Voodoo Priests lynched in Haiti

[Mr Lick]

24 December 2010 Last updated at 10:57 GMT


Haiti mobs lynch voodoo priests over cholera fears


There have been calls for better public health information throughout the epidemic
Continue reading the main story
Voodoo priests in Haiti are being lynched by mobs who blame them for spreading cholera, the country's government has said.

At least 45 people have been lynched in recent weeks as Haiti continues to be ravaged by a cholera epidemic.
Haiti's communications minister has made an appeal for the lynchings to end and called for a campaign to ensure people understand how cholera spreads.
More than 2,500 Haitians have died from the water-borne disease since October.
Another 121,000 people have been treated for symptoms of cholera, with at least 63,500 admitted to hospital, figures show.
The outbreak has also prompted angry protests aimed at the United Nations, whose Nepalese peacekeepers have been suspected of introducing cholera to Haiti.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has announced an investigation into the reports, although the UN initially denied the suggestion.
Blame game
Although many Haitians still practise voodoo or use aspects of voodoo in their religious worship, the latest violence erupted out of fears the traditional priests were using their powers to spread the infection.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote

People have been blaming us, saying that we cast spells and did evil things which brought the earthquake as a punishment”

End Quote Max Beauvoir Voodoo priest
Officials counted 40 people killed - mostly voodoo priests - killed in one region of Haiti, the AFP news agency reported, with five others killed elsewhere.
"The victims... were stoned or hacked with machetes before being burned in the streets," communications ministry official Moise Fritz Evens said.
Haiti's communications minister said she abhorred the killings and insisted that the answer was to improve general education about how cholera is transmitted.
"Voodoo practitioners have nothing to do with the cholera epidemic. We must press for an awareness campaign about the disease in the communities."
A highly prominent voodoo leader, Max Beauvoir, told Reuters news agency police were not doing enough to stop the violence.
"Since the earthquake some people have been blaming us, saying that we cast spells and did evil things which brought the earthquake as a punishment," he said.
Haiti's cholera epidemic has provoked widespread fear across the country. Anger spread when suspicions emerged that the Nepalese UN peacekeepers could have brought the disease to Haiti - where it is extremely rare - from their country, where it is endemic.
Poor sanitary conditions in much of quake-hit Haiti have contributed to the rapid spread of cholera, which causes diarrhoea and vomiting. It can kill quickly but is treated easily through rehydration and antibiotics.
The country was hit by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake in January 2010 that devastated most of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and killed at least 250,000 people.

[sabang]

Almost as bad as cholera really.

[hazz]

Its just what happens in any country where Islam or Christianity has a huge amount of clout. use any excuse to get rid of completing religions; history shows this is normal, so there's nothing to see.... move a long

[Thormaturge]

They are due another 7.0+ earthquake in the not too distant future. Whatever they do, they are screwed.

[baby maker]

A highly prominent voodoo leader, Max Beauvoir, told Reuters news agency police were not doing enough to stop the violence. "Since the earthquake some people have been blaming us, saying that we cast spells and did evil things which brought the earthquake as a punishment," he said

....thought these Voodoo guys told the future....among other things...

[Pol the Pot]

Hang 'em higher, I say.

Voodoo priests indeed.

[BobR]

Human stupidity, whether in Thailand, Haiti, The UK or USA is a sad thing to see. It takes different forms, but it's present most everywhere.

[Mr Gribbs]

Its just what happens in any country where Islam or Christianity has a huge amount of clout. use any excuse to get rid of completing religions; history shows this is normal, so there's nothing to see.... move a long

You sound like a bigoted atheist who doesn't have a clue about Haiti. Syncretism is an intricate part of Haitian society, this about the genetics of Haitians, not the religion(s) they follow.

[the dogcatcher]

Sounds like a thread within the human gene pool that might be better off if we leave it to die out.
Cheaper too.

[Moonraker]

Magic people voodoo people

[hazz]

Its just what happens in any country where Islam or Christianity has a huge amount of clout. use any excuse to get rid of completing religions; history shows this is normal, so there's nothing to see.... move a long

You sound like a bigoted atheist who doesn't have a clue about Haiti. Syncism is an intricate part of Haitian society, this about the genetics of Haitians, not the religion(s) they follow.

Sorry mate but take a long look at the last 500 years, I think you will not find a country with a large Christian or muslem majority that hasn't been into witch killing of some description and / or persecute the odd minority religion. Its not like the Haiti is alone, the Saudi's are quite keen too. A fact of history and life rather than bigotry. I was unaware of them finding the lynching people gean

[Thormaturge]

They'll probably lynch all the Voodoo priests and then let the Catholics in.

May as well get on with the next earthquake and be done with it.

