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Tanzanian hopes, human sacrifices
by Thanos Kalamidas
2008-08-05 09:07:25 |
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If you have travelled in Africa, especially in central and southern Africa, you probably have been fascinated by the nature and the friendly people. I am one of the lucky ones to have visited a lot of African countries for many reasons, professional and for pleasure and I’m one of those who have been captured by the spirit of this continent. Cameroon, Congo, Kenya have been lands that I love, Tanzania, Zambia, Namibia are beautiful; Botswana and South Africa my favourites.
In Botswana and South Africa the people have something that can really touch your heart and it is not hypocritical towards the tourist with the dollars. South Africa, after all, is a country that speedily improves and has nothing to envy from a lot of European countries. Botswana from the other side, at least for me, is Africa, a country full of traditions with people that carry this dignity you expect from old civilizations. The main working force of Botswana is farming and of course the diamond mines are there to give this extra force a country needs to give better care to its people. Tanzania, another country I have visited, is pretty similar except where diamonds in this case you can put gemstones. Following the road Botswana and South Africa have cut, Tanzania tries hard to enter the 21st century from the positive side investing a lot in its newborn industry.
It is weird but every time I want to write something about an African nation I feel obliged to make a similar introduction because there are so many stereotypes about this continent often forgetting that for example lack of transparency there is even today even inside our proud European Union and for some countries the problem is pretty serious or that nearly half of the 27 members a few decades ago suffered under dictatorial regimes including members as Spain, Greece and Portugal.
Returning to the African nations, if you live a bit more than a brief holiday period one of the first things you will notice is that the people are superstitious. Strongly superstitious and please don’t tell me that this never happens in Europe because the only thing you have to do is check how many astrologists are ready to give you advice for your future and your good luck in every single newspaper, even the most serious ones. After all, magic has strong roots in Africa whether you believe it or not.
So magic found its way again in Tanzania this time. Practising witchcraft despite the state’s laws and efforts has returned in the most dramatic way by killing albinos. For an unexplained till now reason from the scientists, Tanzania has a lot of albinos; there are assumptions and theories of course but nothing proven. However some of those who practice witchcraft believe that bones of albinos bring prosperity, riches and happiness. Sadly I have to admit that in one of my travels in South Africa somebody shown me a small bone, I presume human; proudly saying that it was from a Tanzanian albino. I’m not going now to explain the disgust and the anger I felt neither the conversation that followed but this is a reality and has cost lives, apparently a lot of lives the last two years with the number increasing this year.
Why people turn to witchcraft increasing the demand that leads to murder? What makes people to participate in a disgusting crime for … a better future? I suppose and I hope my friends with religious beliefs will excuse me, but I think it is the same reason that leads more and more people in the churches here in Europe. It is not a case of me being a provocative atheist this minute, I just find hard to believe that suddenly the number of religious increased dramatically over the last two decades. What’s causing it? Insecurity, the feeling of an insecure future, unemployment, poverty leads to ask for help from a miracle. Apparently the same exactly reasons that often lead to violence and hooliganism.
I said it before, I do respect people with faith but the majority of the people who pray these days are not praying for the salvation of their soul but for the winning numbers of the lotto, because that’s their only hope to survive in a constantly and increasingly consuming society. In the ancient times when it didn’t rain and the farming was destroyed people turned to gods often doing human sacrifices and that’s exactly what they are doing today in Tanzania, human sacrifices for a better future.
In this case education is not enough. and if we think that this problem has to do only with Tanzania we are wrong, is just that the murders in Tanzania make the problem more dramatic but is exactly the same that leads people expecting the moves of the moon to tell them their actions for the coming days. And the Tanzanian state is not enough to deal with it. If the global economy will not stabilize, if the Africa's debt will not be shorted out, if all the nations will not understand that unemployment and financial depression can become a domino that will destroy us all nothing is going to change and the Tanzanian and any Tanzanian government will be there powerless having to survive serial killers who have no idea why and how they did it!
superstition witchcraft albino Tanzania |
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