Warning: Some aspects of this story might be distressing for some people to read.
It happened nine years ago. I saw a group of builders sprinkling the blood of chicken at a construction site. They were going to build a student’s hostel on that plot. One man in a t-shirt held a chicken by its legs and head as blood oozed from its neck. His muscles were thick, the vein on his neck ran down like a stream. He was saying words I couldn’t understand. Some of his contemporaries stood at the edges of the foundation that had been dug, quietly looking on, following proceedings and instructions in silence.
I stayed watching this unfold on because it was bizarre to me. Were they calling on the gods of chickens to bless their work? Were they asking for strength from chicken blood? How do the gods of chickens work? I asked those questions. I thought they’d defeather the chicken and roast it for a meal. They buried the chicken.
A black goat was tethered at the base of a shrub. I knew that billy was going to get slaughtered and sacrificed on that land. I didn’t have the guts to see what would happen to it. That was meat which was probably going to get wasted. I passed by that place in January and found a hostel standing there. Birds and animals had been sacrificed to get that building up. But was it necessary? Anyway, I can deal with animals getting chopped up for whatever sacrificial reason people who believe in it want. But children being kidnapped and their bodies cut up for ritual sacrifice is a practice that’s unacceptable.
I watched a news report. It was heart wrenching. It was one of those reports that comes with a warning like, “You might find parts of this report disturbing.” The reporters prepare you for what your ears and eyes are about to experience.
A girl was kidnapped on her way back home from a well. The jerry can with water which she was balancing on her head fell by the wayside. I think she attempted to scream and fight. But she was overpowered. The kidnappers dragged her into a nearby bush. They hit her head with a stone and with a machete and sharp knives, they cut off her legs and fingers. They slaughtered her. They put a slit in her jugular and collected the blood that was dripping into a pan. Then those murderers sneaked out of that bush. No one saw them. Only God above did.
Two days later, the little girl’s remains were discovered with missing body parts. Her mother’s knees became weak and her eyes couldn’t hold in the tears. It was heartrending.
Many children have disappeared like that. Their bodies are discovered with missing parts, parts which are said to be asked for by witch doctors.
I saw a harrowing account of a survivor of ritual sacrifice, a boy, under 10 years of age. Those good for nothing buggers cut through his skull. They cut his neck to drain blood. And you know what else they did? They castrated him. They cut off his testes and those guys ran off. They thought the boy’s life had left his body. Someone discovered his body lying in that mess of blood. It’s a miracle he survived that ordeal.
Why? Why do people think they have the right to maim and kill a child (or anyone for that matter) for their selfish reasons?
Child sacrifice is criminal. It should have no place in our society today.
Speechless
I know, right.