The Voodoo Practitioners Of Old London Town

[hokum6]

Hundreds of children vanishing

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4541603.stm

Hundreds of African boys have disappeared from London schools, police investigating the murder of a boy whose torso was left in the Thames have said.

Scotland Yard asked London education authorities how many black boys aged four to seven had vanished from school.

Between July and September 2001, 300 children had disappeared and police fear thousands may go missing annually.

Child welfare experts say the figures show the scale of child trafficking, sometimes for labour or benefit fraud.

A previous investigation by BBC Radio Four found that some African children were being held by their parents' creditors, so they could claim extra benefits.

 

[rjmrjmrjm]

I, in a way hope that this story has a basis in fact and is not an urban myth created to stir up racial hatred. They bayonet babies as well you know... etc.

Its quite upsetting and quite scary that people would stoop to such a level as to kidnap.

 

[evilsprout]

Could it not be simply a lot of them are first generation immigrants returning to Africa/Caribbean without necessarily making all the required local authority calls first?

 

[hokum6]

With all this talk of sacrifice, is anyone else reminded of the ritual abuse cases in the 80's?

 

[fluffle9]

Could it not be simply a lot of them are first generation immigrants returning to Africa/Caribbean without necessarily making all the required local authority calls first?

this is probable, but it's just sad that as nobody knows where these kids have gone, any number of them could be at the bottom of the river.

 

[OneWingedBird]

I thought that too Hokum

I don't know if racial hatred is on the up or it's just something I've started to notice, there's been a couple of unpleasant incidents where I live of late that's got neighbours I thought were quite decent talking of 'pakkis' and 'darkies'

 

[Jerry_B]

I dunno - the figures given seem to be extremely high, which makes me question how accurate they are.

 

[MrSnowman]

I thought that too Hokum

I don't know if racial hatred is on the up or it's just something I've started to notice, there's been a couple of unpleasant incidents where I live of late that's got neighbours I thought were quite decent talking of 'pakkis' and 'darkies'

I thought it was just me who'd picked up on this. I expect it's got something to do with the proliferation of all the rubbish in the redtops about :eek!!!!: IMMIGRATION INVASION! ASYLUM SEEKERS STOLE MY GARDEN GNOME! :eek!!!!: and the general swing to the right in this country over the past year or so. I think one problem is that people have pussyfooted around issues affecting minorities for over a decade now, but all of a sudden, when there's a general sense of sanity being restored eg. it's possible to talk about the problems that black youths face in inner city areas without being accused of stereotyping a group etc.. you get the "I'm not a racist but.." types becoming what they were trying to hide again.. "In my day, you never had any of these drug and guns etc..".

Oh well!

 

[lkb3rd]

Could it not be simply a lot of them are first generation immigrants returning to Africa/Caribbean without necessarily making all the required local authority calls first?

that's apprently the answer they get when they ask about it. and they have trouble verifying if it's true or not.

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Re: Hundreds of children vanishing

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4541603.stm

Hundreds of African boys have disappeared from London schools, police investigating the murder of a boy whose torso was left in the Thames have said.

......

See this thread for discussion of muti killings and Adam (the Torso in the Thames case victim):

www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2064

 

[wembley8]

I don't think there is any suggestion that any of these children were murdered. The concern is that they have completely slipped through the social services net, and are extremely vulnerable to abuse. There have been many cases where children have been 'farmed out' and effectively end up as unpaid servants or a means of getting benefit money. Some may be physically abused by carers who see them as a burden. There are also worse outcomes.

This is a tricky cultural issue. The social services system needs to be able to engage with taditional African practices - but they need to be able to deal with people who try to abuse the system. It's tough: when the parents say "Oh, he moved back to Africa," do you treat them like criminals and demand high levels of documentary evenidence?

 

[Kondoru]

If these people want to live in this country then they should expect to obey the same laws as anyone else.

Would white people complain if they had to fill out the proper paperwork or to confirm that their offspring were indeed their own?

 

[Vardoger]

It must be the Illuminati Elite in UK which is kidnapping children by the aid of the police!
:shock:

At least that would be David Icke's theory.

 

[Rubyait]

Boys 'used for human sacrifice'

Children are being trafficked into the UK from Africa and used for human sacrifices, a confidential report for the Metropolitan Police suggests.
Children are being beaten and even murdered after being labelled as witches by pastors, the report leaked to BBC Radio 4's Today programme said.

