Thread by @EvelineJuly, Belgian student Sanda Dia died after a hazing ritual where he was [...]

Belgian student Sanda Dia died after a hazing ritual where he was made to drink extreme amounts of alcohol, swallow a living gold fish, then drink fish oil so he’d throw it back up (he didn’t), put in “a well” where ice cold water was thrown on him. He died of hypothermia.1/2

Those responsible for the hazing ritual of the new students wanting to join the fraternity, have not faced any real consequences for the death of 20yo Sanda. Instead, they had to do community service & write an essay.

The fraternity is predominantly white. #BLM

The details of the hazing ritual and the last 30 hrs of Sanda’s life were discussed in a Belgian article, I will translate it after sleeping.

It includes new members being peed & shit on and eventually having to bite off the head of a mouse, blend it, and eat it with fish oil.

When we talk about #BLM, I feel as though a life like Sanda’s should be included. The cause of his death may not be linked to race, but the painful lack of consequences for those responsible is absolutely linked to white privilege & how rich white fraternity culture is normalized

Even if it includes horrifying hazing rituals. What happened to prospective members that night was, imo, plain torture.

But humiliation, even in extreme forms, is often integral to hazing rituals. This is a phenomenon in the NL, too.

Here’s the article in Dutch. I’ll translate in more detail when I wake up again. But to say that what happened that night was psychotic is honestly an understatement.

Rest in peace, Sanda.

https://twitter.com/kwintenseghers/status/1286976511124406272?s=21 https://twitter.com/kwintenseghers/status/1286976511124406272

https://twitter.com/kwintenseghers/status/1286976511124406272?s=21

CORRECTION: he died of multiple organ failure due to the salt level in his body & hypothermia (from what I understand from the article). I was corrected by some others here, thank you for that and if anyone wants to help translate, jump in. Here’s my attempt:

4 Dec ‘18
Today three newcomers will go through the hazing ritual of the Leuvense fraternity “Reuzegom” in Leuven, Belgium. The members are all engineering students from rich backgrounds. The club is hierarchical. [...] we jump to the afternoon, when Sanda had to be punished.

16:02, City of Leuven
The more roses you sell, the less you’re punished. Punishment could be drinking expired milk or eating a “fat ball” for birds. Sanda is punished for selling the least

He’s made to drink/eat the most. “He was already so drunk that he couldn’t speak anymore”

16:02, City of LeuvenThe more roses you sell, the less you’re punished. Punishment could be drinking expired milk or eating a “fat ball” for birds. Sanda is punished for selling the least He’s made to drink/eat the most. “He was already so drunk that he couldn’t speak anymore”

19:12, Mechelsestraat
The

part is done. For the next activity, Q are asked. Who answers wrong must drink. A witness says she saw them drink an entire bottle of gin in very little time. The darker skinned boy got her attention, bc he had collapsed & couldn’t walk by himself >>

19:12, Mechelsestraat The part is done. For the next activity, Q are asked. Who answers wrong must drink. A witness says she saw them drink an entire bottle of gin in very little time. The darker skinned boy got her attention, bc he had collapsed & couldn’t walk by himself >>

“He was dark, and still you could see that he was looking pale” she said. One of the members says in their statement: the aim is for the newcomers to be completely “off the world” (‘gone’, very intoxicated) [...] once the alcohol starts to work they’re completely knocked out” >>

Acc. to another member, newcomers have to drink an entire bottle of gin. They usually can’t do this w/o throwing up. “[..]When they’re laying there passed out, we pee on them as well. Sanda was throwing up. We put him in a position so he wouldn’t choke on his vomit”

21:10, Arrival at Rumba hall
Acc to a member, Sanda & 2 other newcomers were completely wasted upon arrival. Inside, a new round of questions followed. The newcomers had to say how many pints they could drink. The members added one to that. Sanda drank 6-7, but threw up at nr 5>>

Asked in Sanda was unconscious, the member answers: “Not sure. We put all of them in a safe position so they wouldn’t throw up inside”. They were all passed out laying at the entrance of the building & didn’t speak anymore. Before, during & after this they were peed on repeatedly

23:59, Mechelsestraat

All taps were shut off in the place the newcomers were staying & they weren’t allowed under any circumstances to drink water. Sanda was carried there.

