MARRAKESH, Morocco

Ray Cole, and 70 year old British citizen, was jailed in Morocco for “homosexual acts.” Cole travelled to Morocco for a vacation with a Moroccan man, Jamal Jam Wald Nass, with whom he had developed an online relationship with in the preceding months. The two had explored Morocco; Cole had frequently updated his Facebook with pictures of the sites and cities he visited with his partner. On September 18^th, the two men were arrested at a bus stop in Marrakesh, after a police officer had approached the men for suspected homosexuality. After being brought to the police station, Cole and Nass were jailed for being gay.

Ray Cole- Photo courtesy of Express UK

Cole reveals that the conditions in the jail were horrible. He was forced to sleep on the ground, due to over-crowding, with little more than a blanket. Everything else, including his glasses, were taken away. Cole, who was jailed for nothing more than his sexual orientation, was held with men who had committed serious crimes, including murder. The British consulate worked actively to get Cole home to his family, and on October 2^nd, he finally boarded a flight back to the United Kingdom.

 

While Cole returned home to a country that allows citizens to exercise their freedom of sexuality, this episode underlines a serious cultural barrier for homosexuals in Muslim countries—homosexuality is criminalized. As a result, gay and lesbian individuals are forced to keep their identity an absolute secret, or deal with the ramifications of being gay in a Muslim country, which can include prison, stoning, and death. Furthermore, as briefly touched upon, the crime of homosexuality puts offenders in the same category as some of the worst criminals, including murderers. How can these two crimes be reconciled as equally egregious?

 

Film maker Abdellah Taïa uses his work to explore the pain, challenges, and heartache of being gay in Morocco, documenting how a mob had yelled outside of his home about raping him, and not a single member of his family defended him. This sense of abandonment is not uncommon for homosexuals in Morocco and other Muslim countries. Taïa urges that something must change legally and culturally in these countries, as the criminalization of homosexuality is not sustainable.

 

So while Ray Cole returned home to Britain after the ordeal of being jailed for homosexuality, many are still relegated to silence in order to preserve their freedom and lives. While homosexuality remains a crime in Morocco, people that identify as homosexuals will not be able to live without the threat of violence. Will the attention brought to the situation in Morocco by Cole’s experience benefit the homosexual community in this Muslim country?

 

For more information, please visit:

The Guardian- British man jailed for four months for ‘being gay’– Oct 5, 2014

The Guardian- Morocco releases British tourist jailed for ‘homosexual acts’– Oct 7 2014

The Guardian- Moroccan partner jailed with Briton for ‘homosexual acts’ freed– Oct 9, 2014

The Guardian- Abdellah Taia: In Arab countries, homosexuality is a crime. This has to change– Oct 3, 2014

By: Danielle L. Cowan (Gwozdz)
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Operator, Africa

DODOMA, Tanzania – Police in Tanzania have arrested and charged twenty-three people for killing seven people for alleged “witchcraft.”

Villagers burned the victims alive.

“They were attacked and burnt to death by a mob of villagers who accused them of engaging in witchcraft,” the western Kigoma region police chief said.

“Five of those killed were aged over 60, while the other two were aged over 40,” he added.

Among those killed was the local traditional doctor, or called the “witch doctor.”

Relatives of those killed described the horrific scenes of their family member who had been killed. These images described members hacked with machetes or burned almost beyond recognition.

“When I returned home in the evening, I found the body of my mother lying 10 meters away from our house, while the body of my father was burnt inside the house,” Josephat John told one newspaper.

A Tanzanian human rights group has estimated that about 500 “suspected witches” are killed in Tanzania annually.

BBC has stated reports between 2005-2011 claim more than 3,000 people have been killed after being accused of witchcraft.

One of the villagers detained for the murder is the village local leader.

The village is now empty. The leader of the Murufiti village told the BBC that “[m]en and women have run away from the village. Even child are not there. . . . Everyone was scared of the event, and others feared police search.”

Among the targeted villagers, it has been claimed that villagers with albinism (“albino”) have been targeted because it is believed that their body parts used for charms can bring good fortune and prosperity.

For more information, please visit:
BBC News – Tanzania arrests 23 over killing of seven ‘witches’ – 10 October 2014
Mail & Guardian – Seven accused of witchcraft burned alive in Tanzania – 10 October 2014
The Frontier Post – Seven witchcraft suspects burned to death in Tanzania – 10 October 2014
iAfrica – Seven burnt for witchcraft – 10 October 2014
news24 – 7 witchcraft suspects burned to death in Tanzania – 10 October 2014

By Ashley Repp

News Desk Reporter, Africa

JOHANNESBURG– South Africa

In just over a month, two highly publicized instances of the use of black face have rocked South Africa, and embroiled the nation in a debate over current race relations, and the cultural prejudices these episodes reveal. In both of the cases, photos of the costumes were posted to social media. But the cases are unique in the specific issues they expose.

