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Swiss nun at the end of the worldSister Lorena fights against witch hunts in Papua New Guinea
This Swiss nun is the last hope for many.
In Papua New Guinea, women are abused and tortured because they are believed to be witches. Sister Lorena has been opposing this madness for years. Our reporter meets a woman who repeatedly risks her own life.
Swiss nun has lived in Papua New Guinea for 47 years – and saves women from witch hunts
This country is considered one of the most unsafe countries and the Foreign Office advises against traveling. Sister Lorena sits in the front of the car because she is a kind of life insurance. Everyone here in the mountains of Papua New Guinea knows her. The nun has lived in Papua New Guinea since 1979. When she was in her late 20s, she said goodbye to her family in Switzerland and started a new life on the other side of the world.
When our reporter meets Sister Lorena in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, it quickly becomes clear: This woman is the last hope for many victims. The Swiss nun fights against a brutal superstition that can cost women their lives. You can see the entire report and the reasons men use to justify mistreating and torturing women as witches in the video.
3,000 people are said to have been killed in the past few decades
When people get sick, die or accidents happen, some village communities look for someone to blame. This often happens to women. They are accused of being witches, mistreated and tortured. Over the past two decades, around 3,000 people are said to have been killed in this way in Papua New Guinea, mostly women.
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Sister Lorena reports that nothing at all happened in her first ten years in the country. She experienced her first case of witch hunts in 2012, when she had already been living in Papua New Guinea for 30 years. A woman is tortured and dies as a result. Since then, the now 75-year-old has not let the topic go.
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Sister Lorena fights tirelessly against superstition and witch conspiracies
The House of Hope will open in 2021 with the support of the Catholic relief organization Missio Aachen. Up to ten women who have to flee the witch madness can be accommodated there. Women like Margaret. One morning she is waiting for the bus. A young woman stands next to her and Margaret greets her warmly. Later this woman collapses. Suddenly it's said that Margaret is to blame. The next day, an angry crowd stands in front of her house. The men drag her away. They say she's a witch. Then they cut off two of her fingers.
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Sister Lorena travels to villages, talks to men and makes it clear that witches don't exist. Every operation can be dangerous. When asked whether she has ever been in danger of losing her life, she says: “100 times.”
Still, she doesn't stop. According to her own statements, Sister Lorena has already saved 420 lives. For many women in Papua New Guinea, she is more than just a nun. It is protection, courage and a piece of hope.
Sources used: own RTL research
