Albino girl, 11, killed and beheaded in Swaziland ’for witchcraft’

[Cleanelec]

Absolutely horrible that these stone age practices exist today.


An 11-year-old albino girl from Swaziland was shot dead in front of her friends and then beheaded in what police believe was a ritual murder.

The child had been washing clothes and bathing at a river with friends and was returning home when she was grabbed by a man wearing a balaclava.

As her friends looked on, the man shot her in the back before dragging her away. Her headless body was found upriver a short time later.

The murder is the latest in a series of albino killings in Sub-Saharan Africa, where sufferers of the rare skin pigmentation condition are concentrated.

Earlier this year, another 11-year-old albino child was killed close to the same spot in Swaziland and her hand was removed.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/swaziland/7956458/Albino-girl-11-killed-and-beheaded-in-Swaziland-for-witchcraft.html

[Arugula Latte]

1. Superstition, religion, faith in the supernatural --

Belief in the irrational has dire consequences the world over.

What a horrible, horrible crime.

[Enrique]

3. and greed of course

the albinos' body parts are very valuable for their supposed magical properties. :-(

[hlthe2b]

2. Ignorance and cruelty are so dangerous in combination...

and the cruelty humans can do to one another has no bounds.

[Name removed]

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[Odin2005]

5. Ugh!

:cry:

[Gabi Hayes]

6. may not have been xtians involved here, but Palin's minister would have surely loved to have

been involved.

remember?

Palin’s minister drives out witchcraft, makes Obama’s minister look completely sane in comparison


Thomas Muthee is a minister from Kenya who has repeatedly preached at Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin’s church (Wasilla Assembly of God). This is not some long-past connection, nor is it a situation where the church one time invited a visiting minister who they didn’t know was a wackjob. Muthee has been a visiting minister there since 2005, and most recently preached at Palin’s church this past weekend.

From Wikipedia:

Muthee and his wife returned home to Kenya from Scotland, where he had finished his graduate studies, in 1988.<3><4> They soon felt that they were “called by God to Kiambu” and after six months of prayer, research, and “spiritual mapping,” they came to believe that a witch known as “Mama Jane” was the cause of crime and spiritual oppression in the area.<1><3><4><5><6>

Muthee alleged that “top government and business leaders afraid to do anything without her approval,” that at least one person per month would die in a car accident in front of her “divination house” (otherwise known as Emmanuel Clinic), and that she harassed his congregation.<3><4><7> According to Muthee, soon after his followers began to pray that God would either save or oust Mama Jane,<3><4><7><8> three young people died in another apparent accident in front of Mama Jane’s clinic.<3><4><7>

The angry townsfolk wanted to stone her in retaliation, and when the police entered Mama Jane’s home to intervene, they were apparently startled by what they believed to be a demon and shot her pet python to death.<3><4><6><7><8> Mama Jane was then questioned by police, after which she left town.<3><4><8> Since then, Muthee has frequently referred to his witch-hunt as an example of successful spiritual warfare.

http://lastfreevoice.wordpress.com/2008/09/25/sarah-palin/

[Name removed]

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[lightningandsnow]

8. I love how people will explain crimes against people with disabilities...

as anything other than the products of an ableist society targeting disabled people.

And by love, I mean hate.

And by ableist society, I mean ours too.

[MisterP]

9. Jean and John Comaroff call this the (recent) result of an "occult economy"

where the massive unemployment and crises of a world without socialism produce an "occult economy": business-oriented fortunetelling, mercenary witchcraft, Ponzi schemes that extend into the supernatural, such as the Evangelical "prosperity gospel" where you worship in order to be blessed with health and wealth. They note that prosperity-gospel "churches" are literally storefronts where you walk in as a client and select your service; these have Beemer advertisements and lotto numbers on the altars, and testimonials on the walls. This magic is based on the magic of the market, where money is held to multiply itself without any labor input: witchcraft has gone neoliberal! Magic infiltrated by a bloody capitalism can quickly turn far bloodier than any "autochthonous" pre-conquest human sacrifice.

This pragmatism in turn leads to violence against those suspected of harming and exploiting others for their own or another's gain. It's not that witchcraft scares have been a perennial problem for darker-skinned Primitives or benighted pre-Moderns; such scares are closely connected to crises like the Reformation or the global slum that neoliberalism and environmental degradation produce. Of course, many will just use these stories to trumpet that we have to destroy African culture and "teach" those ignorant barbarians how to be RationalTM in the correct, European style...

[BlancheSplanchnik]

10. great analysis.... wow, the massive crises of a world without socialism

"occult economy"... capitalism and survivalist magical thinking..... wow.

who are Jean and John Comaroff? I'd like to read more of them.

[csziggy]

11. Tanzanian albinos are fighting back - with soccer!

The team was originally called the Albino Magic Team. At that meeting I suggested that they perhaps they reconsider the name. My concern was that since one of the factors contributing to albino killings is the belief that albinos have supernatural and magical powers, having the name Albino Magic Team would be sending the wrong message. They agreed and asked for my suggestion. Since unity is the goal, I suggested 'Albino United' and also jokingly said they'd be like Man United (who are also very popular here). They liked it and are now Albino United.
http://tanzproject.org/blog/Albino_United_Soccer_Team.html

This is why they are being killed:

Tanzania's Albino Killings

Jun 13, 2010 Stan Neal

In recent years increasing numbers of Albino's have been killed in Tanzania as their body parts are valued by witch-doctors

Since 2008 albinos in Tanzania have been forced into an increasingly precarious existence. Tanzanian witch-doctors have offered huge amounts of money for the body parts of albinos, which they use in potions that are supposed to bring prosperity. These potions are in high demand for those working in mining or fishing activities and as a result, not only have albinos been killed but albino bodies have been exhumed to gain access to the particularly valuable albino organs, which include: genitals, limbs, breasts, fingers and the tongue.
Albino Killings

Easy to identify in Black African societies due to their pale skin (caused by a pigment defect before birth) albinos in Tanzania have become increasingly isolated and the albino community has instructed albinos to avoid travelling alone due to the potential risks. There are an estimated 17,000 albinos in the country and over a two year period, 2008-2009, there were over 50 witch-doctor motivated murders.

In a country where there is widespread poverty it is unsurprising that such killings are prevalent as witch-doctors can generate thousands of dollars through the manufacture and sale of potions that bring prosperity. The only way to prevent this worrying trend is for the Tanzanian government and general population to collaborate in bringing this practice to an end.

Read more at Suite101: Tanzania's Albino Killings http://www.suite101.com/content/tanzanias-albino-killings-a248646#ixzz12gNzCr8N

An academic paper on the albino killings in Tanzania:
http://sandiego.academia.edu/makulilo/Papers/155503/ALBINO-KILLINGS-IN-TANZANIA

[eppur_se_muova]

12. This team was profiled in a program on Nat Geo Explorer...

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/community/blogs/explorer/_albino-murders

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/4820/Overview

WARNING: Something is goofy with NG's Web site. Can't get the second link to open right now.

[csziggy]

14. They are very brave - and I hope they can make a difference

I think I saw that show and it is how I learned about the team.

I did not realize that albinos are denied basic rights in many African countries. I keep hoping humans will evolve past this kind of crap, but I guess we need to evolve past the need for superstition first.

[eppur_se_muova]

13. Sadly, such killings are a regular occurence in that area ...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/news/2010/08/100817_albino_xn_sl.shtml

[HEyHEY]

15. Wow, if I had an albino kid I'd get it the hell outta there