Woman fears for her life

The National Main Stories

By LULU MARK and REBECCA KUKU
A WOMAN’S fingers were cut off and she suffered injuries to her head, legs and neck after the tribesmen of her half-brother accused her of causing his death through sorcery.
Mother-of-one Helen Mark, 36, was left to die at her home after the attack by men from Wanapika village in Hela last Thursday and now fears for her life as her attackers thought she had died.
Mark told The National from her bed at the Tari General Hospital that her half-brother’s tribesmen believed that she was responsible for his death.
He drowned while swimming across a river with others.
She said he was her brother.
She denied practising sorcery.
Hela police commander Chief Inspector Teddy Agwi said they had not received any report of the incident but were investigating.
Mark’s cousin Rendi Denise who assisted her after the attack is staying with her at the hospital.
Denis said they had to leave her six-year-old son in the village and were concerned about him.
He said they cut off Mark’s fingers on one hand, hit her right knee and the back of her head.
Denise said she did not die because she was innocent.
But he knows that the tribesmen will come for her once they knew she had survived the attack.
Translator Cathy Samson told The National that the half-brother drowned while swimming across a river in the Koroba-Kopiago district.
“Normally, it takes them a day to walk to the village after crossing the river.
“But they searched for him and got back to the village after two days,” Samson said.
“Five of his brothers decided that his half-sister was responsible for his death. So on Thursday morning, they went across to her village.
“All her family members ran away except his cousin brother Denise who tried to defend her.
“But he was overpowered and held down by two men as the other three dragged her out and cut her.
“They thought she was dead and walked back home chanting that they had avenged their brother and had killed her.
“But she laid awake and fought for her life till Friday afternoon when a helicopter came and took her and her cousin to Tari General Hospital.
“She was operated on and is doing okay,” Samson said.
Lutheran missionary Anton Lutz said it was time to start a Women’s Lives Matter campaign.
“We need to be doing everything we can to strengthen our communities and renew our commitment against these hidden beliefs and illegal violence,” Lutz said.

14 comments

  • Devil strikes once more and alas, this is one out of the many that are not reported….THIS IS THE MOST DAMNING SOCIAL ILL GETTING BEYOND THE SCOPE OF LAW ENFORCEMENT and GRADUALLY BUT SURELY BECOMING RESISTANT TO LAW, CIVILIZATION, VARIOUS STRATA OF LEADERSHIPS THROUGHOUT PNG, SCOFFS AT CHRISTIANITY WHILE LAUGHING AT THE GERM THEORY.

    THE MILLION KINA QUESTION IS “” WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENTS STRATEGY” in DEALING WITH THIS ISSUE??????…..

  • government knows better than nothing about ill torture of women in our country but devil is ruling world with all shits and fists to make sure all humanity falls into one category called DEATH.

  • Truely this one of the thousands that is reported. It’s a pain to see such occuring our community on our family and friends and also the men of this country is suffering the same accusation eventhouhg one may die in an accident. It’s unbelievable to see some of our so called elites of EHP Lufa (Forekamamo village) to be in front doing all this to poor uneducated husband, dad, granddad and a uncle. PLease this needs to be STOP!!!!

  • The culprits in this senseless act should be brought to trial and hanged. How can the woman be blamed for her half-brothers death? When are people accorded the right to carry out such brutal attacks based on some feeble assumption. They may have their own issues with the woman not detailed in the report. This is outrages.

  • The Law can not remove sin, law only protects sin from exposing, Grace is available in the church today, if you need healing, deliverance from all forms of EVIL, we need to turn to God for all our problems today.. Today law is crippled & parallelized by demon called Mammon, we need to rise up to the next level to destroy head spirit..if we don’t we sit & complaint& will see more dying of that pandemic than COVID 19…. Today’s answer is Jesus,… Law is there but sins are being exposed, what the LAW can not do it, NOW GRACE , MARIMARI bilong God is in Church called Ruminant Church, one that can not comprise with the Kingdoms of this world……
    Find the right Church & get your deliverance…….

  • All of Helen MARK’s family ran away? Why didn’t she run away with them?
    This is PNG. Whenever there is trouble, run for your life, whether your innocent or not, just run for your life.
    When all has settled down and tempers calm, only then can matters be looked into..

    • Andy, provide alternatives and solutions rather than bad mouthing and judging other people.

      Judgement is for God alone. Your four fingers are pointing back at yourself.

      Otherwise you yourself is no better than anyone else for that matter. Unless you are a saint, pure, clean and sinless in the eyes of God.

      Andy, your hands must clean before you open your mouth and spit out any garbage inside yourself. You are only polluting your own conscience.

  • People should think ahead before giving punishment to innocent life’s though this our culture most of us learn though the process of enculturation and adapt it from our older generations . But today png is a Christian nation so how comes we gonna belif in sorcery while we know that God only have the power to give and take life .

  • Where are the law enforcement in Tari and the village that caused this.

    This man need to be taken in an locked up, Tired of this animalistic behaviour. Where are the educated of that areas to instill some sense.

    Women have suffered too much already in PNG, Women lives matter campaign must rise to stamp out this evil practices from backward and uncivilized humans

  • Lets all look at the both side of the coin, as saying goes, in a day there are two things, light & darkness or day & night, we all know that when daylight appears, we will have night, that’s how our life is structured, When we hear & see the negatives on the Hela or many others provinces, lets say the positive, the best is coming, there is no BEST without the WORST… We will see some best things out these provinces that seems worst today……..

    Lets hope & believe in it.

  • Appriciate those local womans and girls as they’re superheros who start their day much before you and end it much later. Who secrifice more for our survival. Say thanks to your mum that teacher who encouraged you years age, your sisters who inspire you at evey step and say thanks to your daughter whose smile is enough to fill your day with happyness. Truth be told, there is no safe haven for woman anywhere, since most of the these horrific cases occure inside the homes and office. Therefore; the current government need to initate strict laws for the safety and security of woman, and we too need to keep our eyes open for wrong doers.

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