Police face a "wall of silence" in investigations because of fear and mistrust among the groups involved.

It follows the case of a girl tortured by her guardians for being a witch.

Three people, including the girl's aunt, were convicted of trying to "beat the devil out of" the un-named 10-year-old - originally from Angola.

The report was commissioned by the Met after the death of Victoria Climbie in February 2000 and because of concerns over so-called faith crimes.

The 10-month probe was also intended to be part of efforts to "open a dialogue" with Asian and African communities to prevent child abuse in the London boroughs of Hackney and Newham.

Information was gathered with the help of social workers, human rights lawyers and race relations experts from within these ethnic minority groups.

Today programme reporter Angus Stickler, who obtained the police report due to be published later this month, described it as "absolutely chilling".

"The most gruesome details come from the African communities," he said.

"This report talks of rituals, of witchcraft, being practised in churches in London. It is described as big business."

'Dead meat'

It said that people who are desperate seek out churches to cast spells for them.

"Members of the workshop said for spells to be powerful it required a sacrifice of a male child unblemished by circumcision," the report said.

Contributors said boys were being trafficked into the UK for this purpose, but did not give details because they said they feared they would be "dead meat" if they told any more.

There were also claims that youngsters were being smuggled into the UK as domestic slaves and for men with HIV who believed if they had sex with a child they would be cleansed.

The authors of the report point out that these claims are only allegations, but say there were "countless examples" of these forms of child abuse.

They also claim that children could be in "serious and possible life-threatening situations".

The report also spoke of a wide gulf between child protection agencies and those in the communities involved, which means people are reluctant to get in touch with the authorities.

Police described this as a "wall of silence" prompted by concerns that individuals would be "betraying" their family, community and faith if they spoke out.

It also acknowledged the sensitivity of the issue as the abuse was a product of individuals' faith and beliefs.

Independent adviser to the Met John Azah said that since the Climbie case and the ritualistic murder of a black child known as "Adam", there were concerns the police were only touching the "tip of the iceberg".

"A few weeks ago the Met put out a number of 300 black children missing from schools.

"There's no evidence that any of these children have been traced.

"Therefore perhaps there's something terrible happening out there which we are not aware of."

This was why the police, quite rightly, were doing quite a lot of work to see if children were being murdered or not, he added.

Home Secretary Charles Clarke said it was important countries worked together to tackle crimes related to people-trafficking.

Mutilation

The Met had a special unit to address these particular issues, he said.

"But it's classically an issue, like all people-trafficking issues, where people are being moved across the whole world, essentially for money, by very substantial criminal organisations."

The challenge was how could the organisations most effectively be contested, he said.

The report called for the social services department to determine how many faith organisations exist and where they are situated.

It also urged the Met to highlight the work of child protection agencies to try to encourage the reporting of crimes.

The Met said the report was drawn up after workshops debating issues such as female genital mutilation, physical chastisement, forced marriage and faith-related child abuse were held.

It added: "The recommendations in the report are being carefully considered at the highest levels in the MPS in conjunction with partner agencies and community groups."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4098172.stm

 

[JamesWhitehead]

It sounds to me as if a wad of cash was waved around for stories and stories were duly provided. There are certainly tales from Africa that HIV+ men are having sex with children to purify themselves. It beggars belief that any such men in the UK would have the means or connections to employ networks of people to supply them with imported children for such a use over here.

It reads as lurid, headline-grabbing stuff, which just muddies these very murky waters.

 

[lkb3rd]

this is an article linked from the "Drudge Report" today
fundamentalist christians performing human sacrifices? right there, i'm wondering about this story. not to say it's not possible, but christians would be highly unlikely to do anything like that. sure they have their faults, but sacrificing young male virgins? (i am embellishing freely, as the two articles seem to indicate they are too .. someone is) it just sounds too far out for me
/shrug

'Child sacrifices in London'
By Richard Edwards Crime Reporter, Evening Standard
16 June 2005

Boys from Africa are being murdered as human sacrif ices in London churches.

They are brought into the capital to be offered up in rituals by fundamentalist Christian sects, according to a shocking report by Scotland Yard.

Followers believe that powerful spells require the deaths of "unblemished" male children.
Police believe such boys are trafficked from cities such as Kinshasa where they can be bought for a little as £10.

The report, leaked ahead of its publication next month, also cites examples of

African children being tortured and killed after being identified as "witches" by church pastors.

