OMO Child

I had a dream from above. I was given the power to anoint with empathy and love. I sprinkled it over all the people I met. I know it never fails. It heals. Love endures, and the strength of it is followed by wealth and success. It is so effective because it expands and protects the soul and the spirit of those made in its image.

While I was watching the documentary “Omo Child,” presented by Little Pass Films in 2015, the body art of the Kara tribe struck me. Mainly displayed by the men’s various patterns: red dots inside large white circles on the face and torso, and arms, blue stripes overlaid on white paint. Such beautiful, colorful adornments were so alluring and novel that I did not expect the cruel practice practice of the tribe, which was the subject of the documentary.

Why is nothing done about the cruelty forced upon vulnerable children? After my harrowing experience as a foster parent in Illinois, I investigated the history and result of the formation and economic power of The Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Child Protective Services (CPS), and the Juvenile Court System (JVC).

I learned from this documentary the practice of victimization and killing babies in Southwest Ethiopia was abolished because of the efforts of one man. Patriarchal male elders govern the village without question, determined to keep killing children with the Mingi curse. They believed that allowing a Mingi child to stay in the village was not a choice, not even burial. They believe the Mingi cursed child living within the Omo village threatened the elder’s life, plentiful crops, and death because of God’s anger.

Education of children and school attendance are frowned upon by the elders since the tribe is dependent solely upon the labor of children and each other for survival. Instead of going to school, children cared for the herds and worked in the crop field. This revolutionary male and advocate for these innocent children is Lala, a member of the Kara tribe. He expressed love for his people and described them as hospitable and good; he describes them as cut off from the modern world. There is no running water or a police force, much less education. One hero, a young man had so much empathy that he made it his mission to stop this practice. At-risk to himself physically and socially, he was courageous and empathetic enough to come against a practice that he believed knew was wrong. Life is precious. Killing babies to avoid the Mingi curse made him determined to educate and enlist the help of other young men in his village and governmental officials. He even saved babies, which was a significant risk to his social and physical safety. He opened an orphanage and went into the brush at night to get babies left to die or be eaten by wild animals.

It became his resolve to do something, as now he was a man. Not to talk about doing, No, doing something. He formed a community group with the young men of the village and educated them. He held meetings with the elders. Despite the risk to himself economically, socially, and physically, he found purpose in his cause to change for his people, even at risk to himself.

His father championed change; he dared to allow Lela to attend school despite the disapproval of village elders. His mother feared that she would lose a third child. She overheard plans by the elders to kill her son. This boy walked 70 miles one way, determined to attend school, and obtain an education. He verbalized the challenge of the long walk and the discomfort of exposure for the first time to pencils, writing, and books. He was a young boy when he saw the drowning of a 2-year-old. The elders chased the toddler, drowned him in the river in front of his crying mother. He consulted his mother, learning that they murdered two of his older sisters because of the Mingi curse.

I have always believed that the creator of life and children come forth for a purpose. The NIV Bible translation at Psalms 139:13 reads, “For you created my inner being you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” I center on the determining factors of a child having Mingi curse around this male-dominated male control Kara village. What is the Mingi curse? The child cursed if it was born outside of marriage, although one elder is the father. If the elders did not bless the child. Last, if the child’s top teeth come in before the bottom teeth, they called it woman, baby, and teeth of Mingi. Even after the child’s murder, the mother must come before the Mingi alters and repent for the sin of birthing a Mingi child. Curiously, seeking answers or reasons why people are quiet, actively boldly involved in negative behavior toward others without empathy, lacking in compassion or humanity. Instead of just reading about the abuse of children, shouldn’t we be righting the wrong of child victimization

The Psychology of Good and Evil by Catherine A. Sanders suggests a theory to explain such atrocities. Among other studies, inmates in Finland with a warrior gene and elevated hormones were four times more likely to engage in risky behaviors and convicted of criminal assault. Could such studies be part of the answer for such atrocities, abuse of power, and financial gain as a motivation for such inhuman behavior?

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