Thread: Circumcision ceremony goes horribly wrong

Ouch...............



Circumcision ceremony goes horribly wrong
PAUL TOOHEY
January 11th, 2010




THREE teenage Aboriginal boys turned up in the grounds of the bush hospital on December 30. They stood outside with blood pouring down their legs.
They were too embarrassed to go inside, fearing they would encounter a female nurse or doctor.
They had just been through a circumcision ceremony in a camp outside Tennant Creek, 500km north of Alice Springs.
It had gone badly wrong. The boys, who had received no anaesthetic, were left mutilated by elders who it is suspected were drinking when they performed the initiation ritual.
The Northern Territory Health Department confirmed the boys had presented with severe lacerations but refused to give the ages of the teenagers.
News Ltd understands the boys were 16 or under, which should have prompted the hospital to report the incident to police as a possible case of child abuse. Police were not told.
The three boys were hospitalised for three nights before being released back into the community.
The bungled circumcisions have only now come to light because a woman - the wife of a cattle station manager - had been at the hospital with a sick child.
The woman had let her two children play just outside the hospital's doors while awaiting a doctor. The kids started throwing pebbles at each other. Then it was noticed the rocks were covered in congealed blood.
Hospital staff cleaned up the children, destroyed one of their sets of clothing, and tested the blood on the children for disease. The children will continue to be monitored.
"There are two issues here," said the woman, who asked not be named in order to protect her children's identity, while demanding a Territory Health Department investigation.
"One is the nature of these circumcisions, which seem brutal, the other is the health of my children.
"The blood was right outside the hospital door, near a cement pad where the ambulance pulls up. They should have cleaned it up."
In the right circumstances, circumcision ceremonies are carefully controlled. Women sing goodbye to their boys throughout the night and then depart to let the men perform the cutting, after which the boys emerge as men.
But Tennant Creek, a largely indigenous town, is awash with alcohol. There are concerns as well that young men are being snatched by elders and forced to go through the procedure against their will.
One witness who declined to be named said on the morning the three boys presented in hospital, he had seen a young man running for his life through the streets of Tennant Creek.
The boy had been picked up by elders and was in the queue for the cut.
"This young fella escaped and took off and was running through town," said the witness.
"This painted-up bloke was racing after him and a Toyota was cruising around looking for the boy as well. I think they grabbed him.
"I'm not sure if he was one of the three (who were mutilated)."
Jeff Warner, director of Tennant Creek's Anyinginyi Health Aboriginal Corporation, said the circumcisions took place in a makeshift bush camp out of Tennant Creek.
"Speaking to people around town, they're saying its common knowledge that there was alcohol in the camp at the time," he said.
He asked an elder who had attended the ceremony, who denied it.




Circumcision ceremony goes horribly wrong | Northern Territory News | Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia | ntnews.com.au

Australia needs to be exporting more of its brains - it really does.

If I recall the rules correctly, you do not need to die to get a Darwin Award. An injury that will leave you unable to reproduce also qualifies.

Tennant Creek is a mess, has been for a long time. Full of drunk and destitute aboriginals.

Amateur Surgery whilst on the piss... sounds like a barrel of fun!!

Did you hear about the short-sighted circumcisor? He got the sack.

Originally Posted by kingwilly

Tennant Creek is a mess, has been for a long time. Full of drunk and destitute aboriginals.

And some pretty foul whiteys as well.

So the hospital applies the rules; or nor; arbitrarily. Good on ya mate.

a mate of mine was a gynacologist in Leeds he said it wasn't unheard of for Asian girls to be brought in having had similar (all be it sober) abominations performed on them.

Cheers

But I guess in Leeds there's a law sayiing they have to report it?

Originally Posted by SiLeakHunt

a mate of mine was a gynacologist in Leeds he said it wasn't unheard of for Asian girls to be brought in having had similar (all be it sober) abominations performed on them.

Yup. A few years ago I was working in primary schools in inner city Birmingham. We had a number of incidents where we later discovered that kids had had clitorectomies. When the alarms went off the various communities circled the wagons and no information could be found. Late it was understood that the young girls were being sent home to their mother countries for the op.

A number of girls disappeared of the face of the map. Bugger all we could do other than report it.

Did you know that with the offcuts they wrap wittchety grubs in them and call em 'grubs in blankets'.

they are a treat at kids parties.

Originally Posted by jandajoy

Originally Posted by kingwilly

Tennant Creek is a mess, has been for a long time. Full of drunk and destitute aboriginals.

And some pretty foul whiteys as well.

fair point.

Originally Posted by BobR

If I recall the rules correctly, you do not need to die to get a Darwin Award. An injury that will leave you unable to reproduce also qualifies.

Yup, but apparently the damage wasn't heavy enough for them to qualify. Anyways, they didn't do it on their own, so no Darwin award for them no matter what.




I'm just surprised to hear about this kind of story from Australia. Seems more like the kind of stuff they do in hardcore muslim african countries like Sudan and the likes. Do these australian dudes practice circumcision too ?


And nice blunder from the hospital for not sending the authorities to do their jobs on that one. Or are they hoping the 'practitioners' will one day finally get drunk enough to emasculate next generation ?

At least she has her g spot to fall back on..

No charges over botched circumcisions

By Anna Henderson
Posted 26 minutes ago
Updated 20 minutes ago
Northern Territory Police (ABC TV)

• Map: Tennant Creek 0860
• Related Story: Men treated after botched circumcisions

Northern Territory police say they will not be pressing charges over reports of botched circumcisions during an initiation ceremony in central Australia.
The Territory health department says two men and a boy were admitted to hospital after a ceremony in a remote area outside Tennant Creek.
Police have confirmed they received a report about the incident but they are not pursuing the matter because of "the issue of consent" and "the lack of serious harm".
Officers, however, are meeting with Aboriginal health representatives and other agencies in Tennant Creek about the incident.
Acting Chief Minister Delia Lawrie says the health department is equipped to provide assistance.
"What we've got is a deeply embedded practice that occurs in the Indigenous culture," she said.
"The department of health have always provided support. That support will be ongoing.
"I'm sure there will be ongoing discussions between department officials and traditional people who undertake those ceremonies."