The 10-month study was commissioned after the death of Victoria Climbié, who was starved and beaten to death after they said she was possessed by the devil.

The aim of the Met study was to create an "open dialogue" with the African and Asian community in Newham and Hackney. In discussions with African community leaders, officers were told of examples of children being murdered because their parents or carers believe them to be possessed by evil spirits. Earlier-this month Sita Kisanga, 35, was convicted at the Old Bailey of torturing an eight-year-old girl from Angola she accused of being a witch.

Kisanga was a member of the Combat Spirituel church in Dalston. Many such churches, supported mainly by people from West Africa, sanction aggressive forms of exorcism on those thought to be possessed.

There are believed to be 300 such churches in the UK, mostly in London.

The report was put together by an expert social worker and lawyer for the Met after talking to hundreds of people in African communities in a series of workshops. It uncovered allegations of witchcraft spells, child trafficking and HIV-positive people who believe that by having sex with a child they will be "cleansed".

An extract reads: "People who are desperate will seek out experts to cast spells for them.

"Members of the workshop stated that for a spell to be powerful it required a sacrifice involving a male child unblemished by circumcision. They allege that boy children are being trafficked into the UK for this purpose."

It adds: "A number of pastors maintain that God speaks through them and lets them know when someone is possessed.

"It is therefore their duty to deliver the child or adult from the evil spirit.

"After much debate they acknowledge that children labelled as possessed are in danger of being beaten by their families.

"However, they would not accept they played a role in inciting such violence."

Last month Scotland Yard revealed it had traced just two out of 300 black boys aged four to seven reported missing from London schools in a three-month period.

The true figure for missing boys and girls is feared to be several thousand a year.

The scale of the problem emerged through the murder inquiry following the discovery of a child's torso in the Thames in September 2001. The identity of the victim, named Adam by police, is not known but his background was traced to Nigeria. It is believed he died in a ritual sacrifice.

John Azar, who helped the police on that inquiry, told Radio4's Today programme that the known cases could be "the tip of the iceberg".

Police working on the Adam case have found children are being sold to traffickers on the streets of major African cities for less than £10 and then smuggled into the UK. The children arrive in London armed with false documents and accompanied by adults who believe they will bolster their asylum claims.

Dr Richard Hoskins, a lecturer of Theology and Religious Studies at King's College, said: "We know this through work we have been doing on the Adam inquiry. These children are ripe for people to abuse. They are easy prey."

A Met spokesman said: "We undertook a project aimed at improving our knowledge of issues impacting child abuse within the African and Asian communities of London. The aim of the project was to open a dialogue within these communities and encourage a debate which would help reduce the risks of harm to children."

The report says there is a wide gulf between these communities and social services and protection agencies with many people in ethnic communities scared to speak out.

The report concludes police face a "wall of silence" when dealing with such cases.

Experts differ on the merits of the Scotland Yard report.

Dr William Les Henry, a lecturer in sociology at Goldsmiths College, said aspects of the reports were pigeonholing crimes together and were patronising and racist.

He said: "When we think about these cases we can see the same kind of patterns of behaviour in European cultures but they are interpreted in completely different ways.

"This is one of the crises with social sciences anyway, when they are supposedly interpreting the folk ways or cultural habits of alien cultures." He said that the models such reports are based on are that "Africans are less civilised, less rational".

But Dr Hoskins said: "This is very detailed, qualitative report that actually comes out of the communities.

"This is not white people saying this. This has actually comes from the communities authored by people in the community and that really stymies the racist line." He added: "We are dealing with real cases here. When you actually talk to them, these are hard and fast facts.

"So I don't think we are getting wrong, but it is right to treat it sensitively."

He believes vulnerable people are being manipulated by spiritual leaders.

"This is absolutely what is going on. They are often very vulnerable, poor people.

"It is people in positions of power and money that are manipulating poor people."

 

[dodgyessexbird]

Missing Young Boys

I read a disturbing article in tonights Evening Standard. To pick up one aspect of the article, it included the following quote:

"Last month Scotland Yard revealed that it had traced just two out of 300 black boys aged four to seven reported missing from London schools in a three month period"

That's 100 very young children per month. Even if you take into account families moving around, this still surely cannot account for more than, at most, 50% of these missing children?
How can this be allowed to go so relatively unreported?

