It seems there is a fine line between what some see as " ancient and tribal cures " that migrants bring with them to Australia and the definition of what is harmful and illegal when put into practice in this country. We are about to extradite a Chinese itinerant national over the death of a six year old Sydney boy who was subjected to a " slapping cure " which this man travels the world exploiting.
The man was arrested in London at Australia's request and there have been a number of other deaths linked to the alternative medicine technique that he claims to have discovered. It is a " self healing " method that includes stretching, fasting and slapping the body to the degree of intense bruising. It seems that the dead boys family was complicit in the treatment and also face criminal charges.
Migrants from Africa and the Middle East have introduced a form of female genital mutilation that we find both illegal and offensive. It is for the sole purpose of ensuring the girl retains her virginity until marriage - and she is permanently denied the euphoria of sex after marriage in the belief that without its pleasure she will not " stray " ! Often is it applied by untutored elders without anaesthetic and with the use of a razor blade when the girl is a small child - and it s irreversible !
Many medicinal customs are so ingrained in village life that they are accepted as necessary and their adherents can not understand their rejection in Australia. The fact that Australians speak a language they are yet to learn means they usually gather in ethnic groupings and hence these customs prevail. Where intervention by the authorities threatens, often children are taken on a " holiday " to the old country to have the forbidden custom performed there.
In many cases procedures and the mix that forms medication is harmless. For a long time traditional Chinese medicine was scorned in favour of the spectacular advances made by western medication, but we have since learned that many of the medications of earlier centuries were amazingly effective. We also remember that less than a century ago we in the west were burning harmless old ladies at the stake on charges of witchcraft. In most cases, they were elders who were handing down the knowledge that mixing certain herbs could achieve results unknown to the doctors of that era.
It seems strange that we condemn so many practices that do not sit neatly within our concept of medical knowledge and yet allow those opposed to proven health enhancing procedures to denigrate and advertise bogus reasons to withdraw from such procedures. Usually, this is on the grounds of some perceived health risk that has been adequately proved to be false.
We have people opposed to the addition of fluoride to drinking water, and tragically - a very active and large grouping actively working to convince parents not to have their children vaccinated against a wide variety of diseases.
They are permitted to continue this practice under our vaunted " Freedom of speech " manifesto, despite it delivering a number of unnecessary deaths which could have been prevented if such actions had been unsuccessful.
It seems that prosecution is on a very selective basis !
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