Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s recent pittin doon o Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado as a “demonic witch” cairries wecht ayont jist political rhetoric. Fyle intendit as a crude slur tae discredit an opponent, iss laidit term inadvertently spot-lichts a mirkier, mair langstaunin global tragedy: e ongaan persecution an murther o fowk—owerwhalminly quines—accused o witchcraft an sorcery.
In a warld preoccupied by geopolitical fechts, e sufferin o them targetit by sic accusations aften bides a silent crisis. It is a chillin testament tae foo auncient fears, pairticularly eens aimed at controllin quines, haud gaan in wir modren age. E label o “witch” his bin wappenised for centuries tae merginalise, disempouer, an tak oot perceived threits. E day, fyle e context micht be a political rally, e dehumanisin leid echas e same sentiment aat fuels violence in villages an communities ower e globe.
Accordin til e Unitit Nations an human richts organisations sic as Amnesty International, iss is a grave an active violation o human richts. A 2020 UN report estimated aat atween 2009 an 2019 alane, at least 20,000 fowk wir killed in connection wi witch hunts ower 60 countries. Iss modren toll, shockinly, rivals e estimatit 35,000 tae 60,000 executions aat teen place ower three century durin e infamous European witch trials.
E primary targets o this violence, then an noo, are owerwhalminly quines, bairns, e auld, an fowk wi disabilities—e maist vulnerable memmers o society. Iss violence isna a relic confined til a single culture or region but a global tapestry weaved fae threids o fear, misogyny, an social stress.
In Saudi Arabia, forby, state-sanctioned executions for “sorcery” hae teen place, wi the tragic beheidin o a quine in 2011 servin as a stark reminder o foo judicial systems can enforce, raither nor protect fae iss deidly beliefs. In mony pairts o sub-Saharan Africa an places like Papua New Guinea, e threit isna fae the state but fae the community itsel, far extrajudicial killins an brutal acts o vigilante justice are eesed tae explain awa misfortune, illness, or economic hairdskip. Quines are aften scapegoatit for societal ills, thair autonomy an wisdom recast as a malevolent pouer aat maun be pitten oot.
Iss phenomenon isna aboot “primitive” societies; it is a human een, born fae the brakdoon o social trust an e desperate sikkin o simple answers tae complex problems.
Herein lays e devastatin parallel tae wir ain modren political discourse. E mechanism eesed tae condemn a quine in a clachan is tragically e same een eesed tae rally nations agin a common fae: identify an ‘ither,’ assign em blame for wir fears, an consolidate pouer by unitin agin a perceived enemy. E dehumanisin leid eesed by fowk in pouer, fither directit at a female political rival or a hale populace, systematically chips awa e empathy needed for a jist an peacefu society. It is a deliberate tactic tae create fear for e sake o control, discairdin e maist fundamental paternal an maternal instincts tae care for an protect e vulnerable.
In a warld teeterin on e brink o multiple conflicts, far e rhetoric o “us versus them” growes looder by the day, we canna afford tae ignore iss connections. E path awa fae sic violence—be it in a remote community or on e warld stage—stairts wi a conscious rejection o demonisation. It’s needin e painstakin wark o rebiggin trust, uphaudin fair legal systems aat protect e human richts o ilka body, an takkin tent o oor shared humanity.
E fecht for quines’ richts in Venezuela, e fecht for justice for a victim o a witch hunt in Africa, an e global caa for diplomacy ower conflict arena separate issues. Thay are aa pairt o the same essential human project: tae chuise compassion ower fear, unnerstaunin ower prejudice, an tae bigg a warld far naebody is condemned by the shaddaes o oor words.