International Day Against Witch Mania

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The International Day Against Witch Mania is a worldwide day of remembrance, celebrated annually on August 10th, which aims to draw attention to the injustice of people who are accused, persecuted and killed as alleged " witches ".

Reports of such witch hunts are mostly known from Africa , Oceania and Latin America . The reasons for accusing people of being alleged “witches” are varied. Belief in witchcraft plays a role in this. Poverty, hardship, epidemics, social crises and a lack of education are seen as triggers in many cases. The motives for the accusations are also greed and revenge, where the belief in witches is used as a pretext to get rid of rivals or to enrich oneself personally.

History and background

The International Day Against Witchcraft was first proclaimed on August 10, 2020 by the International Catholic Relief Organization missio in Aachen , in order to clarify and take action against this type of human rights violations that are carried out under the pretext of alleged witchcraft.

The reason for the proclamation of the day of remembrance is the martyrdom of a woman from Papua New Guinea , who was accused of being a "witch" by residents of her village on August 10, 2012 and who was tortured for days. She survived the severe mistreatment, escaped and was brought to safety with the help of the Swiss nun, Sister Lorena Jenal.

Worldwide appearance

Contrary to the widespread assumption that witch hunts are a thing of the past, today they still take place in 36 countries around the world, mostly in Africa, Oceania and Latin America. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as other African countries, the phenomenon of the witch madness is closely linked to the belief in so-called witch children .

It is believed that more people have been killed for alleged witchcraft since 1960 than in the great European period of persecution. The modern witch hunts are now continuously criticized by the UNHCR and the UNO as the most massive disregard for human rights . According to the UNHCR reports, the socially weakest in society are affected: above all women and children, as well as old and outsider groups.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jörg Nowak: International Day Against Witch Mania. In: missio-hilft.de. missio Aachen, August 4, 2020, accessed on August 4, 2020 .
  2. ^ André Groenewoud: Socially Accepted Torture - The Witches of Papua New Guinea. In: ZDF.de. ZDF, July 24, 2019, accessed on August 4, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Jörg Nowak: International Day Against Witch Mania. In: continents, issue 4-2020, p. 18. KONTINENTE Missionsverlag GmbH, July 1, 2020, accessed on July 1, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Jörg Nowak: International Day Against Witch Mania. In: continents, issue 4-2020, p. 16. KONTINENTE Missionsverlag GmbH, July 1, 2020, accessed on July 1, 2020 .
  5. ↑ Thomas Scheen: witch children. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. September 2, 2006, accessed June 18, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Thousands still persecuted as witches. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. May 17, 2010, accessed June 18, 2020 .