CNN reports that thousands of
children in Nigeria have been labelled witches, abandoned by relatives, and singled out for abuse.
They are blamed for causing illness, death and destruction, prompting some communities to put them through harrowing punishments to "cleanse" them of their supposed magical powers.
The witch hysteria is being promoted by among others, Christian pastors, who claim to be able to identify witches, and who allow their churches to serve as prisons.
"Children accused of witchcraft are often incarcerated in churches for weeks on end and beaten, starved and tortured in order to extract a confession," said Gary Foxcroft, program director of Stepping Stones Nigeria, a nonprofit that helps alleged witch children in the region.
Another aid worker fighting to put a stop to this abuse points out that
"The role of the international Christian community in this cannot be underestimated,"...""Unfortunately, the fact remains that this belief system is being spread by so-called Christians."
Rather than fighting against primitive superstitions, Nigerian Christians are instead reinforcing them with their own religious hatred & fear of supposed witches.
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