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

this is an article linked from the "Drudge Report" today
fundamentalist christians performing human sacrifices? right there, i'm wondering about this story. not to say it's not possible, but christians would be highly unlikely to do anything like that. sure they have their faults, but sacrificing young male virgins? (i am embellishing freely, as the two articles seem to indicate they are too .. someone is) it just sounds too far out for me
/shrug

Yeah I think it is is wild extrapolating from vague numbers - never good.

See previous discussion here on the miissng boys:

[edit: Threads merged link removed.]

 

[hokum6]

Again, I have to wonder how true all of this is. Everytime I read something I can't help thinking of Orkney Islands and other ritual abuse cases. I'd want to see definite statistics before believing it, because I'm getting a panicky social services vibe about this whole vanishing african kids thing.

 

[littleblackduck]

100 black boys missing a month in London schools may or may not be par for the course. How many children in London schools? How many are black? What's the normal background rate of unaccounted for absences?

800,000 went missing in the US in 1999, of which 58,200 were non-family abductions, the most dangerous kind. The vast majority are runaways, followed by "parental or family abductions" (over 200,000), "non-family abductions", lost children, accidents, etc. Since the figure we are discussing is not children reported missing by their guardians but by the schools, you can add people moving or pulling their children out of schools for prolongued periods and truant children, with or without the cognescence of their parents.

1,200 black boys missing from school a year is worth worring about from a welfare point of view but is it unusual? If London schools are anything like schools in large Canadian cities, 50% or more of the students are immigrants, and some populations are more unstable or fluid than others.

There are, however, so very serious human trafficking issues: prostitution; forced labour; fraud; sex crime, and other forms of exploitation and abuse.

There is a potential media-mongered hysteria risk as well.

As Forteans we are all no doubt aware of how hard it is to draw lines between phenomena. For example "muti" killings may overlap with drug gang crimes and sado-masochistic crime, family abuse and prostitution. Would it make any difference whether the children were killed by satanists, perverts or traditional African magicians? The exotic crime captures the imagination and is more fearful than the common one, but the common crimes do more real damage because they are common.

As an example, a man has been arrested in America, according to reports today, with a lot of pornographic material, a large server, and a list of 36,000 names--presumably of children he molested (possibly, of course, of children he molested or fantasized about molesting--this is going to take a donkey's years to unravel, I am sure). One like him is probably as damaging than all the "Satanic" or "muti" cults in the UK, real or imaginary.

By the way, I read yesterday that the Jackson family expressed interest in a reality show about them dealing with a conviction of Wacko Jacko. The deal has, needless to say, fallen flat but it's nice to see that his family was behind him all the way.

There's a very real danger of a "Perfect Storm" forming given the Jackson verdict, this new Super-Molester, and the propensity of the media to magnify the exotic, while ignoring the statistically normal (even the normal evil), aka MAN BITES DOG.

But there are success stories as well--a new technique employed by the Toronto Ontario authorities which involves editing the child out of pornographic photographs (mostly motel rooms) promises to make it much easier to capture pedophiles and pornographers by making it possible to post the images more widely and in public. So simple that the first person to think of it looks like a genius or an idiot. A girl who was exploited by a pornographer in the US was found and saved from captivity and a probable life of prostitution and drug abuse because people recognized the hotel room, including a distinctive bedspread.

Source of statistics cited above:

Missing Kids Website (USA): http://www.missingkids.org/missingkids/servlet/PublicHomeServlet?LanguageCountry=en_US&

 

[lkb3rd]

ah, yes sorry. i had posted in the other thread about it. the two seem similar and related is why i posted here about it , in error

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

ah, yes sorry. i had posted in the other thread about it. the two seem similar and related is why i posted here about it , in error

I think it fits better here but it can often be tricky. I'd have moved it if it worked better over in the other thread. It helps tie them together too.

 

[dodgyessexbird]

Forgive my incredulity at your post littleblackduck, but how can 100 black boys aged 4-7 per month disappearing be 'par for the course'. 100 children disappearing within this whole country, regardless of creed or colour per month is 100 too many IMHO.

I feel it unfair to compare London's statistic with '800,000 went missing in the US in 1999' and further feel it equally unfair to think that in this situation 'The vast majority are runaways', given the age group we are talking about.

'1,200 black boys missing from school a year is worth worring about from a welfare point of view but is it unusual?'

