Tuesday, November 3, 2009
International Crime and Punishment: Tanzanians Murdering Albinos and Selling Them to Witchdoctors
Posted by Charles Mudede on Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 9:29 AM
The arrival of the universal:
Four Tanzanians have been sentenced to death by hanging for killing a 10-year-old albino boy last year, reports IOL. The court convicted them of murdering the boy and removing his head and legs. The ruling brings to seven the number of suspects sentenced to death for the murder of albinos in Tanzania. Since 2007, more than 50 albinos, many of them children, have been murdered and their limbs and organs sold to witchdoctors who use them to create charms meant to bring wealth and good luck...As much as I dislike capital punishment, in this particular case it is the only (or the most effective) way to go. Those rural African types have a dimness of mind that can only be penetrated by the raw power of death. Unless an adequate education system is established, and economic opportunities are improved for rural types, I can't see how else to dissolve these ancient and ossified superstitions that are embedded in all the nodes of their everyday life.
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2
"these ancient and superstitious practices "
like revenge or the death penalty?
you can not have it both ways brother charles. youre either a true cosmopilitan or you're guided by rural instincts such as the human need for revenge.
like revenge or the death penalty?
you can not have it both ways brother charles. youre either a true cosmopilitan or you're guided by rural instincts such as the human need for revenge.
5
Drag the witch doctors and their customers for that merchandise to prison too, so they can see what kind of luck they got...
9
It's not just an education system rural Africans need to stop this problem, but a functioning health care system too. The witch doctor is often the *only* person to go to when you are sick. They therefore hold enormous sway over people. If Africans can get access to adequate health care --surefire cures and treatments for disease, it diminishes much of the need for and belief in the power of witch doctors (most of whom are totally full of shit). Then they lose their impetus for slaughtering albinos.
11
Good Morning Charles,
I have to say I'm stunned by your allowance of Capital Punishment in this case. I don't have a problem with your opinion (I favor the Death Penalty for mass murderers, serial killers, treason if it involves a killing, child killers and particularly gruesome instances like this). It should be used rarely. Granted, these cases aren't necessarily rare but they are more rare than the "eye for eye" notion. Yes, you as well as I will catch hell from some Sloggers. For some opponents of CP it is "all or nothing" (ie. either for CP or against it). But, I do understand where you're coming. I believe this kind of barbaric behavior is more of an indication of a country's "civility" or "progress" than the allowance or not of the Death Penalty.
I have to say I'm stunned by your allowance of Capital Punishment in this case. I don't have a problem with your opinion (I favor the Death Penalty for mass murderers, serial killers, treason if it involves a killing, child killers and particularly gruesome instances like this). It should be used rarely. Granted, these cases aren't necessarily rare but they are more rare than the "eye for eye" notion. Yes, you as well as I will catch hell from some Sloggers. For some opponents of CP it is "all or nothing" (ie. either for CP or against it). But, I do understand where you're coming. I believe this kind of barbaric behavior is more of an indication of a country's "civility" or "progress" than the allowance or not of the Death Penalty.
12
"Those rural African types have a dimness of mind that can only be penetrated by the raw power of death."
The only possible conclusion one can come to upon reading this statement is that Charles Mudede is a troll. Also, an idiot.
Can someone please create a Firefox plugin that allows you to read Slog while filtering out everything by Mudede?
The only possible conclusion one can come to upon reading this statement is that Charles Mudede is a troll. Also, an idiot.
Can someone please create a Firefox plugin that allows you to read Slog while filtering out everything by Mudede?
13
@2, not revenge, seme, but instruction. without a proper eduction system and, as @9 points out, a health system, these practices will retain their power.
16
Viagra did more for the tiger than the WWF. Bring in moder medicines and reduce poverty. That'll dislodge these out-dated beliefs.
17
Why would albino bits bring good luck? It certainly didn't bring good luck for the albinos, and they were composed entirely of albino bits...
Also, CANNIBALS! Why are cannibals not as popular as ninjas, pirates and zombies?
Also, CANNIBALS! Why are cannibals not as popular as ninjas, pirates and zombies?
18
My views on the death penalty have shifted since I was involved as a law student protesting the execution of Gary Gilmore. Like @11, sometimes (but rarely) you just have to hit the "Reset Button." It isn't punishment or revenge or deterence - it is eliminating a mistake that cannot be corrected.
20
Can't we agree that there are two sides to this and every issue? Let's have a free,open debate between those who support the judicious use of albino parts to cure illnesses and those who don't. How else are we going to make any progress on these vital health care issues if we don't give every side a fair hearing?
On the one hand, we'll have the 'scientists,' 'medical doctors' and 'ethicists' who are paid to produce 'studies' and 'peer reviewed papers' that stir up controversy, and on the other hand we have hundreds of years of tradition saying that the use of albino body parts by trained healers is an efficacious treatment for all sorts of maladies, including the evil eye.
