Support the women in one of Ghana's "Witchcamps"

Støt kvinderne i en

af Ghana's "hekselejre"

109% of €1000

€ 1086 reached in total

-1555 days left

Indsamlingen foretages af Emil Nørgaard Munk i samarbejde med Firefund". Emil skriver om sin tilknytning til de ghanesiske "hekselejre.":

I 2014 var jeg for første gang i en af Nordghanas såkaldte “hekselejre”, kaldet Gambaga. Her mødte og talte jeg med mange af kvinderne og hørte de første historier om heksetro, social udstødelse og isolation.

I 2016 rejste jeg igen til Ghana for at tilbringe en måned i en af de andre lejre, Gushegu. Her arbejdede Witchhunt Victims Empoverment Project under dansk-tysk finansiering med at forbedre kvindernes levevilkår og i visse tilfælde at bringe dem tilbage til deres landsbyer, når det var muligt.

Fra kvinderne hørte jeg igen historier om vold og udstødelse, men også om håbet om en fremtid uden hekse-beskyldninger. Jeg oplevede også enormt stærke og modige mennesker, som formåede at etablere en ny tilværelse og et nyt fællesskab på trods af fuldstændig afskæring fra familier og netværk.

En dag fulgte jeg med kvinderne til det lokale marked. Her oplevede jeg, hvordan de gik og samlede de korn og majs, som de handlende tabte på jorden. Det var sådan de overlevede.

Én af kvinderne viste mig, hvordan hun på denne måde ikke kun havde samlet sammen til sin egen overlevelse, men også samlet sojabønner sammen til at kunne tage med til sin familie, den dag, hun kunne vende hjem. Det var fuldstændig overrumplende stærkt.

Med udgangspunkt i mine rejser og oplevelser lavede jeg dokumentarfilmen “Gushegu Exile” samt en fotoreportage fra lejren.

Siden 2016 er både den danske finansiering og det meste af den tyske stoppet og de lokale NGO’er har svært ved at hjælpe kvinderne. Det er derfor jeg har startet den her indsamling.

This crowdfunding is made by Emil Nørgaard Munk in collaboration with FIREFUND. This is Emil's own words about his affiliation with the Ghanaian "witch camps":

In 2014, I was visiting one of the so-called "witch camps" called Gambaga, for the first time. This is where I met and spoke with many of the women and heard stories about witchcraft-beliefs, social exclusion and isolation.

In 2016, I returned to Ghana to spend a month in one of the other camps; Gushegu. Here I met Witch-hunt Victims Empoverment Project, which was financed by Danish and German authorities, who worked to improve their livelihoods and, in certain cases, helped the women return to the villages, when it was possible.

From one of the women I again heard stories of violence and exclusion, but I also learned about the hope of a future without witchcraft accusations. I met some amazing, strong and courageous people, that managed to re-establish themselves in a new existence and a new community, despite complete isolation from family and network.

One day, I joined the women on the local market. Here I witnessed a process, where the women went around to gather corn and grains which the traders lost on the ground. This was their means of survival.

One of the women showed me how she not only fed herself this way, but also managed to gather enough soy beans to save up for her family, in preparation for when she was allowed to go home again. This was extremely emotional.

I documented my travels with a documentary called "Gushegu Exile" and a photo exhibition.

Since 2016, both the Danish funding and most of the German funding has halted, and the local NGO's are struggling to help the women. This is why I started this FIREFUND.

I Gnani i det nordlige Ghana lever en gruppe kvinder i en asyllejr. Det er én af Ghana’s såkaldte “hekselejre.”

In Gnani, in the north-western parts of Ghana, a group of women lives in a camp. It's one of Ghana's so-called "witch camps".

“En kvinde i Gushegu-lejren renser sten fra de få korn hun har kunne finde på markedspladsen."

Kvinderne der, er blevet udstødt og fordrevet fra deres hjembyer under beskyldninger om at være hekse. Uden arbejde, uddannelse eller netværk, lever de nu isolerede og i fattigdom.

The women are excluded and expelled from their villages under accusations of being witches. Without work, education or community, they live isolated and in poverty.

Adissa had reoccurring nightmares about eating humans. She was worried and told the local chief about the dreams. When another woman in the village suddenly died without explanation, the villagers thought, that the death was caused by Adissas dreams. Then they ran her out of the village.

En lille lokal NGO, Outcasts Support Project (OSP), forsøger at skaffe mad og sundhedsforsikring til kvinderne. I visse tilfælde kan NGO’en også tale med lokale magthavere i kvindernes hjembyer, og efter en årrække bringe kvinderne hjem igen.

A small local NGO, Outcasts Support Project (OSP), is trying to provide food and health insurance for the women. In some cases the NGO can also speak with local leaders and chiefs in the women's home towns, and after a couple of years, bring the women back home.

Kvinderne er typisk ældre og har derfor brug for at kunne se en læge. Denne kampagne har på den ene side til formål at sikre kvinderne adgang til læger, mad og på den anden side, at gøre det muligt for OSP at samle kvinderne, fortælle dem om fordomme og heksetro, og oplyse dem om deres muligheder. Samtidig vil OSP kunne dokumentere deres arbejde og forhåbentlig kunne søge yderligere funding.

The women are mostly elders and needs to be able to see a doctor. This campaign is working to secure access to medical help and food - and then on the other hand, make it possible for OSP to organize the women, tell them about prejudices and witchcraft, and inform them on their rights and possibilities. With this crowdfunding, the OSP would also be able to document their work and hopefully apply for further funding.

109% of €1000

€ 1086 reached in total

-1555 days left

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