Analysis of Witches In Exile Movie - Term Paper Example

Witches in Exile In the nineteenth century American social scientists formed a modernization theory that was to explain all of the reasons why there were such huge gaps between the developed and the underdeveloped countries. This theory proposed that the lack of development is the fault of the third world because of an internal condition called traditionalism. The move towards modernization has spurted growth in many countries, but has caused mayhem to those who hold on to traditionalism…such as witchcraft. A documentary called ‘Witches in exile’ gives us a view into the struggle between the modern world and witchcraft. Today we only hear the word which hunt on television or read about it in historical texts as most of us in the modern world do not believe in magic spells or voodoo and do not depend on these types of things to heal us or to cause misfortune. As occupants of a modern world we tend to believe in things that we can see; when we get sick we go to a medical doctor and when we lose our jobs we look at the circumstances which led to our dismissal. To us these practices may seem more normal then modern as we have grown up and learned to think and do as the society that formed us, but in modern Africa many people still struggle to accept modernity as they are caught up in the practices and beliefs of their past. A documentary made by Alison Berg takes us into the lives of women in Ghana who live in the Kukuo witches camp. The documentary consists of interviews with the women and a view into their daily lives which now lacks access to the privileges that they had before they were accused of being witches. Witchcraft poses many threats towards a country moving towards modernization and the effects can very clearly be seen in Alison Berg’s documentary which depicts the traditional approaches and attitudes of tribal members in Ghana. Even though Alison Berg’s documentary is set in Ghana, her work has relevance to many other developing countries like South Africa, Zimbabwe and in Asia as well. Witchcraft in these countries is rooted in the historical culture of the tribes, and culture is something which is rooted inside a person. Culture is the thing which shaped a person’s perceptions and formed their values and beliefs; telling a Zulu African man to go to a hospital for help with HIV may seem ridiculous to him as he may have grown up with a Sangoma healer and his beliefs are rooted strongly in the power of the Sangoma. Alison Berg’s documentary takes us deeper into the divide between tradition and modernization and allows us to see the grasp that witchcraft has on African countries and the effects that it has on its victims; which can clearly be seen through the fear and hopelessness on the four women’s faces shown in the documentary. The documentary takes you on a step by step journey that shows how these four women became condemned as witches. In Ghana the majority of witches seem to be older women who are no longer able to bear children. They also seem to be economically disadvantaged and do not have the resources to fend for themselves. The question that stands in developing countries is whether or not witchcraft is keeping the countries from further development. Many of Ghanas neighboring countries face the same problems; when one looks at South Africa, a country which is both a modern and third world country, one can see the divide between the rich and the poor, as the working class tends to go to hospitals for medical help, while people who live in squatter camps and who are surrounded by traditionalism and a lack of education tend to seek the help of traditional healers and blame their misfortune on evil witchcraft. Alison Berg brings to our attention that it is mostly poor helpless women who fall victim to being exiled and accused of witchcraft. This is proof that education is needed so people will be able to fend for themselves and will not fall into the hands of predators. Every country needs to make amends with its citizen’s spiritual beliefs and values, the practice of witchcraft has led to inexcusable events which strip many of their dignity and basic human rights. In Ghana witch craft leads to fear and accusation and in many other countries like South Africa, witch doctors tend to revert to inexcusable methods of healing as many children under the age of five disappear in South Africa. Witchcraft is to blame for most of these disappearances as witchdoctors believe in the healing power of human organs. Witchcraft is also another huge contributing factor towards rape violence in South Africa; the rise of the aids epidemic led to thousands fleeing to witch doctors and seeking the help of the supernatural for healing. Unfortunately the advice that the African cultures received form witchdoctors was that raping a virgin would cure AIDS. This led to many babies and young children being raped and families ruined. When one looks at the negative factors surrounding the practice of witchcraft one can understand the fear felt my tribe members in Bergs’ documentary. But are governments educating people about the distinction between people who use traditional practices for good and those who use them for evil? In Eastern Cape in South Africa a woman, her daughter and her son were hacked to death after being accused of practicing witchcraft. In Ghana a woman named Samata Karim was almost murdered by a mob after a neighbor had a dream of Samata strangling her (Int. Humanist news, 2007). In Tanzania and Mozambique there have been many reported incidents of torture and murder of suspected witches. Form the mentioned incidents it is clear to see that there lies confusion within African cultures between good and evil uses of witchcraft as well as a disregard for evidence and a tendency to take the law into their own hands. But is the disapproval of witchcraft by the government spurring the witch hunts? Governments have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their people and should educate cultures and ensure that traditional beliefs and practices are understood and that those practices which are inappropriate are banned and that people understand that making use of those practices will lead to severe punishment by the law, not by the mob. Education clearly seems to be the only way of informing traditional