JOHANNESBURG — Initiation ceremonies in South Africa have led to the deaths of 60 young men and the hospitalization of hundreds since May, sparking concern from officials about regulations surrounding a national tradition that determines when a boy becomes a man.
The most recent deaths in the Eastern Cape province occurred primarily at illegal “initiation schools” set up for financial benefits, health minister Aaron Motsoaledi said.
‘‘This practice has been there for ages and was performed by traditional leaders in a very responsible manner,’’ Motsoaledi told state TV this week. ‘‘But now it has turned into a commercial enterprise.’’
Thirty initiates have died within the month and 300 have also been hospitalized, a government health spokesman said. Ten of those young men were rescued with badly scarred genitals from botched circumcisions while the others were hospitalized for dehydration and various wounds.
Oh my goodness, the genital mutilation isn't just for girls.
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FLASHBACK:
"23 youths die in initiation rites in South Africa" by Wandoo Makurdi | Associated Press, May 18, 2013
JOHANNESBURG — Twenty-three youths have died in the past nine days at initiation ceremonies that include circumcisions and survival tests, South African police said Friday.
South Africa has hazing, too?
Police have opened 22 murder cases in the deaths in the northeastern province of Mpumalanga, according to spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Leonard Hlathi.
He said an inquest is being held into the 23d death, of a youth who complained of stomach pains and vomited.
Initiation ceremonies are common in South Africa, where youths partake in various activities as a rite of passage into adulthood, usually over the course of three weeks.
Some 30,000 youths signed up for initiation this year.
In addition to being circumcised, the boys and young men are put through a series of survival tests which sometimes include exposure to South Africa’s chilly winter conditions with skimpy clothing.
Their faces are painted with red clay and they also are given herbal concoctions to drink.
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I can't see if Mandela will see his next birthday or not due to the haze.
