing glances from relatives and neighbors, they opt to live on their own on the streets of this country.

Noticias Cristãs [pt] blog echoes another case:

“Doze crianças acusadas de feitiçaria e abandonadas pelos seus familiares foram retiradas das ruas de Luanda pelas Irmãs da Congregação do Bom Pastor. As histórias contadas pelas crianças que fizeram das ruas da capital a sua morada durante algum tempo, comoveram as freiras que decidiram começar um processo de nova vida para os menores. O caso mais recente é de uma menina de 11 anos acusada de ter morto a própria mãe usando feitiço. A superiora da congregação conta a história: “O pai abandonou a criança na rua e na altura foi interceptado pela polícia porque batia nela e ele disse que a filha tem 11 anos e é feiticeira. Disse que comeu a mãe e que recebeu o feitiço do Congo e que ele poderia ter a mesma sorte e então decidiu abandonar a menina. A criança foi levada para casa das irmãs no Palanca, por alguém que a encontrou a chorar na rua. Fui ter à casa onde eles moravam e encontrei alguns familiares, mas todos eles confirmaram que a menina é feiticeira. Conversei com eles, tentei convencê-los mas não houve maneira e disseram que era melhor não deixar a menina com eles porque estava reconhecida como feiticeira”.

“Twelve children accused of witchcraft and abandoned by their families were removed from the streets of Luanda by Congregação do Bom Pastor's sisters. The stories told by children who lived on the capital streets for some time moved the nuns, who decided to begin a process of new life for the children. The most recent case is of a 11 year old girl accused of having killed her mother by using a spell. The congregation's superior tells the story: “Her father left the child in the street and at the time he was stopped by police because he had beaten her up. He said that his daughter was 11 years and a witch. He said she had eaten her mother, had received Congolese spell and that he could have the same luck, so he decided to abandon the girl. The child was taken to the sisters' home in Palanca by someone who found her crying in the streets. I went to the house where they lived and met some relatives, but they all confirmed that the girl is a witch. I spoke with them, tried to convince them but there was no way and I was told it would be better not to leave the girl with them because they recognized her as a witch.”

The government and civil organizations have launched campaigns to raise awareness and alerts to prevent abuse against children. Other projects such as sheltering centers and legal accountability for such abuse are two other important developments being carried out by authorities.

Hopefully, the situation will change completely. We hope children will be able to enjoy their childhood peacefully in Angola without losing hope of a better life. Hopefully, Angolan society will stand up with determination in this fight that has already crossed national boundaries. We hope parents and relatives of victims of abuse are held accountable and brought to court as a sign of warning to others.

7 comments · read »

Brazil: Over 80 deaths in the worst environmental tragedy

Paula Góes · 22:09 · Americas

lingua → pt · zht · zhs

Over 80 people have been killed in landslides and floods caused by heavy rain in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, and the death toll is rising by the minute, as rescue workers sift through the wreckage of the flooding that started at the weekend. At the moment, it is believed that 1.5 million people have been affected, and about 160,000 people are without electricity. There is no drinking water either, and people are starting to suffer from hunger too. Many of the roads in the region have been blocked by mud and water and eight towns have been cut off by the flood waters.

The federal government have helped by providing helicopters and boats to try to reach stranded residents, other states are sending aid, including clothes and food. Santa Catarina declared a state of emergency. This has been already declared the worse environmental tragedy in Brazil, and the rainy season is only beginning. Robson Souza [pt] has taken many pictures with his mobile phone and published them on his blog. They report on the situation in Itajaí from 5:20 through 15:30, local time, on November 24:

Over 50,000 people were left homeless by weekend rains as 20,000 homes were destroyed. Some of them are living in shelters improvised by local authorities. Rogério Christofoletti [pt], also from Itajaí, is one of the 20,000 people sheltered at friends' houses:

Cerca de 80% da cidade de Itajaí está sob as águas, e todas as classes sociais estão atingidas. Dos miseráveis aos ricaços, ninguém foi poupado. Mesmo quem não foi diretamente atingido está sofrendo as conseqüências: veja o caso dos meus amigos Isaías e Raquel, que acolheram a minha família e mais outras duas em seu apartamento. A cidade deve sofrer nas próximas horas com falta de água, alimentos, combustíveis… Boa parte da cidade, metade dela, está sem energia elétrica. Deixei minha casa, e depois conferi que cerca de 30 ou 40 cm de água havia invadido o local. Não pude permanecer lá. Saí no domingo de manhã, antes mesmo da água chegar. Fui com mulher e filho para um local seguro, e em seguida, fomos auxiliar no Colégio Dom Bosco, onde centenas de pessoas chegavam molhadas, com frio, com fome, e sem nenhuma esperança. Perderam tudo. Distribuindo roupas para as pessoas, eu via nos olhos delas um misto de vergonha, de desalento, de perplexidade. Um sofrimento intenso, difícil de escrever aqui.

