Story on Oprah: Cradle Rape

[NannaNurse]

I watched Oprah today and I've never felt more disgusted or ill in my life, hearing about babies that are being raped in South Africa by grown, AIDS infested 'men' who have been told that if they have sex or 'lay with a child' that the purity of the virgin child will cause the AIDS to go away.

Have any of you ever heard a more sickening thing? They told of a 8 month old........8 MONTHS OLD......that had been savagely gang rapes and cut. The baby was found abandoned and was rushed to the hospital. The injuries so severe, that even the ER doc's cried. AMAZING TO ALL, that precious little miracle lived!! She was adopted by an amazing lady and the baby, now 2 is healthy, loving, and doing well.

My heart is so heavy with this horrafic thing that is going on.

As nurses, what could we do? I don't know how I would even react if I had to treat a patient like this. Would my emotions consume me? Could I be partial?? Oprah said that the country is ashamed. I GUESS SO!! What could our country, our medical society do to help stop this?? Any suggestions??

[confused101]

I watched that program this afternoon. I just sat in my chair and wept for thoes small innocent children. They didn't do anything to deserve it. I have no idea why anyone would say that if you have sex with a child you will have HIV anymore. That is just stupid. I hope that as a future nurse I will never forget that program.

[zacsmimi]

IMAGINE that the child is HIV negative. That is an amazing thing.

Education is the most powerful tool we have. To protect them; we must teach them. That applies to the "men", the government, the world with our head in the sand...

we must teach them.

[Loribabble]

I did not see this show, but have worked in Zimbabwe as a nurse - it is beginning to be a common practice there and it is disgusting. There is education about it - lots of it, but you are fighting thousands of years of culture. The witch doctors - "traditional healers" are who spew these lies and the African have been taught to listen to them above all else. Many think that they got AIDS from being "witched" - not because of something they did or caught.

These "traditional healers" are not held responsible for their teachings - it just saddens me to no end.

[DG5]

I have lived 28 years of my 40 something life in South Africa. I trained there as a nurse. I had five children out there. The african culture is very different from anything we know in North America. There are thirteen official languages, there are many different tribes that have slowly moved into South Africa from the North. There are huge numbers of illegal immigrants. The black people will consult their withdoctors before they ever think of going to a clinic for help. This is steeped in their way of thinking for hundreds of years as another post has stated. This is the thing. You are dealing with a mindset and culture which is steeped in witchcraft. And yes, the religious leaders are doing much to try to turn this around. Huge churches of thousands strong set up aids clinics as part of their outreach. There are thousands of young people going out to South Africa very soon from churches in America to help in these clinics and help with the aids situation. These missions are going on all the time in the churches here. If you're wanting to do something, get involved in a church that is mission conscious and you will see there is opportunity to make a difference.

[BBFRN, BSN, PhD]

Regardless of whether these men feel "desperate" to be "healed" or not- they are willing to rape and torture babies to "save" themselves. That is so wrong on a core level of humanity, I don't see how it could be explained or justified. Even if they truly believe that they will be healed by doing this, how many human beings would be willing to do that to save themselves?

[Energizer Bunny]

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT? "AIDS A GOOD THING"??? Umm what kind of sick psycho is this person? He has no business teaching anything. I bet his tune would change if someone near and dear to HIM were afflicted w/HIV or AIDS! I can hardly believe my eyes..."population control"????? As if famine, starvation, natural disasters, war and other diseases dont' do a good enough job of that!!!! SICK SICK SICK ---I am off to take a hot bath, I am real keyed up after reading this post. :angryfire :angryfire

Yep, Deb, he's a sicko in many ways and not only do I have to sit through him this summer session but one next summer as well. (he's the only option) His thought process is that if I had AIDS he would feel really sorry for me and when I died, he would mourn and all that but that by and large it is a good thing because 3 of the last 7 years, we have eaten more than we have been able to produce. He also has heart problems and won't have heart surgery because he thinks that his time is his time. He also doesn't believe in organ donation again because of overpopulation. He fries me every Mon/Wed.

I can't wait to see what logical thought process he'll have on this topic.

[Loribabble]

Regardless of whether these men feel "desperate" to be "healed" or not- they are willing to rape and torture babies to "save" themselves. That is so wrong on a core level of humanity, I don't see how it could be explained or justified. Even if they truly believe that they will be healed by doing this, how many human beings would be willing to do that to save themselves?

I totally agree with you that this is horrific, and I personally can't comprehend how someone would think that way....

But.... to many Africans - life is cheap. It is not valued. Many women don't get pre-natal care or tell anyone that they are pregnant because "something" might happen. Babies aren't named until they are a couple of weeks old because they might not live. Many women know they have AIDS and have been counseled with their husbands against getting pregnant and yet they repeatedly have babies that are destined to die a horrific death. Villages go and kill another whole village just because they are part of a different tribe and don't even think twice about it. Governemnts would rather have people die a slow and agonizing death from starvation so that there are less people in the country - a president stated this in a public address.

I know these aren't exactly on the same level as raping infants - but to many life is CHEAP!!!!

I absolutely love Africa - it is my home now. There are many wonderful sides to these people and their culture..... but there is a reason it is called the dark continent.

[BBFRN, BSN, PhD]

I totally agree with you that this is horrific, and I personally can't comprehend how someone would think that way....

But.... to many Africans - life is cheap. It is not valued. Many women don't get pre-natal care or tell anyone that they are pregnant because "something" might happen. Babies aren't named until they are a couple of weeks old because they might not live. Many women know they have AIDS and have been counseled with their husbands against getting pregnant and yet they repeatedly have babies that are destined to die a horrific death. Villages go and kill another whole village just because they are part of a different tribe and don't even think twice about it. Governemnts would rather have people die a slow and agonizing death from starvation so that there are less people in the country - a president stated this in a public address.

I know these aren't exactly on the same level as raping infants - but to many life is CHEAP!!!!

It seems that life is only cheap for women, girls, and infants. If life is also cheap for the male population there, then why are they willing to commit these acts to "save" themselves?

[allthingsbright]

i am just horrified at the depravity of man! how low can mankind sink. this just makes me sick.

its hard for me, as a christian, to see how sin causes such perversness in people-and to hear about the graphic details is just...beyond belief. its hard for my mind to grasp this!! god must just shake his head and cry for the innocent. god help us!

as a mother, i have that angry lion thing where i'd like to cut some balls off right now.

amy

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

The clinic my son participated in a couple of days ago had an incident with a child of 2 or 3 who was taken to the witchdoctor due to pain and inability to stand or walk. I don't know all the details but a red thread was tied around her wrist. The nurses did talk the mom into cutting the thread and coming to the clinic but what can you do in an afternoon? We need medical teams with physicians heading into the jungle.

This is one case where a dose of Christianity would do wonders - not that I'm all for taking away folks culture. But these witchdoctors are doing great harm.

I can't wait for my son to get back from Africa . . so much to talk about.

I have a feeling Africa will always be close to his heart too.

steph

[mother/babyRN, RN]

In that country, unfortunately, it is common for females of any age to be savagely raped and the men not punished. But, as for the babies, I can't even express the horror I feel about that...Although, I did read an article some time ago, that often, the fathers of these children are either dead or not around, and the mothers are either dead, terrified , or raped as well......

[Truly_Blessed]

Yes, there are so many children over there not being cared for...orphans because of AIDS.