Faith in fakes

Whenever a global pandemic disease occurs or an epidemic illness sweeps through particular regions of the world, and medical science has no cure for such afflictions, there appear on the scene quacks claiming to offer a sure cure of the dreaded diseases. Their way of treatment works by fluke in some cases. Their success stories travel far and wide by the word of mouth bringing a fortune to them in a short time. With vaccine for the coronavirus yet to be formulated and the pandemic’s end not yet in sight, desperate patients are flocking to quacks and spiritual healers in large numbers in the hope of getting their health restored. These optimists are not in the least bothered whether these quacks will cure them of the deadly Covid-19 disease or their incantations and concoctions will hasten their end.

These fake practitioners of traditional medicines prescribe a combination of boiled pigeon’s gizzards, ginger, lemon tea and fresh mint as a cure for coronavirus disease. They claim this concoction has cured many Covid-19 patients; and as proof they present some of the cured patients before serious patients. This strengthens the patients’ beliefs in the ‘unfailing’ healing powers of the quacks. Is this concoction not similar to the witches’ song in Macbeth which they sing while stirring a broth containing various parts of animals like those of frog, newt, dog, toads, owl, etc. The concoction is boiling in a cauldron and the three witches go round the pot singing ‘Double, double toil and trouble/Fire burn and cauldron bubble/… Toad under a cold stone days and nights thirty-one. Some quacks are using YouTube for their purpose.

Those who have asked for banning the activities of quacks would likely find themselves ignored considering that ads claiming to cure many incurable diseases are being shown on the electronic media unchecked for years. Superstition sets the world alight. Unfortunately, implementation of rationality seems to be light years away.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21^st, 2020.

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