(found on fark) They're hunting witches in Gambia

[ColbertWatcher]

Rights group: 1,000 seized in Gambian witch hunt
By TODD PITMAN, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Authorities began inviting "witch doctors," who combat witches, to come from nearby Guinea soon after the death earlier this year of the president's aunt. Jammeh "reportedly believes that witchcraft was used in her death," the London-based rights group said.

Since then, "witch doctors" — accompanied by police, soldiers, intelligence agents and Jammeh's personal guards — have forcibly taken about 1,000 alleged witches from their villages and spirited them to secret locations, Amnesty said. About 300 of them were taken to Jammeh's personal farm in his native Kanilai, east of the capital, the group said.

Most victims were held for three to five days and all are believed to have been released, Amnesty spokeswoman Eliane Drakopoulos told The Associated Press. But many have been terrorized by the campaign and fear it could spread, she said.

Victims are being "forced to drink unknown substances that cause them to hallucinate and behave erratically," the rights group said in a statement. "Many are then forced to confess to being a witch. In some cases, they are also severely beaten, almost to the point of death."

The mysterious liquid prompted serious kidney problems among many, and two people are known to have died after being subjected to the ordeal, Amnesty said.

(more at the link)

--San francisco Chronicle

[TK421]

1. Does anyone know where Ann Coulter has been?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. Yes, this all came up during the general election.

I could make a bad joke about the primaries, but I won't.

[ColbertWatcher]

3. I think this is new, isn't it? n/t

[SoCalDem]

4. Is sarah's precher on a sabbatical there?

:rofl:

[KakistocracyHater]

5. the Christians & Muslims are causing trouble in Africa

Losing believers in Europe & N America they are spreading lies of "witches are everywhere" leading to panic & stampedes from soccer games, child torture & killing-even in the UK, the immigrant community is still falling for this bs. Moderate Christians & Muslims sure have their work cut out for them; I leave it for them to police their extremist parts, I quit believing long ago & have no contact with any church.

http://www.crossroad.to/Quotes/spirituality/African-witchcraft.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4705201.stm
http://tinyurl.com/co79hl Chicago covers modern witchhunts in Africa

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. What the first article actually says is

that a lot of African converts are maintaining traditional practices of witchcraft. (If you've ever read any anthropology, you know that belief in witchcraft is found throughout the world.) In other words, they're syncretists, which is the technical term for people who combine aspects of two or more religions.

The second article makes no mention of either Christianity or Islam.

The third one is also about syncretism on the part of free-lance fundamentalists. Fundamentalists hate mainstream Christians because they think we have perverted the truth.

There is NO mainstream Christian denomination that teaches people to believe in witchcraft.

[tonggrv]

6. crazy

Dark ages are alive and well

Hunting down people because they are accused of being a witch or gay is midevil...