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 The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?!

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GeckoShinx
Youngling
GeckoShinx



The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?! Empty
PostSubject: The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?!   The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?! EmptySat Mar 28, 2009 4:48 pm

I don't know if anyone's seen reports of this over the past few weeks but it really is shocking...I know that witches are a big part of African culture in many countries, and they are culturally feared, but still...makes you think

"Gambia gripped by fear as leader scours country in search of witches"


A state-sponsored witch-hunt has begun in Gambia where as many as 1,000 people have been kidnapped from their villages and taken to "secret detention centres" then stripped, beaten and poisoned.

The campaign launched in the tiny West African nation is the latest manifestation of the increasingly brutal and bizarre rule of President Yahya Jammeh, who has claimed he can cure people of Aids. Now the President is thought to believe he is under attack from witches.

Witnesses and victims of the abductions told Amnesty International that the President's personal guard, along with armed police and intelligence agents have accompanied witch doctors brought in from Guinea to round up suspects. Many of those taken from their homes were elderly people who have then been held for up to five days in appalling conditions, made to drink hallucinogenic concoctions and forced to confess to black magic powers.

"At 5am, the paramilitary police armed with guns and shovels surrounded our village and threatened the villagers, saying anyone who tries to escape will be buried 6ft under," one witness who cannot be named told Amnesty. "They randomly identified over 300 men and women who were forced at gunpoint into waiting buses and ferried to the President's home town." Once there, the witness said they were stripped and forced to drink dirty water with unidentified herbs which caused diarrhoea and vomiting. Those who eventually confessed to being a witch were then beaten.

"I stayed there for five days. I experienced and witnessed such abuse and humiliation. I cannot believe that this type of treatment is taking place in Gambia. It is from the dark ages," the victim added.

The Gambia, which was once fought over by the British and French as a staging post in the slave trade, is a small sliver of land surrounded by Senegal. As a young army lieutenant, Mr Jammeh ended its post-independence experiment with democracy in a bloodless coup in 1994. Since taking control, Mr Jammeh, 43, has won three elections, all marred by widespread intimidation and arbitrary jailing of his rivals.

The increasingly paranoid and unpredictable ruler had his most prominent opponent, Halifa Sallah, imprisoned earlier this month after he wrote a newspaper article condemning the activities of the witch doctors. The President is said to believe that witchcraft was responsible for the recent death of his aunt and responded by bringing in his own witch doctors from Guinea.

The witch-hunt has so far concentrated on Foni Kansala district, an area near to President Jammeh's farm of Kanilai. But there are fears that the kidnappings may spread across the nation and hundreds of Gambians have already fled into Senegal.

The President of the smallest African mainland country caused an international stir two years ago when he invited reporters and diplomats to witness him curing Aids and asthma sufferers. Dressed in a white West African garb and plastic surgical gloves, he laid out patients in the State House and rubbed a green paste into their bodies before making them swallow a "bitter yellow drink". He insisted the cure could only work on Thursdays and required that patients immediately stop taking anti-retroviral drugs. A UN official who dared to question his Aids "cure" was thrown out of the country. Last year, the President said homosexuals should be beheaded.

Even those close to him have begun to question his sanity and many former aides have fled after falling out with him. "He often targets those close to him," said Tania Bernath, a Gambia expert with Amnesty. "He becomes paranoid that they're plotting against him. There are some questions over his mental state and he is said to be increasingly erratic."

Many African leaders, including Senegal's Abdoulaye Wade see Mr Jammeh as an embarrassment but not yet a threat to peace and stability in the region. His latest action may prompt a rethink.
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Freakshow
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Freakshow



The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?! Empty
PostSubject: Re: The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?!   The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?! EmptySat Mar 28, 2009 5:03 pm

Wow, that's shocking lol

I can't believe they'd treat their own people like that just because they don't understand the culture or religion of Witch craft. I can't talk for African witches, but Pagans or Wiccans are peaceful people who are at one with nature and do not as far as I know, dabble in black magic.

the myth of witches being 'evil' - like you see in films like the Wizard of oz, or any film about evil witches - i think started during medieval times I believe, when men would be unfaithful to their wives, of course only a witch could've made a man stray from marriage by placing him under a spell. And if an attractive woman came into power, it had to be black magic at work. And what if a woman was gaining power through a powerful man? It had to be a witch, an evil witch. he was under a spell. Basically, women were blamed for any downfall of a man, and accused of being a witch, even by other women who were less fortunate than other more powerful or beautiful women.

I think I am right, we have a member who is a witch, so maybe he could interpret what this article really means and shed light on the true ignorance at work here. lol
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GeckoShinx
Youngling
GeckoShinx



The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?! Empty
PostSubject: Re: The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?!   The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?! EmptySat Mar 28, 2009 5:16 pm

It is not really ignorance, its a deep mystical fear of witchcraft which has been engrained in African culture and history for thousands of years. However, such practices do trace back to European practices, I'm unsure of the dates but I'm sure that other member you were talking about may be able to help me out there. It's just such a shame that such thought hasn't really developed because it's having an awful effect on thousands of Gambians. I remember back in 2005 or 2006 around 30,000 people were killed in DRC, just completely terrible.
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Freakshow
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Freakshow



The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?! Empty
PostSubject: Re: The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?!   The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?! EmptySat Mar 28, 2009 5:19 pm

yes it was a poor choice of words, I guess a few years ago i'd be accused of the same ignorance. Not because I watch films but because I didn't care to scratch the surface enough to discover real truths and lies.

the government of the country in question should know better though. That, is ignorance.
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GeckoShinx
Youngling
GeckoShinx



The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?! Empty
PostSubject: Re: The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?!   The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?! EmptySat Mar 28, 2009 5:22 pm

I think African government in general are in trouble to say the least, I mean they don't get the best press and many of them don't let African politics shine in a good light. It's never a problem to admit that you were once ignorant of these things, so was I, but if you didn't have those experiences before then you wouldn't be able to appreciate the thoughts you have now Smile Or that's the way I explain it lol!
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Freakshow
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Freakshow



The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?! Empty
PostSubject: Re: The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?!   The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?! EmptySat Mar 28, 2009 5:35 pm

its shocking really, it seems so primitive.

yeah, my experiences and new willingness to learn has changed my outlook on life nearly 100% and it IS more enjoyable. So is the food i eat! Very Happy
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Fenrir
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The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?! Empty
PostSubject: Re: The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?!   The witch-hunt in Gambia - what the bloomers?! EmptySat Mar 28, 2009 11:04 pm

wow.. i thought the world was over all this now.

hope they dont come to norwich hahaha
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