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The (in)human dimension of Ghana’s prayer campsAmbamfo Ofori Atiemo says that prayer camps in Ghana deserve a closer look, as they are a supposedly compassionate, faith-based response to mental disability. Human Rights Watch’s research suggests otherwise – people with mental health conditions are treated inhumanely in these camps and this must end. Imagine being taken to a camp by a family member, chained to a tree or a concrete structure, sometimes without cover, and forced to urinate, bathe, sleep, and defecate in the spot where you are chained. Imagine being shackled there for days at a time, deprived of food and even water, with no access to adequate health care and no real way of getting out. This is the reality for hundreds of people with real or perceived mental health conditions whom we met or saw in a number of prayer camps in Ghana.
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Source: openDemocracy See also: Human Rights Watch |