Where child sacrifice is a business (BBC) {horrific stories}

[eppur_se_muova]

By Chris Rogers
BBC News, Kampala

The villages and farming communities that surround Uganda's capital, Kampala, are gripped by fear.

School children are closely watched by teachers and parents as they make their way home from school. In playgrounds and on the roadside are posters warning of the danger of abduction by witch doctors for the purpose of child sacrifice.

The ritual, which some believe brings wealth and good health, was almost unheard of in the country until around three years ago, but it has re-emerged, seemingly alongside a boom in the country's economy.

The mutilated bodies of children have been discovered at roadsides, the victims of an apparently growing belief in the power of human sacrifice.

'Sacrifice business'

Many believe that members of the country's new elite are paying witch doctors vast sums of money for the sacrifices in a bid to increase their wealth.
***
more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15255357

[sakabatou]

1. I remember that one article about an albino kid

who was killed for "magical properties."

[TheMadMonk]

4. Well you're well insulated. Whether it takes place on top of a pyramid...

...in central America a thousand years ago, or beneath the cornerstone of a structure in central Africa last week, or symbolically in a goblet of wine and a platter of chewwy bread, it's ALL the same fucking superstitious bullshit.

Freedom of EXPRESSION? HELL YES!

Freedom of BELIEF? (The surrender of self control/determination.) What the fuck ever.

Freedom to impose ? FUCK NO!

The first ammendment (and it's analogues around the world) is in desperate need of pruning/redefinition. Even unto the point of paradox: Subjucation by choice from the POV of the "subjucated" is OK. Subjucation by imposition, IS ONLY EVER AN INVITIATION FOR IMMEDIATE RETURN OF THE FAVOUR (and that unto death if necessary).

[Withywindle]

11. No, if one is literal and one is symbolic, they're NOT the same.

Let's be real here - Catholics eat a bread wafer and take a sip of wine. Yes, it's symbolic of cannibalism and vampirism, but it is NOT the same as actually killing or hurting a person for a "magical" body part. It may be superstitious, but it's just not comparable to actually butchering real humans for real meat, and it's disingenuous and offensive to say it's the same.

[piratefish08]

17. nothing symbolic about it..... transubstanation. look it up.

the bread and wine are actually Jesus' body and blood. They just APPEAR to be bread and wine.

if you don't believe this to be true - well, take it up with the Catholic Church - they make the rules.......

[Withywindle]

19. I know Catholics believe that. That's OK with me, it doesn't matter.

I don't believe that. But the important distinction is that no one is actually being hurt in the making or consuming of wafers and wine, so it's NOT even close to actual human sacrifice.

[piratefish08]

20. I agree with you - I was in a dickish mood this morning........

none of it really matters to me.......

:)

[LeftishBrit]

14. There's a difference between the symbolic and the literal!

Murder is not the same thing as some sort of symbolic activity.

[WinkyDink]

16. WTH does "you're well insulated" mean?

[sakabatou]

21. WTF does any of that shit have to do with killing a kid for his body?

[canetoad]

8. Killing of albinos

For body parts is rife in Tanzania. For some reason there is a larger percentage of albinos than normally found in populations.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7518049.stm

[sakabatou]

22. Thank for finding that article

[JDPriestly]

2. This is too horrible to even read or contemplate.

We have a lot of children who are sacrificed to the drug habits or alcoholism or anger and violence of their families, but nothing like this, nothing remotely comparable to the story this article tells. It's so awful that it is hard to believe it is true. Is the author of this article really certain about this story?

[Poll_Blind]

3. Make no mistake about it- Awali is a serial killer and there is nothing that anyone could do...

...to stop him that would cause me to bat an eyelash.

I...have always been a little weirded out that there is a point in my response to human behavior where my compassion just stops. Doesn't trail off or anything- just falls off entirely, and I cease to view the perpetrator as a human or even as an animal, worthy of any consideration in any context.

PB

[FedUpWithIt All]

5. So what can be done? Is there some organization, besides the British media, putting pressure

on the government?

We sponsor a child from that area and this is just too unthinkable. I want to make it stop.

[EdMaven]

6. it was unheard of but re-emerged? what?

i don't believe it, something else going on.

sure, africans have all these crazy uncivilized "traditions" like child sacrifice. the life of a child is nothing to them. they're just savages no matter how you dress them up in western clothing.

that so many so easily take this at face value is what's amazing.

[Poll_Blind]

7. Your skepticism is not unwarranted. However this is apparently a serious problem there.

Not only is Awali on film at the link describing how the sacrifices can be carried out but there is a comprehensive report from the http://www.jubileecampaign.co.uk/child-sacrifice-report">Jubilee Campaign which goes into more detail and from which this image was taken. Blurred out but the unadulterated picture is in the report at the link.