I should certainly hope it is unusual. Although, I fear given this countries current problems with establishing any kind of system for knowing exactly who resides here, it is all to easy for vunerable children to slip through the net.

I shall agree with you in so much as the media can tend to over-hype stories, but I, personally feel this is one area that needs far more investigation, without the authorities putting these disappearances down to families moving away or the like.

For a small country, I still find it unacceptable that this is happening and 100 children per month of any race can be 'lost'.

 

[Anonymous]

Re: Missing Young Boys

I read a disturbing article in tonights Evening Standard. To pick up one aspect of the article, it included the following quote:

"Last month Scotland Yard revealed that it had traced just two out of 300 black boys aged four to seven reported missing from London schools in a three month period"

That's 100 very young children per month. Even if you take into account families moving around, this still surely cannot account for more than, at most, 50% of these missing children?
How can this be allowed to go so relatively unreported?

Why only 50%; Since there is a lot of mobility in this population and a tendency to avoid bureaucracy, I would expect nearly 100% of the missing children to be simply lost in the system.

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

ah, yes sorry. i had posted in the other thread about it. the two seem similar and related is why i posted here about it , in error

I think it fits better here but it can often be tricky. I'd have moved it if it worked better over in the other thread. It helps tie them together too.

Ah well it was getting unweildy and so I think it needs a new thread of its very own.

Another story:

My exorcisms get results, says voodoo priest of north London

By Tariq Tahir
(Filed: 19/06/2005)

The nondescript red-brick block in north London barely warrants a second glance, but inside one of the flats is concealed a bizarre world barely comprehensible to most people.

This is the home of Malcolm Poussaint, a self-styled "voodoo priest" who performs harrowing exorcism rituals on children as young as six whom their parents believe are possessed by demons.

Mr Poussaint sees nothing wrong with what he does. It is, he insists, work that has to be carried out.

"If the child is not exorcised then it will grow up to be horrible. I get results," said the 75-year-old, who is originally from Benin in West Africa.

He is one of scores of exorcists, mystics and psychics offering their services to London's large African community.

The world they inhabit has been thrown open by the recent conviction of Sita Kisanga and her brother, Sebastian Pinto, immigrants from Angola, for the horrific abuse of an eight-year-old orphaned girl they believed to be a witch. The girl's aunt was also convicted for her role in the abuse.

The child was cut with a knife, beaten with a belt and shoe, and had chilli rubbed in her eyes in an ordeal that lasted several weeks.

A disturbing Scotland Yard report also revealed fears that young boys were being brought into Britain from Africa for ritual sacrifice.

Speaking at his flat in the Harlesden area of north-west London, Mr Poussaint insists that exorcism is necessary for children possessed by evil spirits. The girl's tormentors went about their work in the wrong way, but "she was possessed by demons", he said.

Dressed in the white robes he wears during the exorcism, he described to The Sunday Telegraph the ritual the children are subjected to in order to cleanse them of "evil spirits".

He does not advertise but is a well-known figure in the local African community, so recommendations come through word of mouth.

After payment of £70, an initial "consultation" is held with the parents to determine how the child is possessed. Then the child is brought to his flat for the ritual. Mr Poussaint says that if the child is agitated he tells the parents to give it a bath in an effort to make it relaxed.

He is adamant that the children he sees "are possessed" and "look like lost souls". Midday is the best time for exorcisms, he explains, as it is when the spirits are liveliest.

When the child is ready, it is brought into the living room by its parents where Mr Poussaint is waiting, beating a small drum. The room will have been blacked out and on the table a dozen different candles are lit. Dried beans, beads and a bottle with water in it are laid out symbolically for the coming exorcism.

Oil is dabbed on the child's head and Mr Poussaint says he and the parents hold the youngster as they go into a trance, all the time chanting "prayers" for the demons to leave.

"Sometimes the child is shaking because there's a bad spirit in the child. The child sometimes cries and I hold onto the child so the child is not able to move. I will get the mother to hold onto the child so I can send the vibrations across to the child.

"The spirit that is calling to remove that spirit is a good spirit. After the child is relaxed and soothed."

Mr Poussaint says his last exorcism was on a six-year-old boy. "He was having problems and the mother was in a mess herself. She tried to get help but nobody was able to help her. The child was running around, screaming, making noise, acting abnormally, hitting things, hitting people, jumping on the sofa. The spirits were provoking that child. After we did the exorcism he was calm."

