Vigilantes in Malawi have killed six people suspected of trying to obtain and drink human blood as part of magic rituals.
Malawi, where witchcraft is widely believed and education standards are low, is regularly dogged by rumours of "vampire" activity. The six people were alleged to have tried since mid-September to obtain human blood. They were killed in three separate incidents in the area surrounding Mulanje Mountain in the south of the country.
The most recent attack came on Sunday when an angry mob beat two people to death because they "suspected the two (victims) of being blood suckers", said police spokesman James Kadadzera.
The victims were travelling to pray close to the mountain when they were intercepted by a violent crowd on their way through a village.
In another incident, Mr Kadadzera said a local chief was killed by a group because they accused him of colluding with men suspected of consuming human blood.The victims were targeted because local people believed they were looking for blood to use in spiritual rituals.
"There is no evidence about the blood suckers … and nobody has come to police to complain," " Mr Kadadzera said. "We blame communities for taking the law into their hands," Mr Kadadzera said.
Police have deployed more than 100 riot officers to the region in response to the killings.
The United States embassy in Malawi has temporarily withdrawn its team of Peace Corps volunteers from the four districts bordering Mulanje and advised its citizens not to visit the area.
In a statement, the embassy blamed "ongoing acts of vigilante justice stemming from rumours of persons attempting to siphon blood from local residents for ritualistic use."
In the 1970s, the government of former dictator Hastings Kamuzu Banda was accused of killing a dozen residents in a suburb of southern city Blantyre in order to send their blood to apartheid-era South Africa. Although the culprit was eventually caught and jailed for life, the murders still haunt Malawi.
The issue of vampires remains a sensitive one for officials in Malawi. In 2003, police arrested a radio journalist for interviewing a man who claimed his village was visited by blood-sucking vampires. He was later released.
The government has previously been forced to deny that it collaborates with international aid organisations to take blood from impoverished villagers in exchange for food supplies.
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia