The spread of the deadly Ebola outbreak throughout West Africa is leaving hundreds of children orphaned, and a number of them are reportedly marginalized by some tribal communities due to the fear of witchcraft and black magic.
“There’s a strong belief in witchcraft that Ebola is contracted through a curse or in some cases that it is a white man’s fabrication,” said Jamie Bedson, charity Restless Development’s Sierra Leone country director, according to The Financial Times.
“There is a mistrust of foreigners, and in one place everyone threw away soap given out by the government because they thought it was poisoned.”
Fides News Agency reported on Thursday that the health systems are in danger of collapsing in the hardest-hit countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. The Liberian government, with the help of NGOs, has so far registered 310 orphaned children who were not infected but who’s parents died from Ebola, while another 600-700 remain in quarantine.
The children are faced not only with coping with the loss of family members, but also the preconceived notions of witchcraft. Full Story.