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| One of the witch camps. |
I recently went to visit a friend about 6 hours from Tamale. We were able to visit a small Dutch NGO which supports young girls and boys who have come from troublesome situations and were unable to attend school. The Organization from what I learned focuses a lot of education and ensuring all children not only attend school but also participate in extra-curricular activities which usually have some educative theme. It was a simple concept which seemed to work- working with about 25 plus children ranging from 1-18 years old. The children come from situations ranging from being outcast from their communities after being rapped to young girls whose parents have given them up due to economic challenges.
When we arrived we were greeted by one of the women who work for the project. The woman was expelled from her community she had fallen into a hot pot of oil which killed her baby and disfigured both her face and body. While there we met a little girl, just barely a year old who was expelled by her community after her mother died during child birth- the community saw the child as a “witch baby” and likely would have killed her , she was brought to the NGO who now take care of her. The little girl was ADORABLE, so innocent yet would grow up knowing she was excluded by her family and community and seen as a witch a label which carries serious burdens within this society.
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We truly live in an unfair world when children are beaten to death or banned from their homes after being accused of sorcery. |
Since coming to the Ghana I have come across many instances where women have been casted as witches. I often read a newspaper article which tells a story of a woman being burned to death or expelled from her community due to being accused of sorcery. The stories usually have to do with one person accusing another of their misfortune.
Just the other day I was walking to the office with two co-workers and while walking one of my co-workers pushed me to the side, she didn’t want me to walk over this "white powder" which was on the ground. Apparently, according to her the powder was a curse put on someone and if I was to walk on it I would also be victim to the spell. It’s become very normal for people to talk about spells, sorcery and pad-locking (which is when someone puts a curse on someone in order for you fall in love with the other person or do what they want etc). A few months ago I had a conversation with my neighbor about witchcraft- he explained that the majority of Ghanaians (and I know this isn’t limited to Ghana) believe in some sort of witchcraft, when something goes wrong it can easily be blamed on someone putting a curse on another.
Within the Northern regions there are about 10 “witch camps” where women and children who have been outcast from their families and communities go.These women can be seen as the lucky ones as in some cases women are killed, burned or stoned. The camps are seen as safe grounds where witchcraft can’t be practiced. I read a paper which explained this ws because the land was considered “sacred”. On the camps there is a “trial” to see if the woman is a witch- using a chicken thrown in the air to determine the woman’s fate. The reality of it all is pretty sad, and many of the children in some of these camps can no longer attend school; rather they support their mothers through domestic duties. Many women can never leave these camps and spend decades away from their community and family.
Im still trying to wrap my head around this, and find it difficult to keep my mouth shut when someone tells me about these "witch" stories!
I found this article pretty interesting if you wanted to read more about it: http://www.actionaid.org.uk/102630/news.html
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