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South Africa,
Blantyre - The slaughter of old people for their body parts in Malawi has
galvanised an international NGO for the aged to step in. Most recently,
78-year-old Ethel Chakoma was found barely alive in her small mealie patch
in a village south of Blantyre. Her eyes had been gouged out for use as
muti. She was rushed to
hospital but died a few days later. Help Age, a
global NGO focusing on the rights of the aged, says it will send a team to
Malawi to investigate Chakoma's death and conduct a survey into the
welfare of old people in the country. The local Elderly
People's Association (EPA) says old people in Malawi are especially
vulnerable because many are dirt poor and lonely, especially in rural
areas where they are often abandoned when their children seek modern
lifestyles in the cities. Malawi has more
than 400 000 elderly people aged 60 and above. In the past two
years more than 10 women in the Chiradzulu and Thyolo districts in
southern Malawi were found dead with their genitals, breasts, fingers,
teeth or even hair missing. Human body parts
are highly priced on the local and international black market with
syndicates ordering hits on innocent people to harvest their parts. Graves are also
robbed so corpses can be cut up before their parts completely decompose. The parts are
used for charms for business people, for example, who wish to increase
their profits. Police
spokesperson George Chikowi said two people arrested in the northern
region of Rumphi had confessed to killing a young girl and cutting off her
hands and feet for use in traditional medicine to improve their fish
catches on a local lake. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging |
