http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070114/ap_on_re_mi_ea/saddam_mimicry_hangingsA day after Saddam's execution, a 10-year-old boy in Texas hanged himself from a bunk bed after watching a news report on the execution. Police in the Houston suburb of Webster said the boy, Sergio Pelico, tied a slipknot around his neck while on the bed but had not mean to kill himself.
"I don't think he thought it was real," Julio Gustavo, Sergio's uncle, said afterward. "They showed them putting the noose around his neck and everything. Why show that on TV?"
Something similar occurred in Turkey, where 12-year-old Alisen Akti hanged himself Wednesday from a bunk bed after watching TV footage. His father, Esat Akti, told a newspaper in the southeastern province of Mus that his son had been affected by the televised images.
"After watching Saddam's execution he was constantly asking 'How was Saddam killed?' and 'Did he suffer?'" Akti was quoted as saying. "These television images are responsible for my son's death."
Nine-year-old Mubassahr Ali, from the eastern Pakistan town of Rahim Yar Khan, died hours after Saddam when he also mimicked the ousted leader's execution, local police official Sultan Ahmed Chaudhry said.
"The ill-fated boy used a long piece of cloth, tied it with a ceiling fan and wrapped its other end around his neck. Then he stood on a chair and fell down," Chaudhry said.
In Yemen, at least two young boys died and another was injured in apparent imitations of Saddam's hanging.
One of the cases involved a 13-year-old junior high school student who hanged himself after watching Saddam's execution on television, a Yemeni security official said.
Rach3 said:What kind of barbaric parents would force that on a ten-year-old, too young even to comprehend that hanging results in death?
Rach3 said:(And for that matter, what kind of barbarians televise the murder of a man as if it were a simple political event, and not something fundamentally and utterly perverse?)
"After watching Saddam's execution he was constantly asking 'How was Saddam killed?' and 'Did he suffer?'" Akti was quoted as saying. "These television images are responsible for my son's death."
Kurdt said:To be honest, anyone who can be that influenced by television deserves anything that's coming to them.
Rach3 said:A ten year old deserves to hang to death?
Rach3 said:You've never met a kid in your life, have you Kurdt? Any ten-year-old has no grasp of the distinction between reality and fiction; plus they imitate everything they see. It's odd to me that you see this as being an abnormal case, blaming it on unusual stupidity or the like.
Any ten-year-old has no grasp of the distinction between reality and fiction;
That is absolutely absurd, Every time you want CNN news, or whatever you are influenced by the TV...Kurdt said:No. It is clear however that these people who are influenced by television are not part of the average populace.
Anttech said:That is absolutely absurd, Every time you want CNN news, or whatever you are influenced by the TV...
kurdt said:To be influenced to the point where you take your own life is not common.
Rach3 said:Any ten-year-old has no grasp of the distinction between reality and fiction; plus they imitate everything they see.
The main reason behind Saddam Hussein's continuous killing is his desire for power and control. He was a dictator who used violence and fear to maintain his position as the leader of Iraq. He also saw anyone who opposed him as a threat to his power and eliminated them.
It is estimated that Saddam Hussein killed around 250,000 people during his reign as the leader of Iraq. This includes political opponents, innocent civilians, and members of ethnic and religious groups that he saw as a threat to his power.
Yes, Saddam Hussein was responsible for several mass killings during his reign. The most well-known is the 1988 chemical attack on the Kurdish town of Halabja, which killed around 5,000 civilians. He was also responsible for the Anfal campaign, where thousands of Kurds were killed and displaced.
Yes, Saddam Hussein faced consequences for his actions. In 2006, he was sentenced to death by hanging for his role in the 1982 killing of 148 Iraqi Shi'ites. He was also put on trial for other crimes against humanity, but was ultimately executed for his involvement in the Shi'ite killings.
Saddam Hussein's actions had a devastating effect on the people of Iraq. The constant fear and violence during his reign caused many to flee the country, and those who stayed faced a lack of basic human rights and freedoms. The country also suffered economically and socially, leading to ongoing issues even after his death.