Newsletter winter 2013

NEWS

LETTER winter 2013

Children accused of witchcraft

the magic of education!

CONTENT p1 Cover photo p1 Word from the President Š IDAY-International aisbl

p2 Brief p3-4 Children accused of witchcraft p5-6 Interviews

Raising voices for education in Africa

Cover Photo

Camping Sauvach, the Belgian band endorses the IDAY campaign: « Heading for Education for All - 2013 »

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From the onset, IDAY identified children who are accused of witchcraft as one of the 15 categories of children most “at risk” who urgently require civil society support to guarantee that their basic right to quality basic education is respected.

Witchcraft is an age-old, persistent and deep-rooted beliefsystem in some African cultures.

Today, poverty and the deprivation that so often accompanies too-rapid urban growth in Africa raise new and disorientating problems to populations that, too often, lack the ability to analyse their problems rationally. In her book Le contour du jour qui vient Leanora Miano shows how present-day witchcraft can even lead to international human trafficking.

Nowadays, witchcraft even permeates the African Diaspora in Europe. It is imperative that European authorities take remedial action and admit the undeniable failure of their development aid interventions if these are to contribute, at last, to improving the lot of children in Africa.

IDAY-International 19, rue des Jambes - 1420 Braine-l’Alleud - Belgium Responsible Publisher: J-J. Schul - Editor in chief/Layout & Design: D. Devillers - T. +32 (0)2 385 44 12 - ddevillers@iday.org Bank account: IBAN - BE 93 5230 8026 6767 - SWIFT - TRIOBEBB (TRIODOS)

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Jean-Jacques Schul Founding member & Chairman of IDAY-International

Brief.

IDAY-INTERNATIONAL WISHES YOU A HAPPY NEW YEAR AND THANKS YOU WARMLY FOR YOUR FAITHFULNESS.

CAMEROUN

Girls at school IDAY-Cameroon carried out a survey, with the support of Plan Cameroon, on how the children assess the realisation of the rights of girls in 4 areas: education, protection, health and participation. The findings fed into their advocacy to the government on the occasion of International Day of the Girl Child 2013. We are waiting for its reaction!

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HELPING AFRICAN YOUTH OBTAIN EDUCATION FOR ALL IS NOT ONLY A MATTER OF SAFEGUARDING THEIR HUMAN DIGNITY BUT ALSO ENSURING EQUITABLE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT.

Dr Pacificah Okemwa, professor at Kenyatta University and IDAY-Kenya member, at the high level panel on education organised by IDAY-International, European Development Days, 26 November 2013

EU & IDAY

The European Union helps promote the rights of domestic workers!

IDAY-International over the next 3 years.

Since the creation of the network, IDAY members have called for an end to the abuse of child and adult domestic workers in Africa. They have been heard by the European Union, which has agreed to co-finance their campaign.

It includes national surveys aimed at producing muchneeded data on domestic workers to further advocate adequate legal, policy and social changes to protect underaged children from domestic labor and transform this occupation into a full-fledged profession.

14 African NGOs and government bodies across Burundi, the DRC, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda are coming together to implement a project for the protection, recognition and training of domestic workers. The €1,2 million project, which will be launched in January, will be coordinated by

Once again we commend our members - particularly CAD from Burundi, Dr Okemwa from Kenya, CLADHO from Rwanda and Bokolisi from the DRC - for paving the way for a promising approach to improve the situation of child and young domestic worker in Africa.

More info? info@iday.org

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More than just a fundamental human right, education allows a society to free itself in a constructive manner and to invest in the potential of all its members. It is the key element in combating desperation and so, in large measure, a means against the self-destructive phenomenon of witchcraft allegations against children.

Noëlle Garcin, Secretary General, IDAY-International

Lingering witchcraft beliefs haunt the future of more children everyday Even today, witchcraft beliefs remain deeply-rooted in many African societies. In recent decades, violent changes of regimes, brutal wars that turn children into orphans or child soldiers, destitution with too many mouths to feed, the looting of natural wealth, the continuing rural exodus and other major upheavals have all changed its inherent characteristics and have led to a new witchcraft rhetoric. Children, who were previously sheltered from such allegations, are now directly targeted.

In Africa, the sorcerer is an iconic ancestral figure. Until recently, he was often personified as an aged man, feared and respected at the same time for his beneficial but also terrifying abilities and for his familiarity with the invisible world. He inherited his powers, which only worked in his surroundings and were kept within the family.

Today, the venerable sorcerer has largely given way to a despised and mistreated child.

Neighbours, relatives and friends now accuse him of being the source of their ill-fortune. In crumbling societies, destitution, accidents, death, personal misfortunes or social ills are often attributed to supernatural causes.

Witchcraft has become day-to-day

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politics.

The self-proclaimed judges are encouraged and supported by “revivalist churches”, in part influenced and financed by pentecostal churches in North America.

Refering to the verse 22:18 of Exodus « Thou shall not suffer a witch to live », the inquisitioners confirm or repudiate these allegations. Using their supposed powers of exorcism, they lead errant souls back to the world of righteousness and light. By so doing, religion is used both to foster the persistence of witchcraft beliefs and, at the same time, exorcise alleged witches. In DRC, it is assumed that there are over 10,000 exorcists who charge exorbitant amounts to reclaim the bewitched.