About 80% of Itajaí city is under water, and all social classes are affected. From the very rich to very poor, no one was spared. Even those who were not directly affected have been suffering the consequences: like my friends Isaías and Raquel, who welcomed my family and two others into their flat. The city shall suffer in the next few hours with a lack of water, food, fuel… Much of the city, half of it, has no electricity. I left my home and then checked that about 30 or 40cm of water had invaded the place. I could not stay there. I left on Sunday morning, before the water reached [us]. I went with my wife and son to a safer place and then we went to help at Don Bosco College, where hundreds of people were arriving wet, cold, hungry and without any hope. They had lost everything. When I was distributing clothes to people, I saw in their eyes a mix of shame, hopelessness, perplexity. An intense suffering, it is hard to write here.

Coré [pt], from beach resort Balneário Camboriú, went to work at the weekend normally, just to realise later how serious the situation was:

Ao chegar lá a loja estava vazia, e ficou assim boa parte do tempo até começarem a chegar os primeiros “sobreviventes” das enchentes - pessoas simples que perderam tudo e foram retirados de barco pela defesa civil. Na hora tive que manter o jogo de cintura e continuar a sorrir, por mais que todas as pessoas com quem trabalho ficassem com aquela cara de “mas eim?” ou “que absurdo!” porém no fundo cada pessoa que entrava na loja era um pedaço do meu coração que quebrava, cada centavo que eles gastavam na expectativa de começar tudo do zero era uma lágrima que eu queria que caisse do meu rosto. No entando continuei ali, sorrindo.

When I arrived there, the shop was empty, and it was like this much of the time until the first “survivors” of the flood started to arrive - poor people who had lost everything and were taken by boat by the civil defense. At the time I had to be flexible and continue to smile, even if all the people who I work with had that “but WHAT?” or “that is absurd!” face. But deep down, for every person who entered the shop a piece of my heart broke, every penny they spent in anticipation of starting everything from scratch was a tear that I wanted to shed on my face. However I was still there, smiling.

Gambá [pt] from Blumenau is now trying to get back to normal:

É assim mesmo. Depois que as águas baixam, começa imediatamente o trabalho de limpeza. Uma tarefa difícil que requer muito esforço físico e controle emocional. Primeiro a retirada da lama acumulada (mais ou menos 20 cm), ver o que pode ser lavado, reaproveitado, esperar secar e recolocar tudo no lugar. Como ainda não temos água nas torneiras, hoje passei o dia desmontando o que restou dessa garagem aí em cima. Tô morto de cansado. E amanhã tem mais. Muito mais.

Way to go. Once the waters go down, the cleaning work begins immediately. It is a very difficult task that requires physical effort and emotional control. First there is the removal of the mud (more or less 20cm) accumulated, then we see what can be washed, reused, we wait for it to dry and put everything in place. As yet we do not have running water, I spent the day today taking down what remained of the garage up there. I am exhausted. And tomorrow there is more. Much more.

The picture above was taken by Rodrigo Stulzer [pt], who happened to be going to Santa Catarina for the weekend and documented the floods. They reminded him of another holiday he spent in the state as a child:

Eu já havia pego em 1983 uma grande enchente em Santa Catarina. Estávamos eu e minha mãe, de barraca, em Balneário Camboriú. Os primeiros dias foram muito legais. Íamos para a praia de dia e à noite eu brincava com as outras crianças do camping. Joguei muitas partidas de War naquelas férias. Mas daí a chuva começou… e não parou mais. Acabamos ilhados no camping e conseguimos ir até a casa de uma amiga, depois que a água baixou um pouco. O desespero bateu quando a água quase entrou no banheiro do camping, onde estávamos, junto com as outras pessoas. Eu tinha 12 anos e chorei de medo. Back to 2008 e eu agora casado e com um filho de 6 anos. Os tempos mudam mas a natureza continua a mesma.

I had seen a big flood in Santa Catarina in 1983. We, me and my mother, were camping in Camboriú Spa. The first days were very nice. We went to the beach by day and at night I played with other children in the camp. I played many War games those holidays. But then the rain started… and it did not stop. We were just isolated in the camp till we managed to go to a friend's house after the water dropped a little. Desperation came when the water almost hit the camp's bathroom, where we were, along with other people. I was 12 and cried with fear. Back in 2008 and now married and with a 6 year old child. Times change but nature remains the same.

Many new blogs and citizen media initiatives have been set up quickly in this time of tragedy. Itajaí Council decided to publish a last minute blog, with updates about the heavy rains in the city. Also from Itajaí, Blog dos Desabrigados [Blog of the Displaced, pt] has a search system where people can find where their friends or relatives have been sheltered, and for people to ask for news of their missing loved ones. A volunteer supporting network has also been set up at Arca de Noé [Noah's Ark, pt] blog, where people can send photos and videos, provide news on the situation in some places and also find out how to help and about volunteer opportunities. One of the twitter tags is #SC.

