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Published: March 18th 2008
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Someone's Grandmother
I'm interviewing one of the accused witches in Gambaga camp in Northern Ghana.
Photo by Indica Jehman Are Old Folks Homes the Witch Camps of Canada? By Nichole Huck
“Would you send your mother to a witch camp?” That’s the question I righteously asked a caller on a human rights call in show who said ‘the whites are just trying to destroy African culture by bringing in ideas about human rights.’
A reporter from Radio Justice and I recently returned from visiting three witch camps in Ghana’s Northern Region. We shared what we learned on our weekly human rights show, Freedom Thursday. We told the listeners about the deplorable living conditions in two of the camps. We spoke about how elderly women are forced to walk for miles to get water, how they have difficulty finding food or medical treatment when they are sick and how they are lacking necessities such as doors on their huts to protect from the cold and rain.
We spoke about how most of the women are widows - women with no one to fight for them. We met elderly women who have passed their prime and are therefore no longer seen as valuable by their community. A women’s life is not easy - from the time she is old enough to walk she is expected to work; pounding fufu, fetching water, washing clothes, taking care of younger siblings. She works for her family until she is old enough to marry and start her own family. But there comes a time when fetching water and finding firewood becomes difficult - when eyes and knees fail - when the womb is no longer fertile - this is when a woman turns from an asset into a liability.
We listened to the words of countless old women - and heard the same stories repeated over and over again. Accusations based on jealousy with no opportunity to defend oneself. Chased away from the only home they have ever known and forced to seek shelter in a witch camp - a community of women in exile with no place else to go. Some of the women called the camp their ‘heaven’ - they said they feel safe and don’t have to worry about abuse or face further accusations. Some women said the treatment they had in their community was so bad that even if they had the option, they would not return home.
After my colleague and I finished talking about the things we saw and the people we met , we opened up the phone lines. Some people heard my distinctly non-African accent and advised me not to interfere with African culture. One man said we could try and improve the conditions of the camp - but we should continue to send witches there because otherwise they will cause harm in their community. Another man said we are wasting our time worrying about witches and if we want to help people we should go to a children’s home. Yet another caller said women are isolated in Western countries as well - so why should Africa be any different?
My female colleague became annoyed. Why should we waste our time and money going to visit these communities when our listeners obviously don’t appreciate our work? What’s the point in even talking about human rights issues when our listeners are not ready to accept that sometimes culture is at odds with human rights? I admit I was also upset - I felt telling us to go help at a children’s home was patronizing. But I also felt one caller had a valid point when he said women in other countries are isolated. It’s true - women the world over are tucked away once they stop being productive members of society.
I’m sure visitors to Canada would be horrified to see how we treat our elderly people. Entire buildings are dedicated to old people - if you look beyond the wheelchair accessible ramps, scheduled meals of easily digestible food, and blaring televisions, you will see a building full of people society deems as no longer productive. They are no longer required to earn a pay cheque, no longer expected to care for children, no longer able to take care of themselves. Most have families who love them - who visit from time to time - who feel guilty for lacking the time or medical expertise to care for their elderly family member. But it doesn’t change the fact that once you are no longer deemed as an asset you are a liability. Are our nursing homes just sanitized versions of witch camps?
I’d like to think not. I’d like to think that I live in a country that values women of all ages. I would love to say I’m from a culture that holds the wisdom of old people in high regard - a culture that sees old age as a blessing not a burden. But is it true?
Would foreign journalists coming to Canada file reports about the dependency on drugs and high rates of depression in nursing homes? Would they interview old women about how their husbands died and their children are too busy to take care of them? How would Canadians react to a foreigner who doesn’t understand the busy culture - a foreigner who doesn’t understand why both husband and wife have to work outside the home - a foreigner who criticizes how we as Canadians treat our old people?
I’m sure the phones would ring off the hook with angry callers eager to dismiss the outsider’s observations; eager to justify why nursing homes are a necessary part of our society - a by-product of double income households and extended life expectancies.
I love my grandmother - but what could I say if a righteous foreign journalist asked ‘would you put your grandmother in an old folks home?’
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daniel
non-member comment
keep the good work
I am from Ghana , but in the US right now and what you are doing brining awareness to this problem is really great. Keep up the good work.