Awali is a bafere, a "fake witchdoctor". According to the report there are about 650,000 registered healers/witchdoctors, with about 3 million practicing in total. However these bafere use radio and print media to advertize their "services" and are often confused with representing traditional magic.

PB

[EdMaven]

9. A british ngo & a picture of some guy describing it don't convince me.

it doesn't make sense & if it doesn't make sense, it ain't so.

for starters, there's no tradition of child or human sacrifice for good luck in uganda. or anywhere else in africa.

and just as everywhere else, africans in general are protective toward children, their own & other people's, and there are social mores forbidding cruelty to children. also forbidding murder except under defined conditions like self-protection, war, & retribution.

something else going on. imo.

and i would bet it's something to do with stirring up intra-african conflict.

the founder of jubilee is a british baron & mp, catholic, and very much involved in promoting christianity in conflict zones, or whatever geo-political spookiness that promotion is a front for:


Episode 7 - Sudan

Guests:

John Pontifex, Head of Press and Information, Aid to the Church in Need (UK);
Faith McDonnell, Director of Religious Liberty Programs, Institute on Religion and Democracy and Director of the Church Alliance for a New Sudan;
Rev. John Chol Daau, Former Lost Boy, founded the first Christian newspaper in Sudan.

Since Sudan gained its independence from the UK in 1956, various Islamic military regimes have dominated the country. It is illegal in Sudan for non-Muslims to share their faith with Muslims. Lord Alton and his guests discuss how Christian leaders have been jailed and beaten simply for meeting people interested in coming to Christ. Many church leaders are in danger and reports of kidnappings and killings have become more frequent.

http://www.ewtn.com/series/shows/theSufferingChurch/theSufferingChurchEpisode.htm

[BlueMTexpat]

12. While I share much of your unwillingness to accept this at face value,

especially where so-called "Christians" and their agendas are concerned, please don't forget how children were (and, to some extent, still are) being stolen from their families and turned into killing, raping automatons in West Africa. And don't forget the infamous Idi Amin.

Yes, in my experience, the overwhelming majority of Africans adore children and would sacrifice their own lives rather than have any harm come to their own or others, no matter how impoverished their own circumstances. But there are elements among those societies who have as few scruples as we in the so-called developed world seem to.

We may not actually massacre children outright (except in our bombings of civilian areas, etc.), but whenever our policies result in any children not having education, decent food, health care, shelter or security, the numbers of those adversely affected even to the point of death are far greater than the numbers of those physically sacrificed by crazy zealots for whatever twisted purpose. Our own horrors are every bit as terrible as theirs.

And, if this is actually happening as described, I have no doubt that it is the wealthy "haves" that are behind it, just as those same wealthy "haves" are behind our own horrors.

Follow the money.

[EdMaven]

13. "if this is actually happening as described" is exactly what i question.

[BlueMTexpat]

25. Except that "follow the money" is exactly the issue here

and the morals of those who love money - no matter where in the world they live - are also skewed.

Ugandan children - not alone in this - have had a very rough time of it since the Millennium, which is even more ironic because the Millennium Development Goals were specifically intended to improve the lot of children, especially in the developing world. Around 30,000 Ugandan children were reported to have been captured and forced into becoming child soldiers. It wasn't just the NGOs and the BBC that were reporting that a few years back.

This is also not the first report of child abduction for sacrifice in Uganda in recent years. There have also been credible reports coming from other sources. Even UNICEF (which has quite a few "boots on the ground" in Uganda) reports that "Violence against children is a continuing concern, and overall much remains to be done to strengthen child protection, service provision, monitoring and reporting." http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/files/Uganda_2010_Annual_Report_-Summary_.pdf

So, whatever your knee-jerk reaction, don't dismiss the story out of hand.

[EdMaven]

27. which money are you following? i don't see there's any follow the money there.

[WinkyDink]

18. You apparently have not been keeping up. See:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1015609/Children-mutilated-drained-blood-ritual-killings-African-politicians-hoping-election-luck.html

http://religiouschildabuse.blogspot.com/2010/11/rapid-growth-of-evangelical.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8441813.stm

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lisa-derrick/christian-extremism-witch_b_154685.html

[EdMaven]

24. I don't take everything I read in the media as gospel & I don't think anyone should.

Especially the daily mail, lol.

I hate Judge Judy, but I do agree with her: If it doesn't make sense, something else going on.

[Jim Warren]

10. Horrific story

also please pay attention to the child slavery and labor abuses happening in many places that supply you with your everyday consumer items.

[LeftishBrit]

15. All pretty horruble

[JohnyCanuck]

23. K&R n/t

[JCMach1]

26. Saw the video version... they are doing a series on this...

:(