Thousands of workers at a garment factory in Bangladesh stopped
working and rioted earlier this week, demanding that a ghost be removed
from their building. The problem began when a female worker said she
felt sick and attributed her condition to "an attack by a ghost" inside a
toilet in the women's washroom.
According to news reports, more
than 3,000 frightened workers at a plant in the city of Gazipur
protested, with dozens of them vandalizing the factory before police
used tear gas to quell the riot.
Whereas American ghosts aren't typically thought of as spending a lot of
time in the bathroom, in the Middle East and Asia, the idea of a ghost
or spirit haunting a toilet is not uncommon. For example, genies and
other spirits are said to dwell in many places, including toilets and
sewers, and Japanese folklore tells of Hanako-san, a spirit that resides
in women's bathrooms.
So, does belief in gods have something to do with all this irrationality? Why, yes it does!
The belief in ghosts
is widespread among the largely Muslim Bangladeshi population, and it
is not uncommon for accidents and illnesses to be blamed on evil spirits.
There are no gods, there are no ghosts. But there are a lot of ignorant people.
Funny thing, though. If you just wipe the idea of gods out of your
minds, all the demons, ghosts and witches disappear too. Imagine that! I
wonder if there's a connection.
Nah.