There are of course exceptions to this trend and some churches denounce these practices which may go well beyond just prayers and sprinkling with holy water. Often children are locked up without food for weeks before the exorcism rites, properly spoken, begin.

Between just splashing a glass of icy water in the child’s face to pure and simple torture, violence often takes over.

Some children are burned with acid, sprayed with boiling water or simply operated on with a household knife, without anaesthetics.

If the “bewitching” is not “too powerful” and hasn’t yet killed the sometime three or four year old children, they will have to confess to having eaten food given to them by a witch and thus became enchanted.

In sub-Saharan Africa, in 2010, 50 million children had lost at least one parent, and 10 million were orphans.

UNICEF

They will confess to having “eaten” (caused the death of - ed.) their grandmother, to having flown over the city in company with other witches or to having cast a spell in order that their father might lose his job and their brother fall ill. Some children may even come to believe their own words.

The accused child is often turned out of the house.

In DRC, for example, he will join the ranks of the 20,000 homeless children in Kinshasa, of which an estimated 13,000 are accused of the same crime. Under these inhuman conditions, prostitution, drug-taking, and accidents, so-called child witches rarely live long.

Under close scrutiny, one finds that these children almost invariably have the same background. Coming from a broken home, generally poor or orphaned and sent to live with a relative,

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little loved and awkward, they are the ideal scapegoat and the “mouth too many” at table. Witchcraft allegations therefore are usually made to get rid of the child rather than genuine convictions.

Many public officials, including judges and police officers, believe in witchcraft.

Therefore many of the countries concerned have little political will to adopt or enforce legislation to ban such persecution.

They are most often disconcerted or silent on this matter. Public declarations scarcely aim to reassure their partners and aid donors.

Such circumstances are ideal for leveraging the beliefs and bewilderment of the population for financial and political gain. The religious

FETISHISM AND SCHOOL PERFORMANCE Witchcraft allegations appear to have become everyday occurrences among high-school students in the refugee camp in Nyagurusu, North Tanzania. Students are sometimes accused of arcane practices and visiting witch-doctors to “steal the intelligence” of the best students.

Without objectively verifiable proof, the school authorities feel that they are powerless to act even in the face

of such a manipulation, which also challenges the fundamental purpose of education. Introducing awareness campaigns in schools is vital to overcoming such flagrant abuses and to reducing the resulting tension between students.

Shabiri Elongoci, Focal point, IDAY-Tannzania/Nyagurusu, Tanzania.

© Brüno

“establishment” transforms into, or reverts to being, a dominant force: without its support, re-election becomes increasingly difficult. One doesn’t bite the hand that feeds one: the recently elected politician will likely not turn against the church that supported his campaign, nor against its practices or followers.

In the meanwhile, child protection is not ensured, nor is the right to primary education and other basic social services.

Such mistreatments raise questions of collective responsibility. These societies place their own future in peril in blaming the younger generation for their problems and offering them as sacrifice to escape their own misfortune.

Attacking witchcraft beliefs directly is to miss the point. Education is what is needed to ensure that such beliefs do not lead to abuse of fundamental human rights. Enforcing the right to education is also the key to overcoming poverty and thus, in large measure, to combating these ignominious acts. >>>

More info? info@iday.org

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INTERVIEWs.

Reinforcing a world-wide legal system Children accused of witchcraft are abused because of the weakness, corruption and ambivalence of the legal system, among others reasons. Certain countries have passed legislation banning witchcraft accusations and the persecution of alleged witches in order to provide a legal framework supposed to offer effective protection against accusations. Despite these regulations, the “child witches� hunt still goes on.

Interview with Mr Leo IGWE, Human Rights advocate from Nigeria and expert in the campaign against child witchcraft allegations.

Africans remain strong and continues to wreck havoc on the lives of children across the continent.

It is all the more noticeable that very often when a child is killed under such circumstances, hardly anyone is brought to justice. Often, the parents connive to cover up these barbarous acts and thereby impede the investigation and the prosecution.

In 2011, you addressed the European Parliament about witchcraft allegations against children. What is the situation now, 3 years later?

LEO IGWE Whilst there are more sign of bringing it under control than was the case 3 years ago, children across Africa remain at risk. It is still difficult to know the exact number of victims because the abuses take place behind walls, silenced by tradition, religion and culture.

Children born with disabilities still face a bleak future in Ghana and Nigeria, among others. Children born albino are particularly at risk in Tanzania and in the East African region. Child sacrifices still occur in Uganda and the phenomenon of witchcraft allegations is rearing its ugly head in post-war Sierra Leone. In Chad and the DRC, armed conflict and political instability have eroded the gains made in protecting vulnerable children. The grip of magic and witchcraft on the minds of

has ordered the closure of nearly 100 Pentecostal churches following the death of a young girl subjected to exorcism.

Have you observed progress in policies and attitudes?

LEO IGWE Indeed there have been some encouraging developments, in particular the recent publication by the European Parliament of a briefing paper1 on child witchcraft allegations. It is a clear sign that the European Union has at last become a key player and a staunch partner in this campaign.