Mr Poussaint denies his exorcisms will do any long-term damage to the children. On the contrary, by making the evil spirits leave them, the children will not drift into crime, drugs or violence.

When asked if he ever inflicts violence on children, Mr Poussaint gives an emphatic "No" in response. His customers are only ever satisfied, he claims.

"I'm not doing anything wrong. I'm helping people. There have never been any problems. Once the children get older they are OK. Parents never come back to see me."

Mr Poussaint says there is considerable demand among adults for the services he performs and knows of another 10 so-called "voodoo priests" who are called on to exorcise evil spirits. Among others, people in trouble with the law, seeking promotion at work or wanting to fix broken relationships all seek his help."

He describes how adults attend mass exorcism sessions in rented halls. Those attending stay overnight and many are given what he claims are cleansing baths to rid them of evil spirits. Many become hysterical while others are overwhelmed and faint.

"When I first started going I was frightened myself. These people are acting abnormally because they are possessed by spirits and I help them."

His beliefs and others, such as "kendoki", the belief in witchcraft, are a misunderstood aspect of African culture, Mr Poussaint insists. "British people don't understand it. There has been a lot of animosity towards black people."

Source

 

[Kondoru]

If this guys so good at his job; why isnt he working for social services?

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

Minister to host 'exorcism' summit

Staff and agencies
Monday July 11, 2005

The children's minister, Beverley Hughes, is holding a summit with child protection experts and African church leaders next week in a bid to combat the abuse of children through ritual exorcisms, it emerged today.

The summit, which will also involve Home Office ministers, immigration officials and the police, could result in religious leaders from certain African states being barred from entering the UK, said Ms Hughes.

The move comes after three people were jailed at the Old Bailey last week for what the trial judge termed a "campaign of torture" against an eight-year-old they accused of being a witch.

It was believed that the girl, who has not been named, was an orphan living with her aunts in London, but the BBC today said it had tracked down her mother in the central African state of Angola.

Expert Richard Hoskins, who advises the Metropolitan police on crimes linked to faith, told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that he knew of several cases of attempted exorcisms in the UK by supposed "faith healers" from African churches, and added that more of these pastors were entering the country.

"There are clearly exorcisms taking place in this country," said Dr Hoskins. "I am helping the Metropolitan police and also social services with six or possibly seven cases UK-wide, and people say there are more.

"What that highlights is the need for further research involving the communities that goes on to examine this in a calm, collected but also very determined manner."

Ms Hughes told the programme that she had called a "round table discussion" involving Dr Hoskins, Home Office ministers, the Met, social services departments and faith and community groups next week.

She said the aim was "to see how we can best take forward the steps that the Metropolitan police and local authorities have already begun, to see if through creating links and conversations with the community itself, we can establish whether we do have a significant problem in this country and, if so, how we ought to respond to that".

"The safeguarding of children is absolutely paramount here. These are relatively new communities in this country," she added.

"They are relatively closed and we can't be clear that we are safeguarding children properly unless we do open up conversations and try to create trust and confidence so people will feel able to give us the information we need, both to assess what is happening and to respond to it effectively."

Dealing with the problem in cooperation with the communities should help avoid a repeat of the satanic abuse scare of the early 1990s when significant numbers of children were taken from their parents in dawn raids, she added.

Ms Hughes said immigration officials and ministers would be present at the meeting to assess whether tighter rules on the admission of African religious ministers should be introduced.

"One of the questions we will be asking is whether we need an approach focused on these African countries in terms of the potential of increased migration of these pastors," she told Today.

Dr Hoskins cautioned that the cases of mistreatment of children should not be seen as evidence that African religious were generally abusive.

He said the current crisis of poverty, war and disease in central Africa was driving desperate people into putting their faith in previously unknown and bizarre spiritual practices.

"I teach African religious traditions and it has never been part of the traditional practices of Africa to abuse children," he said. "Many Africans and African Christians are appalled by what has taken place recently."

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/publicse ... 45,00.html

 

[Mighty_Emperor]

I saw this report - very distrubing:

Witch trial girl's 'mother' found

The BBC has found a woman in Angola who says she is the mother of "Child B", the eight-year-old abused because she was believed to be a possessed witch.

Last week, Sita Kisanga, her brother Sebastian Pinto and Child B's aunt were jailed on child cruelty charges.

During the trial in London, the jury was told the girl was an orphan.

