http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gesellschaft/0,1518,656308,00.html

Translation:

The "witchchildren" of Nigeria

More and more children in Africa are accused of sorcery by clerics - and agonized or killed. According to UNICEF tens of thousands are affected. 13 churches are known to authorities, some of them are splinter groups of international congregations of faith.

Eket - Nwanaoko lays emaciated on his hospital bed, the blind eyes turned away. A pastor had accused the 9 year old of witchcraft, his father had wanted to instilled him acid for exorcism and cauterized his face and eyes thereby. Totally exhausted the boy could just tell the name of the church whisperingly, that stigmatized him as a warlock. One month later he was dead.

As Nwanaoko more and more children in Africa are accused of witchcraft and then - often by their own relatives - agonized or killed. In half of the 200 cases of "witchchildren", that the AP followed, pastors took their hands within.

13 churches are known to authorities, some of them are apostate splinter groups of international congregations of faith. In Nwanaokos case it was the church "Mount Zion Lighthouse", part of the influential pentecostal movement of Nigeria. The spin-off of a Californian Church of the same name is according to own statements the fastest growing religious community in the west-african country with more than 30 million members.

Their members take the biblical exhortation from the book of Exodus literally: "You shall not keep a witch alive." Similar thoughts govern, among others, also the evangelical congregations "Born 2 Rule Crusade", "Winner's Chapel" or "Embassy of Christ".

"It is a crime that the let that happen in the name of Christianity", says Gary Foxcroft, head of the help organisation Stepping Stone Nigeria, in outrage. Poverty, ignorance and conflicts prepare the grounds for accusations, that were caused by the death of a relative, the loss of employment or the suspicion of an ambitious pastor, explains Martin Dawes from the United Nations Children's Fund. He says "When a community comes under pressure it searches for ascapegoat".

The mother of Jane wanted to saw the cover of her skull off

"It matches the traditional ideas, that changes for the worse have someone who is responsible for them. And children are defenceless." Tens of thousands are affected in Africa according to UNICEF. According to critics in two of the 36 states of Nigeria about 15'000 boys and girls were pilloried and about 1000 were killed during the last decade. Alone in the last months 3 children that were accused of witchcraft were killed and 3 more were set on fire.

You can make a lot of money with exorcism. Margaret Eyekang payed for several exorcisms, when her daughter Abigail was blamed a witch by the Apostolic Churched of Nigeria. Now Eyekang is shot of  8 months salary, converted about 270 USD, and broke. Abigail was beaten by the neighbours. Her mother found refuge by relatives, but not the daughter - she has to sleep on the streets.

Expelled and mistreated "witchchildren" find Abigail, find refuge in the shelter of the network for children's right and rehabilitation. It were seven when founded in 2003, by now it are constantly 120 to 200 boys and girls. The shyly smiling Jane has a scare on her head: He mother wanted to saw the cover of her skull off because a pastor had stigmatized her as a witch and repeated exorcisms for converted 60 USD couldn't cure her from the alleged witchcraft.

15-yo Mary is marked by scars on her face; she was doused with caustic soda. The 12 yo Rachel was lain in chains by the pastor, had to hunger and was beaten with sticks. The cousin of Israel tried to bury him alive. Nwaekwas father shot her a nail in the head. Jerry was beaten by the pastor, had to hunger and to eat cement and was then put on fire by this father. Already when the name of a church is just mentioned, the traumatized children react in panic. "Please hold the pastors back, that hurt us", says Jerry silently. "I believe in God, and God knows that I'm not a warlock."