Photo: Two university students in blackface- courtesy of Aljazeera

The first case involved two female students at the University of Pretoria, who dressed up for a party as black domestic workers. The students were dressed for a private birthday party, but because the photo was taken on school grounds, the university took action, and dismissed the girls from the residence halls. And while this was action to an extent, the photo provoked discourse underlying deep-seated race tensions in a nation that has a not so distant apartheid past. Many South Africans criticized the students on social media, asserting that while they “mock” the domestic worker, she is likely the one that raised them, and that this photo was racist to the extreme. The photo also called South Africans to reflect on jobs, and how those are often dependent on race. The domestic worker, for example, is a black woman who runs a wealthy white household, often tending to cleaning, cooking, and child care. These workers also earn very little. The Commander in Chief of Economic Freedom Fighters, Julius Malema,also announced that the organization would trade blackface for land, since black South Africans often do not, or unable to own land. In his statement, he noted “Come now… you can’t pretend to be black and own land.”

The second photo involved two students dressed as Venus and Serena Williams. The students claimed that there was no malicious intent behind the costumes and they regret their decision to wear them. After investigation, chose not to discipline the students further.

The photos call to the forefront racist paradigms that still operate in South Africa, leaving many to think that in some ways, the nation has not moved far beyond the apartheid system that governed social, cultural, and economic systems just two decades ago. Will these photos provide the impetus for honest dialogue regarding deeply held prejudices on both sides, both white and black, as well as the systemic features that maintain white dominance in many ways, or will the photos further divide the nation along racial lines?

 

For more information, please visit:

Aljazeera- South African college in ‘blackface’ scandal– 27 Sept. 2014

Aljazeera- South African students in blackface receive backlash, punishment– 6 Aug. 2014

All Africa- South Africa: Malema offers blackface in exchange for land– 29 Sept. 2014

New York Post- Students who wore blackface to portray Venus and Serena accused of racism– 26 Sept. 2014

 

By Ashley Repp
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MONROVIA, Liberia- The fight to stop the spread of the deadly Ebola virus has been unsuccessful; the death toll has risen, as well as the number of those infected. People in Liberia, an epicenter of the disease, have struggled to cope with the existence of Ebola within their country’s borders. Some are convinced that saying the word “ebola,” will bring the virus to the village. Others believe that it is nothing but a government hoax to get peoples’ blood. And some are consumed by fear, skeptical of medical personnels’ ability to help stop the virus as more and more people taken into hospitals for treatment never emerge. This fear has caused many people to hide in their homes when they become ill, relying on their family for care, and infecting them in the process. But one of the newest issues in grappling with this virus, are the containment methods being employed to stop the virus.

 

In West Point slum in Monrovia, residents are being detained by police. No one is allowed in or out. Barbed wire lines gaps between buildings and officials stand ready to enforce. As a result of this confinement, people are unable to go to work, unable to feed themselves or their families, and the formerly minimal sanitation is now nonexistent. These quarantine policies have done nothing to quell fear, and instead, have provoked panic and desperation in an already tense community, rattled by the Ebola crisis. One man interviewed from the other side of a quarantine gate in the slum likened the containment process to being penned up like an animal. Others have expressed concern over the fact that the dead are not necessarily getting proper burial rites, according to local and religious practices and beliefs. For example, one man interviewed asserted that among the dead was a Muslim man, and particular burial practices must be followed.

While there is an apparent need to contain the virus, and quickly, the quarantine practices walk the line of inhumane, even under the given circumstances. Effective communication lines need to be formed between medical workers and villages so that the fear many have of doctors, nurses, and hospitals can be eliminated. But with the limited resources at government and aid groups’ disposal, the battle to contain the spread of Ebola will be challenging. Educating people as quickly as possible on the spread of the virus and the role of doctors may be the best low budget and most effective method of containment.

For more information please see:

The New York Times- What you need to know about the Ebola outbreak– 22 Sep 2014

PBS- Frontline: Ebola Outbreak (Documentary)– 9 Sep 2014

Discovery Health Channel- Ebola: Inside the deadly outbreak (Documentary)– 2014

CNN- Angry, scared and hungry: inside the Ebola quarantine zone– 26 Aug 2014