But BBC Radio Four spoke to the woman claiming to be her mother in Angola's capital, Luanda. She said the family could not afford to have Child B back.

When living with her unnamed aunt and Kisanga in Hackney, East London, Child B was beaten, cut with a knife and had chilli peppers rubbed in her eyes.

This is my daughter - she left two years ago for a better life in England
Child B's "mother"

At one stage she was put in a laundry bag to be dumped in a canal - all because she was believed to be a witch possessed by an evil spirit called Kindoki.

Child B has been placed in foster care in the UK.

Radio Four Today programme reporter Angus Stickler travelled to Luanda to find her mother, as part of a wider investigation into belief systems being imported into Britain.

'Too poor'

He said the BBC was put in touch with the girl's family by the African community in London.

Using family photographs taken in London for verification, the woman in Luanda identified the child, saying it was her daughter.

"'This is my daughter - she left two years ago for a better life in England," she said.

The woman said that she wanted to resume contact with the child, but that the family were too poor to take her back.

She said she did believe children could be witches but not that her daughter was.

"No, she hasn't go it, I know my child does not have Kindoki."

The BBC has given the relevant authorities in Britain DNA samples from the woman, plus other additional background information.

Other cases?

The case of Child B has heightened concern that the belief in child possession is leading to the abuse of children within African communities in Britain.

Concern has been raised about the growing number of African churches in Britain who also endorse the view that children can be possessed and offer deliverance services to cast out evil spirits.

We can't actually be clear that we're safeguarding children properly unless we do open up conversations...
Beverley Hughes
Children's minister

Dr Richard Hoskins, who advises the Metropolitan Police on crime related to faiths, told the Today programme he was helping the police and social services on six or seven similar cases of alleged ritual abuse UK-wide.

But he said anecdotal evidence in the community suggested there were more and it was "crucial" that more research on the subject was done.

Dr Hoskins said it had never been traditional practice to abuse children in Africa and many Africans were "appalled".

He added: "There are awful situations of poverty and hardship and disease in parts of Africa, there are offshoots of that now in the UK in some of the communities concerned and that really is one of the parts of the wider context that I think needs to be investigated."

Government action

Children's Minister Beverley Hughes told the BBC programme action was being taken to address the issue of ritual abuse and establish the extent of it in Britain.

"We're convening a round-table discussion next week to bring together the Met, the social services, the Immigration Department and faith and community groups," she said.

"These are relatively new communities in this country, they're relatively closed already and we can't actually be clear that we're safeguarding children properly unless we do open up conversations..."

Ms Hughes said the Department of Immigration would also consider tightening processes to limit the migration of pastors involved in ritual abuse from Africa into the UK.

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You can see Angus Stickler's full report on Newsnight on BBC2 at 2230 BST on Monday.

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Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/4670727.stm

Published: 2005/07/11 09:59:56 GMT

© BBC MMV

I believe it can be watched again online:

www.bbc.co.uk/newsnight/

Ahhhhhh found it - its on the right hand side in the Highlight box - I think.

 

[Kondoru]

A summit on Exorcisms??

That goes on my list of `Things very fortean`

"I teach African religious traditions and it has never been part of the traditional practices of Africa to abuse children,"

Hasnt he read the `Golden Bough` yet??

 

[TheQuixote]

Voodoo doll left for Ali artist

An artist who has recreated Muhammad Ali's voodoo doll of opponent George Foreman has received one himself.
The doll, which appeared to be wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, was left at a London gallery which is showing work by UK and French artists.

Adrian Ramos's portrait of the legendary boxer shows the voodoo doll he reportedly had made before their 1974 Rumble in the Jungle bout.

The artist said if the act was designed to scare him, it had not worked.

The doll was left with a box of bones, a feather and burnt out candle at the entrance to the Shepherd's Bush Pavilion where Mr Ramos's work is on display.

His name was written in reverse on the front of the doll.

Organisers are unsure if it was a prank or is linked to an abusive call complaining about using voodoo images in the show.

Richard Kaye, organiser of the Entente Cordiale show, said it is a "really stupid thing to do" but didn't seem to have worked as Mr Ramos was "perfectly well".

Mr Ramos, of Chelsea, said it was "just rather sad".

"If someone has a problem with my painting a voodoo doll, then I would prefer it if they spoke to me about it in person, rather than trying to scare me in this way."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/e ... 408100.stm
Published: 2005/11/04 16:19:19 GMT

© BBC MMV