Hundreds of girls raped, murdered in Tanzania for black magic AIDS 'cure'

[meegbear]

Hundreds of albinos are thought to have been killed for black magic purposes in Tanzania and albino girls are being raped because of a belief they offer a cure for AIDS, a Canadian rights group said on Thursday.

At least 63 albinos, including children, are known to have been killed, mostly in the remote northwest of the country.

"We believe there are hundreds and hundreds of killings in Tanzania, but only a small number are being reported to the police," Peter Ash, founder and director of Under The Same Sun (UTSS), told Reuters.

"There is belief that if you have relations with a girl with albinism, you will cure AIDS. So there are many girls with albinism who are being raped in this country because of this belief, which is a false belief."

Around 1.4 million Tanzanians among a population of 40.7 million have the HIV virus that leads to AIDS.

Albino hunters kill their victims and harvest their blood, hair, genitals and other body parts for potions that witchdoctors say bring luck in love, life and business.

"(It is believed) a person with albinism is a curse. They are from the devil, they are not human, they do not die, they simply disappear," said Ash.

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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/05/hundreds-of-girls-raped-murdered-in-tanzania-for-black-magic-aids-cure/

[fascisthunter]

1. look... it's the right wing agenda at it's final stages of ignorance

[RKP5637]

3. Yeah, in all its glory! n/t

[guardian]

2. the world is a sick sick place. n/t

[RKP5637]

4. And sicker by the minute. n/t

[polly7]

5. It's horrifying, and the situation doesn't seem to be getting any better.

AIDS is such a nightmare for the people in Tanzania that it's understandable, but terrifying, to see how easily witchdoctors are able to convince them.

Vicky Ntetema was a journalist who went undercover in 2008 to report on it. Her details of it then were also horrific. http://dailynews.co.tz/feature/?n=14433

[jberryhill]

6. Is this another of those "Big Pharma" hit pieces against alternative medicine?

Do you mean to say that there are folk medicine ideas which are harmful rubbish?