On the one hand, we'll have the 'scientists,' 'medical doctors' and 'ethicists' who are paid to produce 'studies' and 'peer reviewed papers' that stir up controversy, and on the other hand we have hundreds of years of tradition saying that the use of albino body parts by trained healers is an efficacious treatment for all sorts of maladies, including the evil eye.
22
There are some beautiful pics from Big Picture on this issue:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/07…
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/07…
23
Charles - you bring up some interesting points. As a student of cultural anthropology, I was steeped in the relativistic doctrine of cultural sensitivity. The idea that indigenous healing practices are just as valid as Western medicine (and, in many contexts, more efficacious) is a cherished premise of medical anthropology. But - as reading your post made me realize - this relativistic position is a highly privileged one, formulated within the protective cocoon of academia.
The anthropological gaze is all about dignifying the benign aspects of tradition while explaining and attempting to contextualize the pernicious ones. But if the tolerance and understanding that results when one accepts the tenets of cultural relativism is understood as good (as it certainly is in the social sciences) what of those who fall under our gaze without sharing our beneficent attitudes towards the Other? The tragedy of child murder in the pursuit of hopeless cures is nothing if not a prime example of the type of ignorance that cultural anthropology aims to dispel.
The anthropological gaze is all about dignifying the benign aspects of tradition while explaining and attempting to contextualize the pernicious ones. But if the tolerance and understanding that results when one accepts the tenets of cultural relativism is understood as good (as it certainly is in the social sciences) what of those who fall under our gaze without sharing our beneficent attitudes towards the Other? The tragedy of child murder in the pursuit of hopeless cures is nothing if not a prime example of the type of ignorance that cultural anthropology aims to dispel.
25
When gay people are not being murdered here because religion teaches ignorant hate, then we can judge.
26
Those dim rural types believe albino parts will help them. Our dim rural types believe they drink the blood of a savior every week, so do many of our educated types. I'm not sure which is more dangerous. Superstition and rural types are pretty much everywhere, and are not always dependent on each other.
27
@26:
as an urban post-catholic i know that the transubstantiation is SYMBOLIC. and so do you. sure, bashing monotheism is fun, but there is not an equivalence here.
as an urban post-catholic i know that the transubstantiation is SYMBOLIC. and so do you. sure, bashing monotheism is fun, but there is not an equivalence here.
28
At least they're not having sex with them, which is what they do with pre-teen girls who are virgins, believing it will cure them of HIV/AIDS.
29
"those rural African types have a dimness of mind...."
really? did you really just say that? because, you know, killing children for superstitious reasons, and other acts deemed horrific, is only limited to Africans? and it's only the "truly civilized" Western culture, education, money, medicine, etc. that's going to save these savages from their backward ways? and that some of them are so set in their ways that they deserve to be offed?
We all know how awesomely this logic has worked in the past.
having hard-set tradition, even ones we don't agree with, doesn't mean people are stupid. automatically jumping to the conclusion that all of these people are "dim" to the point that death is the only thing that will get through to them is basically assuming that these people are incapable of grasping these more modern concepts in the first place. so following that logic, if they're too "dim" to ever learn, why not just off the entire culture and nuke 'em all like @8 wants to? no, no...that's too harsh, that might look bad....better yet, let's just abuse them as an under- or unpaid workforce like the savages/animals we apparently think they are, squash all of their culture and way of life out of them, and take everything worth having on that continent and leave them nothing? oh wait, we already do that? hmm.....
really? did you really just say that? because, you know, killing children for superstitious reasons, and other acts deemed horrific, is only limited to Africans? and it's only the "truly civilized" Western culture, education, money, medicine, etc. that's going to save these savages from their backward ways? and that some of them are so set in their ways that they deserve to be offed?
We all know how awesomely this logic has worked in the past.
having hard-set tradition, even ones we don't agree with, doesn't mean people are stupid. automatically jumping to the conclusion that all of these people are "dim" to the point that death is the only thing that will get through to them is basically assuming that these people are incapable of grasping these more modern concepts in the first place. so following that logic, if they're too "dim" to ever learn, why not just off the entire culture and nuke 'em all like @8 wants to? no, no...that's too harsh, that might look bad....better yet, let's just abuse them as an under- or unpaid workforce like the savages/animals we apparently think they are, squash all of their culture and way of life out of them, and take everything worth having on that continent and leave them nothing? oh wait, we already do that? hmm.....
30
@27- you are right, bad example, but I still find christianity as well as many other religions to be chock full of superstition and beliefs that sound primitive when you stand back to examine them- some of which certainly leads to killing, even today.
I just don't believe there is a special African rural dimness of mind, I think it can be found everywhere.
Urban post-catholic is an interesting phrase- would you use that normally or is it just to differ from the rural post-catholics?
I just don't believe there is a special African rural dimness of mind, I think it can be found everywhere.
Urban post-catholic is an interesting phrase- would you use that normally or is it just to differ from the rural post-catholics?
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