Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 130 views

    The Heart Man Story

    Uploaded by

    gbakukenju
    The document discusses the issue of "heart men" in Liberia, who kill people to take their body parts for supposed spiritual or employment purposes. It notes that this practice has continued despite past attempts to stop it. It analyzes the illogical belief that human body parts can help someone get a job or promotion, noting there is no evidence or scientific validity to this practice. The document concludes by stating this practice has no place in civilized society and should be treated as criminal behavior, and that the rule of law is needed to properly deal with such pathological killers in society.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    The Heart Man Story

    Uploaded by

    gbakukenju
    130 views2 pages
    The document discusses the issue of "heart men" in Liberia, who kill people to take their body parts for supposed spiritual or employment purposes. It notes that this practice has continued despite past attempts to stop it. It analyzes the illogical belief that human body parts can help someone get a job or promotion, noting there is no evidence or scientific validity to this practice. The document concludes by stating this practice has no place in civilized society and should be treated as criminal behavior, and that the rule of law is needed to properly deal with such pathological killers in society.

    Original Description:

    Letter from Liberia

    Copyright

    © Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)

    Available Formats

    DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The document discusses the issue of "heart men" in Liberia, who kill people to take their body parts for supposed spiritual or employment purposes. It notes that this practice has continued despite past attempts to stop it. It analyzes the illogical belief that human body parts can help someone get a job or promotion, noting there is no evidence or scientific validity to this practice. The document concludes by stating this practice has no place in civilized society and should be treated as criminal behavior, and that the rule of law is needed to properly deal with such pathological killers in society.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    130 views2 pages

    The Heart Man Story

    Uploaded by

    gbakukenju
    The document discusses the issue of "heart men" in Liberia, who kill people to take their body parts for supposed spiritual or employment purposes. It notes that this practice has continued despite past attempts to stop it. It analyzes the illogical belief that human body parts can help someone get a job or promotion, noting there is no evidence or scientific validity to this practice. The document concludes by stating this practice has no place in civilized society and should be treated as criminal behavior, and that the rule of law is needed to properly deal with such pathological killers in society.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    The heart man story

    Mr. Editor,

    The issue of heart man has surfaced again in the country. This seems now as a legacy tied
    to the history of our country. I still remember as a teen, when our then president, William
    R. Tolbert was fed up with such acts and decided to enforce a court decision to put to
    death those who were guilty of such acts. We all know today that those killings did not
    end the practice.

    For those who don’t know who a heart man is, I will tell you. A heart man (or a heart
    woman if we are to do away with gender biases) is an individual who kills another person
    for the purpose of taking out some of the body parts for spiritual/juju purpose. There is a
    general myth that the body parts are worked on by a voodoo doctor to enable the provider
    to get a top job/position in government or at any work place. From cape Palmas to Cape
    Mount, from the Wologisi peak to the Atlantic shore, there are reports of people getting
    missing only to find their dead mutilated body somewhere the following day.

    The purpose of this letter is to attempt to analyze the ramifications of using a human body
    part to charm some higher up or popular opinion to get a job. I could have never argued
    this if I had read about it from prehistoric documentaries. At such time human
    understanding was shallow and as such they subscribed to make-belief, myth, and
    superstitions. So it is quite brow lifting to hear about such behaviors in the 21st century.
    In a century where civilization, pioneered by high technology, increase in knowledge,
    mushrooming of educational institutions, and advanced research, there can be people who
    believe that a human part could give them a job? What kind of human logic would justify
    that the killing of another human being leads to the acquisition of a position.

    From time in memorial we have heard about such acts but there has being no evidence of
    their effectiveness. But what could be the source of such belief that a body part would
    place someone into an office? One best way to prove the effectiveness of any process is
    to try it across a diverse population and settings. Can such a process have the same results
    when it is practiced at random? Does it have external validity? By this I mean can the
    same be practiced for instance in other geographic areas and yet produce the same
    effects? If the same results yielded in Liberia can be achieved in Nigeria, Japan, New
    Zealand or any other place then such practice is valid. But in the case with the heart
    man’s practice, it does not fit in any of the above categories. It defies reasoning. It is an
    ancient practice shrouded in superstitions. It is therefore baffling when well learned
    people, those who are exposed to critical analysis, experience in the use of technology
    and so forth allude to such a naïve belief.

    I don’t know how many people would have lived by this time in a place like the United
    States which has an employment rate of over 90% if every job gotten was at the expense
    of a human body part. What could it be like if every American senator, governor,
    accountant or any entrepreneur would have to do a human sacrifice for a job or any great
    achievement? America would be a near ghost place.

    Final Word

    My final word is there is absolutely no truth in the belief that the use of a body part can
    give one a job or good luck. If this were true why don’t Liberians who practice this hold
    some of the highest positions in the World, like the Secretary General of the United
    Nations, the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), or even become an
    American citizen and take over the Federal Reserve. In fact their children who are
    American citizens could become presidents in the United States. Then we might have a
    British Prime Minister who is of Liberian origin. Liberians would then rule the world. By
    this Liberia will not have to cry for international aide any more.

    My fellow brothers and sisters, the killing of another human for job charms has no place
    in civilized thinking. It is a myth rooted from ancient time when sacrifice was thought to
    cover sins and appease the gods or God. There is no scientific evidence in this practice
    and I wonder sometimes as to what are our institutions of higher learning doing in respect
    to these kinds of behaviors? We need intensive research into these behaviors.

    Besides, our society should begin to acknowledge that there are pathological killers.
    There are molesters of children and deranged killers in our society. They should be
    treated as criminals and persecuted based on the laws of the land. For it is common
    knowledge that the best safe guard for any society is the rule of law. If it is put into place,
    all other things will fall into place.

    You might also like