9 comments · read »

Congratulations Pour in on Queen Rania's Youtube Award

Mohammad Azraq · 21:06 · Middle East & North Africa

lingua → ar · fr

Bloggers from across the Middle East and North Africa are tipping their hats to Jordan's Queen Rania, and her visionary initiative on YouTube, after she was awarded YouTube's first-ever Visionary Award for launching an interactive online channel to combat stereotypes and misconceptions associated with Arabs and Muslims.

In a post titled ‘Why I love Queen Rania?’, Jordanian blogger Moey writes:

Maybe because she’s the most pretty ever and she knows what brands to wear and what to wear, or maybe because she won the Visionary Award on YouTube Live. I’m not sure yet, I just love her

Andaluss, from Morocco, notes:

I stumbled upon Queen Rania’s Youtube channel. Apparently she’s been Vlogging since 2007, and has as a mission; the breaking down of the stereotypes surrounding Arabs & Muslims around the world. She’s many video responses that you can watch on her Youtube channel. And by the way she’s just won a youtube award.

The sad thing though is that people don’t realize that Muslims were the ones who invented: Paper, shampoo, ink, coffee, chess (yes chess is an Arab invention), pin hole camera, vaccination, surgery, soup, earth is in a sphere shape, calender, numbers.. just to name a few!! Google & find out more.

From Israel, One Voice peace initiative posted on its blog, saying:

Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan has been given the honor of YouTube's first Visionary Award, for her outreach to youth encouraging them to confront and deconstruct stereotypes of the Muslim world. We are always so impressed with her courage, vision, and leadership.

“Queen Rania sets the standard for breaking down stereotypes and her YouTube videos are nothing short of inspirational,” Al-Arabiya quoted YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley as saying. “It is both a pleasure and an honor to present her with this much-deserved tribute.”

Also from Palestine, the Philistine writes:

She may be queen of an ancient land. But this week word emerged that Queen Rania of Jordan was winner of a distinctively 21st century honor. She has been given YouTube’s first-ever Visionary Award for launching an interactive online channel to combat stereotypes and misconceptions associated with Arabs and Muslims, Jordan’s Petra news agency reported.

Her video, “Send me your stereotypes,” was viewed by more than 1 million online users. Another video received 1.4 million page views within weeks, prompted 83 video responses from other users, and generated nearly 6,000 comments.

And finally, from the Queen’s kingdom Jansait posted the video which the Queen released on the occasion and wrote this one line :

We are Stronger when we Listen, Smarter when we Share

0 comments · read »

India: First photographs of Mumbai blasts on flickr

Neha Viswanathan · 20:01, November 26th, 2008 · South Asia

lingua → fr · it · ar · es · pt · bn

The first photographs from Mumbai on flickr are coming up. Vinu from Vinu's Online Cloud has uploaded a lot of photographs from the streets of Mumbai.

MumbaiHelp is back online and offering to make call for anyone who can't get through to their families and friends.

Leave a message if you're trying to get through to pals in the city.

Preferably leave a cellphone number for both yourself and your friends / family, and we'll try and SMS them.

Tip: Suggest you avoid calling. Lines are bound to be screwed. SMS direct instead.

Meanwhile, Gauravonomics writes on “Real Time Citizen Journalism in Mumbai Terrorist Attacks”

The Mumbai terrorist attack is now on the front page of Google News and Mahalo is doing a great job of compiling the story as it unfolds.

The first photos of the Mumbai terrorist attacks are up on CNN-IBN and NDTV and both (CNN-IBN and NDTV) are streaming live video feeds of the unfolding situation.

I’ll be updating this post with more citizen generated resources on the Mumbai terrorist attacks as they are put up.

26 comments · read »

India: Terror attacks continue in Mumbai

Neha Viswanathan · 19:38, November 26th, 2008 · South Asia

lingua → it · es · bn

In what appears to be a surreal sense of reality, television channels are airing footage from the various places in Southern Mumbai that are being attacked. Ultrabrown writes -

A large-scale S. Bombay terrorist attack is going on right now using automatic weapons, hand grenades and possibly a taxi bomb. Commandos and military are supposedly being rushed in. Gunfire is still being heard on live TV.

And the logistics of living in a country which constantly finds itself under terrorist attacks. Meandering thoughts… writes

A friend called from Mumbai to find out if I'm fine and mentioned that he's actually made groups in his phone's contact list - one for each metro city of the country. Makes it easier for him to react and find out about family and friends every time a blast happens.

I'm beginning to realise he has a point.