I hope that the European Parliament will rapidly put it into effective use to pressure African States to fulfil their duties and obligations regarding African children. Some African governments are taking measures to prevent the mistreatment of children. Cameroon

In spite of all efforts, there are still shortfalls in implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In several Nigerian States, domestication of this important piece of legislation has not translated into improvement in child protection; witchcraft allegations continue to take place.

This situation in Africa underscores the need for education, both for the children and for child care givers. The most at-risk children are those deprived of education. African States should be pressured to pursue and achieve universal basic education for children.

1. Child Witchcraft Allegations and Human Rights, Directorate General of External Policies, European Parliament, July 2013 LEO IGWE presently conducts research at the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies on children accused of witchcraft. His stance has often led to conflict with highly placed defenders of witchcraft theories in Africa, and his field research findings have resulted in his imprisonment on several occasions.

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Nana MASAKA NDONA recalls.

Civil society at work Several African civil society organisations are aware of the urgency of stopping these crimes against humanity. These local organisations strive to recover, shelter and reintegrate children accused of witchcraft into normal social life. The “Maison d'Hébergement et d'éducation des Enfants en Difficulté (Rescue and Education Centre for children in difficulty) - MHEED”, a member organisation of the IDAY-DRC coalition, is one of them.

Interview with Mr Bienvenu NLANDU VOKA, Project Coordinator at MHEED, and Mr Fidele KIKABA KIMFUTA, Technical Assistant.

Can you tell us more about MHEED? MHEED is a non governmental organisation (NGO) founded in 1981. We facilitate and support the reintegration of children in difficulty into their families and provide them with basic education and vocational training, whichever is more appropriate.

The project was founded by Marie Eugénie LUMENGO. At first, she lodged the children in her own home but as their numbers increased, it became necessary to find larger premises to shelter all of them. This was the background to the setting up of MHEED. How do children arrive at MHEED? This can occur in a number of ways: the Social Affairs department of the municipalities, MHEED's social

investigators, churches or even the child’s relatives themselves, all bring children to us. These children are usually aged 5 to 15 years. Today, MHEED assists 315 children and youngsters.

How are your relations with the Congolese government?

The government has authorised our organisation and approves of our work. One can say that we have a good relationship with them. However, they have not allocated any funding for our organisation which makes it difficult for us to continue our work. We have also tried to awaken communities to this problem.

It is a difficult task as this involves deeplyrooted in many peoples’ minds.

Do you foresee an end to your work?

We don’t foresee any end date for our mission in that the number of children accused of witchcraft and abandoned by their families continues to grow. Our work has only just started.

A COLLECTIVE MOBILISATION Children accused of witchcraft have been IDAY-DRC's concern for several years. Besides participating in public awareness efforts in Kinshasa, the coalition filed a lawsuit in 2008 against a "priestess" allegedly responsible for aggravated torture on a child. Recently,

on the Day of the African Child 2013, IDAY-DRC sensitised several revivalist pastors, families, children living on the street and authorities emphasizing that garanteeing education for all children and educating the public are key to preventing such abuses.

"In 2006, after I fell ill, Papa took me to Maman N’koko (Ed: a hospital complex). After I had been 3 months in the hospital, Papa returned home and I remained alone in the hospital.

When the Doctor decided I could go home, Papa came to bring me home where his wife refused to let me convalesce and began to mistreat me.

Three years later, as my condition had deteriorated, I returned to the hospital. This time, the severity of my illness became apparent, with a swelling and wounds around my head. I should have changed hospital but Papa refused, saying that he hadn’t money to pay for my treatment. I was a witch, I prevented him from working!

A few days later, Papa and his wife took me to a church. There, the priests confirmed that I was a witch. Despite this visit to the church, nothing got better for me.

Papa abandoned me. Without treatment, my wound become worse and I couldn’t be around people any longer on account of the smell that gave off. Then, someone told me about Maman Marie Eugénie LUMENGO, so I went to the Centre of which they’d spoken…”

Today, NANA is well despite having lost bones in her skull.

She continues her training in tailoring.

More info? info@iday.org

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In your view, what are the conditions for good schooling in Africa?

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LET’S IMPROVE THE SCHOOLING CONDITIONS FOR CHILDREN! PROJET 38 Life Action, a member of the IDAY-Kivu/DRC coalition, is well aware that offering children access to quality education benefits the entire society. It has developed a pilot project in 10 schools with two main objectives: upgrading the skills of teaching staff through in-service training, and training members of parents’ associations to more effectively participate in school management and educational support.

In addition to this training component, Life Action also foresees a programme to improve the nutritional status of children, and thereby their overall health status by encouraging the planting of community gardens managed by the parents. The local production will serve to supply the school kitchens. Any

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surplus will be sold, thereby generating community funds and contributing to the project’s sustainability.

Whilst this project centres on ensuring the well-being of children, it also serves to demonstrate to the Congolese government the crucial importance of investing in equipping the children with the means that will enable them, as adults, to contribute to the development of Congolese society as a whole.

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Raising voices for education in Africa