While we here in the western hemisphere consider superstitions to be silly thoughts about black cats, cracked mirrors and Friday the 13^th happenings, there are many for whom superstitions are sacred to their culture, faith and society.

The reality is superstitious beliefs have real consequences in the battle for human lives and fight against modern day slavery.

One such place where human lives are at risk and human sacrifice is on the rise is in Uganda.  According to the Anti-Human Sacrifice and Trafficking Task Force in Uganda, assistant commissioner Moses Binoga of the Ugandan police, said that “witch doctors operate in a network and have bosses who give instructions and receive the bulk of payment made by clients. The bosses involve in one of five or six witch-doctor protection rackets operating in the country.”

Linked directly to the superstitious belief that witchcraft can help you get rich quickly witch doctors and their clients are kidnapping and trafficking young children to be used in the sacrificial ceremony.  Many have reported that some of their clients capture the children and remove their heart and blood and bring it to the witch doctor to be sacrificed directly to the spirits.

Claiming they are not directly involved in the murder or incitement to murder but acting only as conduit for the spirits to speak to the clients, witch doctors make the equivalent $260 U.S.  per consulting session.   This ritual sacrifice is on the rise and according to the Ugandan police there appear to there are many children reported missiing and whose fate is unknown at this time.

In Nigeria a human trafficking ring was found to be enslaving women for the commercial sex industry Europe.  The traffickers enslaved and tormented the women by taking hair and nail clippings and using them as part of a voodoo ritual ceremony that would bind the women both physically and spiritually.  Using superstitious beliefs and the religious ceremonies the traffickers would manipulate the women to keep them from trying to escape.

Superstition and religion often overlap as is the case with children of the Buddhist faith whose belief in Karma states that poor luck in current life is a result of past sins.  Traffickers will enslave children and then easily convince them that their past sins are justification for their current punishment thus keeping them enslaved.

We can joke about walking under ladders, black cats crossing our paths and stepping on cracks in the sidewalk but in many parts of the world superstitions are not a joke, they are real beliefs that leave vulnerable populations exposed to continued exploitation by traffickers who will prey upon their cultural and religious beliefs for their own gain.