Worryingly, there already is a sense of conflicting information from various sources. While some mainstream media sources suggest that the situation is under control, others give the impression that there maybe a hostage situation developing in some of the hotels, especially with foreign nationals being held by the terrorists.

Tweets from Mumbai were one of the first to break the news. Manic Scribe writes.

A bunch of terrorist are in the midst of a co-ordinated attack on Mumbai, India. The reports first started trickling in on Twitter, of all places, as I follow a few people who live in Mumbai. They have actually heard the explosions.

India Retold writes

They are still there, firing and waiting to take the police on. The lobby of Oberoi Hotel has been set on fire. A petrol pump in Colaba has just been blown up, as this is being typed. Dadar station has been evacuated. An explosive laden taxi has been blown up in Ville Parle. Two terrorists have entered GT Hospital. They are exchanging fire with police near Metro cinema. Some terrorists have even commandeered a police jeep and are moving around in it firing indiscriminately. Incidents of blasts/ firing/lobbying of hand grenade have been reported from at least nine places. And the number is only increasing even at this hour past midnight. Live firing can still be heard on TV. It is 12:31 AM.

As the minutes go by, more reactions emerge from the blogosphere. An angry post at Doing Something For My Country!!

Makes me wonder what will make our so called LEADERS to stand up and notice of whats happened and again happening… They of course do not realise the importance of lives of INDIANS, otherwise some concrete action might have taken place… Calling the INDIAN POLITICIALS WEKELINGS AND COWARDS would be the understatement of the century…

The attacks came quite late in the night on a weekday. Chances are that the city will take a few days before things return to normal. (Once was) Mumbaiwallah writes

It's 00.17 on 27 November as I write. CNN on Twitter tells me that the city is under seige again. A grenade apparently went off at CST and shooting was reported in Colaba. NDTV.com live tv shows that the Oberoi lobby is on fire and an ‘encounter' is on at the Taj and Trident Hotel.

Trains on the central line have been stopped until further notice. 20 people have been reported dead at this time.

93 comments · read »

India: Blasts, Gunfire and Terror in Mumbai

Neha Viswanathan · 19:01 · South Asia

lingua → fr · pt · bn · es

In a series of blasts and shoot outs, the city of Mumbai appears to have come under attack. According to the news, there appear to be at least seven different locations in the city that have been attacked. In an unprecedented sort of terror, a combination of gun fire, blasts, grenade blasts have been used to attack cinema halls, hotels, hospitals, and other public places. A mainsteam media report states

At least four people are reported to have been killed and 15 are injured as unidentified groups of gunmen opened fire in at least four places across south Mumbai on Wednesday night.

In a one line post, a view on markets and life evokes the confusion and shock of the event.

Sirens outside my window. Please make it a safe night.

On Twitter, several people are tweeting from Mumbai, and there appears to be very little information available. There is some amount of speculation if this is indeed a terror attack. Mumbai used to witness gang wars, but these haven't been heard of in a decade.

An online community for engineers posts the events as they happen

10 minutes before (10:45 PM IST) there is an Open Firing and Explosion reported in South Mumbai. Till now there is no Casualities reported. Atleast 15 Injured and 1 policeman injured. AK47 used in Firing .

So far 5 Confirmed Incidents reported in Shooting. 3 Confirmed Dead !

Firing reported in CST (Chatrapati Shivaji Terminal), Taj Hotel, Colaba Causeway and VT Station. Reports Confirmed its a Terror Attack. In VT Station atleast 15 people Feared Injured.

A post at Retributions reminds us that the threat of terror is very real in India. A post at Staccato articulates a similar thought - of the mindless terror attacks that have repeatedly struck various cities in India.

Bomb blasts in Bombay as we speak.
Phones jammed. Can't reach my family.
I've gone through this before.
Not panicking.

Another post echoes the fear and helplessness.

it is extremely scary to watch all this on the news.
i'm immoderately shaking in fear right now. i never get so shaken up by news. it's the distance that's doing this. if i was in bombay i might not have been watching the news so carefully.

People in the city blog the sheer shock. The attacks have come at a late hour, and after the office rush hour. Himadri writes

There was this friend of his who had just returned from Colaba. A firing had just occurred near Bade Miyan where he was eating. And as we were discussing and dialling random numbers on the cellphone, we heard three explosions within seconds or minutes of each other. The ground shook. This was not just another night.

We switched on the television. And the firing still goes on outside, in batches of 4-5 rounds. As I am writing this, there are sirens of vehicles, police vehicles echoing in my ear. There are 6 people in my living room now, watching the news. Two of them were sitting at Leopold, where there was a shootout earlier. One is a broker, and another one his friend. I am here, my roommate is here. Aunty is in her room, Babloo is cursing everyone to disturb his sleep. And We are together. Only unity can fight this.

Even as this post is being written, there are reports of more attacks and encounters in the city.

49 comments · read »