There are more than 600 victims presently living in five witch camps. Kukuo, Gnani and Gambaga are the largest witch camps from which I was able to catalog the portraits of victims that reside there. The eyes of the men without any exception are dead. Devoid of life and expectations. Alcohol and food brought smile to some faces but none had hope in their eyes. They have renounced their faith to the camps. The mortality rate despite the men farming while the women work on farms is higher among the men. This I believe is tied to the men’s loss of faith in the future. The women’s lives lingered between hope and despair. For the old and frail, they believe their lives while living is over and done. Starvation, lack of respect and human dignity they have endured for decades have taken its toll without any inner satisfaction of what they achieved. Deep sense of loss at the creativity and expression they could not express. They have little hope for a dignified burial because they have to be buried right beside their huts which in no time, another victim must take their place. Culminating to the tragedy is that most actually believe they are murderers. When they face a trial and they are pronounced guilty, they are forced to believe they have some ‘inner witchcraft’ 

The community in no way helps. The belief is that the camps have some supernatural dome that holds down the power of witches, prevent it from escaping and that they should not be able to live among other humans. The predominant belief especially is that witchcraft is imprinted on the faces of the witches and any indigene of places the camps are situated at will be able to recognise a witch just by simply taking a glance on the faces of the accused witches. 

Of course this wasn’t my own observation. For the first time in my life, I saw an exceptional beauty on the faces of old women. I connected with them spiritually and a glance as opposed with those with these beliefs revealed to me strength of their youth that was taken from them by some soothsayer. I look at the very feeble and ill and death gets banished away from my mind. I see life and I see strength. Where the community saw fear, I saw beauty.