They are among Ghana's voiceless and marginalised. Most of them are above the age of 50, and most have no surviving spouse. None of them is male. They are poor, vulnerable and have no rich relatives to support them. For these "crimes", they have been segregated and isolated from society, confined to a camp.
One of them is 63-year-old Sanatu Asulo, who has been at the camp for one and-a-half years. Her 26-year-old daughter Lukaya has come to visit her in the camp. For the past four months, Lukaya has come often with her two sons, just to keep her mother company.
Sanatu, who hails from Nyon Gumah, has five surviving children, out of I 0 births two sons and three daughters. Her ordeal began when her older sister's sick son, Ibrahim. accused her of being the cause. Despite exonerating herself through two grueling trials by ordeal, Sanatu's life was still in danger in her community.
Her own son, Sulemana, brought her to the camp for safety. Ibrahim, however, died long after she had left the community for the camp. But there was to be no reprieve for Sanatu.
"If my husband were alive, none of this would have happened," she says, weeping. "I have no choice but to accept my situation and wait till my relatives come for me."
Women in these camps suffer gross stigmatisation. Outsiders call them witches. but the women themselves deny it. They say they have been framed because of hatred and envy. "I am not a witch. I know nothing about Ibrahim's sickness or death," Sanatu says.
"I can tell you that my mum is not a witch," adds Lukaya, clutching her youngest son.
Another who has faced the painful stigmatisation is Maimunatu, who has been at the camp for a month. Tears stream down her eyes as we interview her. Her story is so harsh, she has to abandon it halfway.
The conditions of camp itself are nothing to write home about. It is situated in Kpatinga and located about 500 metres away from Kpatinga community itself. Inmates of the camp share nothing in common with the community. The camp used to be much bigger, but was vandalised during the 1994 conflict between the Dagombas and the Komkombas. Some of the inmates lost their lives.
An overlord, a man called Musah from Karaga, is the ieader of the Tindanzeei camp in Kpatinga, lording it over the 27 widows wh') live there. The women sleep on the bare ground, in round poorly-built huts. They provide labour (farming) for the landlord in return for the shelter he provides, but otherwise fend for themselves. They
experience various difficulties including lack of water and health care.
There are two other camps in Gushiegu-Karaga district, located in Gushiegu and Nayilfong. The Gushiegu camp is called "Ganaa" and has 7 inmates, while the camp in Nayilfong has 13.
This practice of segregating widows as witches is embedded in the male-dominated culture of the people. When women marry, they move into their husband's homes. In the event that their husband dies, they have to revert to their father's home where they can remarry. However. this is not possible when they are too old.
. Consequently. in their father's house. they have to be catered for by their brothers. That is where the conflict starts. Their brothers' wives see them as competing with them for the scarce resources, which are not available, of their husband. They are therefore seen as a burden to be gotten rid off.
The situation is ripe for any trouble. The absence of medical facilities means children will always fall sick. Once this occurs, the family put the blame on the poor old lady, and she is banished from the community and sent to the camp designated for witches.
World Vision Ghana in GushieguKaraga discovered the plight of these unfortunate women and has been sending them Gifts in Kind (GIK), soap, clothing and is even planning to provide them mats to sleep on. The Area Development Programme (ADP) has also arranged with the Ghana Health Services to attend to them but the problem is the health workers are unwilling to visit them in their camp.
The long-term plan of the ADP is to resettle them or to reconcile them with their relatives. Indeed one of them has already been reconciled with her son through the efforts ofthe ADP.
She is Teni Dalabra who was ostracised for the past 24 years. She started of in the camp in Kpatinga but later run to the Ganaa camp when the war started in 1994. Due to her deteriorating health, the ADP visited her son, Sumani Dalabra, and convinced him to accept his mum back which he did. This was made possible because Sumani was able to put up his own house with which he settled his mum. The reconciliation process is ongoing and many more will be reconciled with their families.
The ADP is also planning to rehabilitate them by acquiring land to construct chalets for them.
Sanatu, who hails from Nyon Gumah, has five surviving children, out of I 0 births two sons and three daughters. Her ordeal began when her older sister's sick son, Ibrahim. accused her of being the cause. Despite exonerating herself through two grueling trials by ordeal, Sanatu's life was still in danger in her community.
Her own son, Sulemana, brought her to the camp for safety. Ibrahim, however, died long after she had left the community for the camp. But there was to be no reprieve for Sanatu.
"If my husband were alive, none of this would have happened," she says, weeping. "I have no choice but to accept my situation and wait till my relatives come for me."
Women in these camps suffer gross stigmatisation. Outsiders call them witches. but the women themselves deny it. They say they have been framed because of hatred and envy. "I am not a witch. I know nothing about Ibrahim's sickness or death," Sanatu says.
"I can tell you that my mum is not a witch," adds Lukaya, clutching her youngest son.
Another who has faced the painful stigmatisation is Maimunatu, who has been at the camp for a month. Tears stream down her eyes as we interview her. Her story is so harsh, she has to abandon it halfway.
The conditions of camp itself are nothing to write home about. It is situated in Kpatinga and located about 500 metres away from Kpatinga community itself. Inmates of the camp share nothing in common with the community. The camp used to be much bigger, but was vandalised during the 1994 conflict between the Dagombas and the Komkombas. Some of the inmates lost their lives.
An overlord, a man called Musah from Karaga, is the ieader of the Tindanzeei camp in Kpatinga, lording it over the 27 widows wh') live there. The women sleep on the bare ground, in round poorly-built huts. They provide labour (farming) for the landlord in return for the shelter he provides, but otherwise fend for themselves. They
experience various difficulties including lack of water and health care.
There are two other camps in Gushiegu-Karaga district, located in Gushiegu and Nayilfong. The Gushiegu camp is called "Ganaa" and has 7 inmates, while the camp in Nayilfong has 13.
This practice of segregating widows as witches is embedded in the male-dominated culture of the people. When women marry, they move into their husband's homes. In the event that their husband dies, they have to revert to their father's home where they can remarry. However. this is not possible when they are too old.
. Consequently. in their father's house. they have to be catered for by their brothers. That is where the conflict starts. Their brothers' wives see them as competing with them for the scarce resources, which are not available, of their husband. They are therefore seen as a burden to be gotten rid off.
The situation is ripe for any trouble. The absence of medical facilities means children will always fall sick. Once this occurs, the family put the blame on the poor old lady, and she is banished from the community and sent to the camp designated for witches.
World Vision Ghana in GushieguKaraga discovered the plight of these unfortunate women and has been sending them Gifts in Kind (GIK), soap, clothing and is even planning to provide them mats to sleep on. The Area Development Programme (ADP) has also arranged with the Ghana Health Services to attend to them but the problem is the health workers are unwilling to visit them in their camp.
The long-term plan of the ADP is to resettle them or to reconcile them with their relatives. Indeed one of them has already been reconciled with her son through the efforts ofthe ADP.
She is Teni Dalabra who was ostracised for the past 24 years. She started of in the camp in Kpatinga but later run to the Ganaa camp when the war started in 1994. Due to her deteriorating health, the ADP visited her son, Sumani Dalabra, and convinced him to accept his mum back which he did. This was made possible because Sumani was able to put up his own house with which he settled his mum. The reconciliation process is ongoing and many more will be reconciled with their families.
The ADP is also planning to rehabilitate them by acquiring land to construct chalets for them.
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