[hazz]

^too late Catholicism is the state religion in the constitution and 80% of them are card carrying members. hence my lack of surprise of their scapegoating some pre-cristian priests. I suppose we should be grateful that they have clearly evolved passed the burning alive at a stake phase.

[nigelandjan]

sort of related , does anyone on here know the likelyhood of cholera spreading into the Dom Rep ?

[who]

sort of related , does anyone on here know the likelyhood of cholera spreading into the Dom Rep ?

It already has.
.

[nigelandjan]

sort of related , does anyone on here know the likelyhood of cholera spreading into the Dom Rep ?

It already has.
.

Just my luck got a deposit paid on a holiday for April ,,,,,,,,,,,,,oh well we all gotta go sometime

[Mr Gribbs]

Its just what happens in any country where Islam or Christianity has a huge amount of clout. use any excuse to get rid of completing religions; history shows this is normal, so there's nothing to see.... move a long

You sound like a bigoted atheist who doesn't have a clue about Haiti. Syncism is an intricate part of Haitian society, this about the genetics of Haitians, not the religion(s) they follow.

Sorry mate but take a long look at the last 500 years, I think you will not find a country with a large Christian or muslem majority that hasn't been into witch killing of some description and / or persecute the odd minority religion. Its not like the Haiti is alone, the Saudi's are quite keen too. A fact of history and life rather than bigotry. I was unaware of them finding the lynching people gean

I disagree, this is a black African thing, it has little to do with Christianity or Islam. Religions have always been mixed in the Caribbean and Latin America. The Catholic Church has always turned a blind to Syncretism, because it better then having 100% non believers. That is why you have Santeria in Cuba, the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico, etc. It is cultural stupidity, just like the Chinese who think a bears gall bladder can treat or cure certain diseases. It's a myth that religion is the big killer, it certainly hasn't been in the last 100+ years, that has been communism.

[who]

sort of related , does anyone on here know the likelyhood of cholera spreading into the Dom Rep ?

It already has.
.

Just my luck got a deposit paid on a holiday for April ,,,,,,,,,,,,,oh well we all gotta go sometime

Drink only liquids that come in unopened bottles and eat only well cooked foods. You'll be fine. It's an interesting country, you will probably like it.
.

[Thormaturge]

^
It will probably be rocked by an earthquake, so don't concern yourself about the cholera.

[nigelandjan]

^ Thanks for that to be honest that might improve the way I feel now ,,, and yes thanks WHO we have been before mate and yes that is the obvious ,, I looked up a bit of info into cholera and apparently there is an oral vaccine to be taken in 2 doses not more than 6 weeks before travel . I have had every other vaccination going known to man including the new 25 year Hep A . B + C so fingers crossed.
The wife will be ok she eats raw pork fat dipped in that brown smelly stuff

[zygote1]

Mr Gribbs says;
You sound like a bigoted atheist who doesn't have a clue about Haiti. Syncretism is an intricate part of Haitian society, this about the genetics of Haitians, not the religion(s) they follow.


I disagree, this is a black African thing, it has little to do with Christianity or Islam. Religions have always been mixed in the Caribbean and Latin America. .......
It is cultural stupidity,

First you say it is the genetics of the Haitians, who are essentially Negroes, or more specifically transplants from Africa. Then you call someone a bigot without a clue on Haiti and then you claim it's cultural.

Culture is not governed by genes. Hair colour is. Height is. Predisposition to disease is, but not culture. Voodoo is a product of ignorance, of fear, of servitude and of poverty. The Haitians went from French owned slaves, to emotional slaves of the Catholic Church and then to slaves of a handful of elites that were approved by the French, Americans and to a lesser degree, the English. Haiti is the result of European greed that took Africans and put them on a island where they did not belong. In fact, the whites and blacks of the Carribbean have no link to the place. Voodoo is the byproduct. if the population had birth control decades ago, the population would have been manageable, but the Catholic Church forbid it. Papa Doc Duvalier governed with the full support of the USA because he was anti communist and he used Voodoo to control the population. Haiti is a lost cause, a population that doesn't belong and the disease one sees now is the product of that situation. The poverty of Haiti is a direct result of the financial penalty France imposed upon the nation when it gained its independence, Haiti had to give all of its wealth to France as compensation. Voodoo is all that the people have. It makes a living hell bearable. The only solution is to transfer all of the Haitians back to France and west Africa where they belong. Failing that, let disease do what it must to control an over population.

[The Bold Rodney]

It will probably be rocked by an earthquake, so don't concern yourself about the cholera.

Or the bottled water and well cooked food, saying that... beautiful beaches and scenery although the weather can change severely and of course the 1 metre wide potholes are something to try and avoid while driving.

[The Bold Rodney]

Voodoo is a product of ignorance

Addition...gribbs is also a product of ignorance.