Woman Burned Alive For Practicing Witchcraft

This is awful. In Papua New Guinea, a young woman was dragged from her home, beaten, tied to a log and set on fire when a mob accused her of practicing witchcraft. As is always the case in such horrendous stories, there's a bit more to it. She was also accused of having an extramarital affair, and of transmitting HIV to one of the men believed to have killed her. Unfortunately, the number of people killed for practicing black magic in Papua New Guinea has been rising steadily, along with the number of diagnosed cases of HIV and AIDS. The country's newspaper reports that at least fifty people have been killed in the past two years when neighbors accused them of sorcery.

Papua New Guinea accounts for nearly 90% of the cases of HIV and AIDS in the Pacific region, and the disease has reached an epidemic proportion in the area. It's not uncommon for underdeveloped nations to see an increase in witchcraft-related accusations when there is significant illness, famine, or econmic hardship going on. In India last year, an elderly woman was tied to a stake and beaten, and in June an entire family was murdered in Calcutta.

In Nigeria, children as young as four years old are regularly accused of witchcraft and tortured, maimed, or killed. Although there are people out there who are trying to help these children, Nigerian officials are trying to stop the brutality. It looks like they're fighting an uphill battle all the way, though, as many impoverished nations are. They've got people like Helen Ukpabio perpetuating the ignorance, and even accusing charity and aid workers of converting children to witchcraft.

But back to the Papua New Guinea case -- the local paper has condemned the attackers, and referred to the killing as "yet one more example of hysteria and superstition running rampant in parts of our country". Meanwhile, local police are trying to figure out who was involved in the death, but it sounds like they're running into resistance. Simon Kauba, assistant commissioner of police, said, "We have had quite difficulties in a number of previous incidents convincing people to come forward with information... We are trying to persuade them to help. Somebody lost their mother or daughter or sister Tuesday morning."

Books You Might Enjoy:

Alexander Roberts - A Treatise Of Witchcraft
George Lincoln Burr - Narratives Of The Witchcraft Cases
Allen Greenfield - A True History Of Witchcraft