Accusations of witchcraft are quite common in Congo. I have heard of several cases. Unfortunately, it is children of blended families that are blamed.
Link: BBC NEWS | Africa | DR Congo's 'dangerous' superstition.
The young woman, tall and thin with braided hair coiled on her head, is doing well at school and wants to be a doctor.
In the two-and-a-half years since I last saw her, her life has been transformed. Then, she was living with 30 people in one house, too poor to afford school fees.
She had been sent back to DR Congo by her father and step-mother, after living with them in Tottenham, north London, for several years.
She is thought to be among hundreds of African children living in the UK and sent back to DR Congo or Angola after being accused of witchcraft.
REFLECTIONS
Children being accused of witchcraft by their step-parents and other guardians. In almost all the cases that I have heard it involved a step-parent or someone else.
Normally, the children is blamed by the step-parent for causing the death or misfortune of the absence or lost parent. It is ironic that the step-parent is making the accusations and not the sole or surviving parent. It would make more sense for surviving parent to make the accusations. Therefore, I think it is a way get rid of the step-children.
It reminds of lions taking over a pride. The new dominant lion kills the cubs of the ousted lion to ensure survive of the best offspring.
In a fragile and poor society like the Congo, the children are already vulnerable. These accusations follow by abandonment would spell disaster for the child. The child is trapped in extreme poverty for life without a chance of escaping. There are no social agencies to provide care and assistance in Congo. The girl in this story, Gracia was lucky to find financial help.
PRAYER
Dear God, please have mercy on these children. They have lost a parent and now they must endure the accusations of being a witch by their step-parent. Loving God, please help these families to reconcile and bond together. In Jesus' name, I pray, AMEN.
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