Did you hear about Islington social services paying over £8,000 for a consultant to travel to Africa to investigate whether they should send a boy in their care to the Congo for an exorcism?!
I could have told them NO! and for free.
The consultant – who actually accepted the job – was told that the child would be starved from fluid and food for three days, met children who were scared and traumatised, and said that children were often shaken, beaten and sprayed with chilli peppers and even cut with razor blades (and that’s only what they told him). He adds:
Whilst I found the family and the church to be very friendly, I cannot recommend that the child be allowed to go through a deliverance service such as that envisaged.
Very friendly indeed.
Seriously, though, if anyone is paying attention, those involved in this decision should be kept as far away from children as possible.
But then knowing how things work, they will most probably be given medals for cultural sensitivity…
(News link via Anne Marie Waters)
9 comments
1 ping
Skip to comment form ↓
Re-Enlightenment
June 26, 2012 at 3:17 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Oh how I love it when an organ of the state behaves so responsibly towards those in its care.
This is up there with Tariq Ramadan calling for a moratorium on stonings to discuss whether they are right or wrong.
My take on witchcraft/exorcism a while ago:
http://enlightenmentlover.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/witchcraft-christianity-and-cardinal-keith-obrien/
Alistair Barbour
June 26, 2012 at 4:03 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
For too long many people in authority have had an infatuation with multiculturalism and ethnic sensitivity’s.Sometimes ignoring certain practices if they are part of, or practised by anyone from another culture,even if the practice is not even part of the culture which it is done in the name off.
There should only be right and wrong, moral and immoral,ethical and unethical.Perhaps if the these lunatics in authority started concentrating on what we all have in common and build on that rather than concentrating on the differences we might be able to move forward as humans.
Dunc
June 26, 2012 at 4:58 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
I remember when this issue was debated on Newsnight a couple of months ago… They had a number of guest on, talking about various aspects of the issue, and the (supposedly) right and wrong ways to go about this sort of thing, but absolutely no-one with the temerity to point out that exorcism is bullshit.
Robert B.
June 26, 2012 at 6:35 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
At least they checked…
F
June 26, 2012 at 7:54 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
I’ve got a huge mess to clean up now because my head just exploded.
Daniel Schealler
June 27, 2012 at 12:33 am (UTC 1) Link to this comment
@Maryam Namazie
This is completely off-topic, but I stumbled on something online that I thought you might be interested in blogging about and I wasn’t sure how else to get in contact with you.
http://www.secularnewsdaily.com/2012/06/borders-manager-charged-over-banned-book/
Maryam Namazie
June 27, 2012 at 12:50 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
Thanks for this. There are so many cases like this one that I shoul dbe highlighting.
Daniel Schealler
June 27, 2012 at 9:36 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
That’s okay: You can’t be expected to read everything. :p
Jason Thibeault
June 27, 2012 at 4:05 am (UTC 1) Link to this comment
You’re undercutting yourself — charge at least $20. People think free advice is worthless.
Dub i nGal
June 26, 2012 at 3:34 pm (UTC 1) Link to this comment
[...] found this via the blog of Maryam Namazie: the social services in Islington seriously considered sending a child back to the Democratic [...]