A couple of hours back I read this thread by Nandini on Twitter. I lost my appetite and thankfully we have stopped eating chocolates, otherwise I would have thrown out every last bit of it into the trash can. Don’t think I can eat chocolate again for a long time, especially the Belgian ones :(:(. Their forefathers were brutes, the biggest being King Leopold ….
Read the thread at Belgian Chocolate Hands. Reposting the thread below.
On a cold, wet afternoon in Brussels a 17yr old girl walked into a chocolate store absolutely awestruck at the mouthwatering array displayed.
Chocolatiers such as Godiva, Neuhaus, Leonidas were only names in foreign magazines & here she was actually taking in the aroma…!
This, this & this she said, savouring every moment of the selection while a young man carefully placed her pieces into a box, which in itself was a beauty.
Till she stopped at a tray of beautiful chocolate hands. Hands?
Why hands? She asked the young man.
It’s a Belgian – how do you say – he turned to an elderly man at the till – a Belgian delicacy.
But what is the significance of hands? persisted the young girl.
I will find out & tell you when you come the next time.
The old man kept his eyes at the till.
37yrs later, while browsing on social media for something entirely unrelated she learnt about those Belgian chocolate hands.
From deep within her gut, she retched & retched in repentance for that barbaric savageness moulded to such finesse & perfection…that she had so enjoyed unknowingly.
Those hands.
Here is the link to the thread posted by Africa Archives – Belgian Hands. Another article that explains the Antwerp Chocolate Hands.
Its not as if Belgium’s atrocities are not known… but they are considered a civilized nation !! Which civilized nation does this to fellow human beings ? Only inhuman brutes behave this way.
Please do read this excerpt from the article – Belgium’s Black Hand Fetish.
Am praying to Devi Kaalaratri, who is invoked today on Day 7 of Navratri. May Devi Kaalaratri bring justice to Africa as a whole ….. the atrocities they have suffered is mind numbing and we still want to believe that we live in a civilized world. 😔
I’ve read other places about King Leopold II of Belgium, but I didn’t know anout the hand sacrifices. I agree the practice was barbaric. Your depiction of Maa Kaalaratri shows four arms and hands, an interesting contrast.
Let us reject imported chocolates and promote only Chocolates made by Amul !!
What do you think ?
True Mani. All imported products have a history that’s not very pleasant. Even well known companies like Johnson & Johnson. Their baby powder was leading to cancer and so many lives have been lost before they discontinued the product.
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/johnsonandjohnson-cancer/
A very detailed post on how JnJ has been fighting this accusation and rejected Reuters’ detailed investigations and findings in the matter. JnJ stopped selling their tainted talc in 2020 only in the US and Canada where they faced lawsuits. Only in 2023 they will stop selling globally. Who knows how many people and kids have been impacted in the interim !!!! No end to what corporates will do for profits and to save their skin !! OMG.
By 2023 if the rest of the world forgets about the lawsuit, they will continue to sell the cancer creating powder 😞