cultures about the modern ways of living and teaching them to believe in themselves and to take responsibility for their actions, rather than pass the blame onto a wife or child and accuse them of being a witch. Just like the stories of the four women was told by Alison berg, there have been many more women speaking out about the injustice they had to face; In the BBC News Africa an eighty year old woman named Janet Tibu is suing the elders of the village which she was a part of before being accused of being a witch and sent into exile. Mrs Tibu had a trial in a local market place where she was found guilty of cursing a local herb doctor and condemning him to poverty and impotence. The evidence given for this condemnation was that the herbalist never had any money in his bank account, his crops were ruined and patients did not come to see him. It was the herbalist son who was a confessed wizard who claimed that Mrs Tibu was responsible. This was enough evidence to send the eighty year old woman into exile, not allowed to see her family and forced to pay a fine for her alleged witch craft practices (BBC News, 2001).Janet now lives in a home set up by a local charity in Ghana. The stories of the four women in Berg’s documentary are similar to Janet Tibu’s story and all of the victims are left helpless and forever dependant on the witch house they were sent to. There are six camps across Northern Ghana which is home to about 700 women who have been accused and banished because of witchcraft. The sad part is that those numbers only reflect the women who were lucky enough to make it to camp; others were given the ultimate punishment. The locals of Ghana believe that these camps where the witches get exiled to are safe places as witches are unable to practice magic on the sacred grounds. Alison Bergs documentary shows us the shocking rituals that happen once a woman arrives at one of the witch camps; she is to undergo a ceremony which will determine whether she is indeed guilty of being a witch. This ritual consists of two chickens being slaughtered and then thrown up into the air. Whether the chicken lands face up or face down determines her guilt. The irony though is that it does not matter whether a woman is declared guilty or not- she is still exiled to the witch camp, banned from seeing her friends and family forever. However if the women is found guilty she is then forced to drink a concoction which is supposed to cleanse her. This concoction is made up of earth, water and blood and some woman become so ill after they drank it that they die. Because of the fear of being found guilty even some women who have been found innocent still drink the concoction. Through a country’s quest to move towards modernization what is a government to do about the beliefs and values placed on witchcraft? The documentary ‘witches in exile’ shows us the circumstances surrounding witchcraft and allows us to see the bigger picture that surrounds the beliefs and age old traditions which a government cannot simply wipe away or ban. Another factor which seems to surface in this documentary is the gender discrimination which seems to take place. Older women who are no longer able to have children and contribute to their tribes are easily taken care of by accusing them of witchcraft. When one sees the complex situation portrayed in Berg’s documentary one wonders whether anything could really be done to change something that has existed for thousands of year; Governments will have to rely and enforce education on their people in developing countries. Old traditions need to be respected but new traditions need to be slowly integrated into the community and people need to learn that they can be self empowered and that their fate does not lie in the hands of witches and wizards. Once people understand that misfortune does not come from witchcraft, but from economic and social circumstances, they will be less inclined to accusing, banishing and ultimately murdering others for being alleged witches. Fortunately there are those who are working very hard to make a difference and to make a change in the attitudes of the cultures who are grasped by these practices. Actionaid is an organization who is currently working in Ghana to help the women who have become trapped in the witch camps and to make them see that they have human rights and to help them to demand the same treatment and rights for the government as they had enjoyed before they were denied all because they were condemned as witches. Actionaid is working at letting these women become self empowered individuals by teaching them how to grow their own vegetables, providing water supplies to them and treating them like human beings- not evil witches. It is hard to understand other cultures when you are not a part of them and as the whole world moves towards development the third world countries seem to get left more behind, and all that they can cling to is what have been brought with them through time- their traditions. Witches in exile gives us a closer look at the situation surrounding witchcraft in Ghana, but also makes us see and feel the emotions of the women who fall victim to it. Alison Berg did not only make a documentary, but she took a stand for every so called witch in Ghana and through educating all viewers around the world, people will take a stand and governments and the United Nations will be forced to take responsibility for educating the people of the third world. Without education there can be no growth and people will be unable to see why modern medicine can heal you, or why being poor is not the fault of a neighbor who seems to be a witch. Governments also need to stand up for their people and not allow the injustices that are done to some. Witchcraft is an age old tradition which has been condemned form as early as the bible, but there are no grounds and no solid evidence for accusing someone of being a witch and then torturing or murdering them. ‘Witches in Exile’ is a documentary which educated us and calls upon us to make a difference. We live in a time where people have rights and we all have the freedom of thought and expression; third world countries have the same rights but we all should help and contribute to their education, their rights as human beings and ultimately the journeys of our neighbors lives. Read More