5 December ‘18
10:23, departure to Vorselaar from Vismarkt

The newcomers are woken up the next day. Sanda seemed disconnected & didn’t respond like the other 2. But besides his huge hangover, he seemed fine, a witness says. A woman, who works at KU Leuven, stops them >>

She doesn’t trust the situation and asks if they’re okay. She’s not taken seriously by the members.

Part of the group goes to animal store “Anaconda”, where they have to buy some fish, an eel, “fat balls” (for birds), and mice. >>

At “Exotic World”, liters of fish oil are bought. Statements that Sanda couldn’t walk himself and had to be supported to get out the car, are denied. What is certain, is that he is laying on the backseat.

12:09, arrival at “the well”

Just 5min after arrival, so it seems based on WhatsApp messages from members, Sanda and the other newcomers have to dig a well where they’d have to spend the rest of the afternoon & night.>>

One member sends a WhatsApp message at 12:14 which has since been deleted. It read “Newcomers are digging the well. Sanda is ready for the tras can / garbage container. The other 2 are still pretty okay”

12:14, “The Well”
While it’s only 6° celcius outside, the newcomers have to spend hours halfnaked in the well filled with water. If they answers Q correct, they get rewarded with a sip of water or aquarius (sportsdrink). If they’re wrong, they have to eat/drink something gross >>

Witnesses state that this included drinking fish oil & urine. All newcomers were awake, but Sanda was said to have been missing some “sharpness” in his eyes

Sanda catches the eel swimming in the well and at the strong request of bystanders, bites its head off. They were all soaked, but still wearing clothes.

19:00, “The Well”

The next test begins. Newcomers have to swallow a living goldfish and then drink fish oil to get it back out. This didn’t work for Sanda, so they told him to drink more fish oil, but eventually the fish oil just comes right back out again. Sanda seemed very >>

drunk, but that’s impossible cause they weren’t drinking that day (this witness says). According to other witnesses, the newcomers were [softer word for “kicked”] against their backs (with members’ feet) >>

“They’re on their knees in the water and are completely mentally broken by the members. They’re threatened with a “boks”. They’re also urinated on. Sanda looked horrible and seemed very drunk”

In a later deleted video, someone poops on one of the passed out newcomers >>

Normally there’s also a bell in the well that newcomers can ring if they give up. This year the bell isn’t there cause they forgot it. At 19:08 there’s a picture of Sanda passed out in the grass.

Member: “it looks like he was cold. I asked him if he was ok & he said yes >>”

>> we took off his wet clothes and put on cold clothes”

19:30 “The Well”
Time for dinner: sausage with toothpaste. Then it’s time to empty tens of buckets of icecold water on top of the newcomers. Firework is also thrown into the well.

Witness: Sanda was completely disconnected, and didn’t respond & walk well anymore. >>

“I don’t think he was unconscious, cause we still heard him softly snore”

20:17, Carried out of “the well” by the 2 newcomers
69 min after the pic of an unconscious Sanda was shared via WhatsApp, ppl get worried. He is carried out of the well by the other 2, with little help from the rest. At 20:18 another pic of an unconscious Sanda is shared >>

Meanwhile a mouse is put in a blender. Normally newcomers have to bit off the head if a living mouse. But now panic takes this ritual’s place.

They put Sanda on a trashbag in front of the fire & changed his wet clothes to dry ones. Gave him water & put him in the car >>

With the heating on for 5 minutes.

He looked disconnected and didn’t say anything anymore. One of the newcomers wanted to give him a fanta but wasn’t allowed to. There was panic. Sanda was starting to make weird noises. He was in fetus position. It got more serious by the second

20:57, call to the emergency department

Another 40 min after Sanda was taken out of the well, they decide to bring him to the hospital. They call on their way there and say that he is unconscious. They mentioned cold & exhaustion but not fish oil. There was still a piece of >>

mouse in Sanda’s pocket. Normally they’d have to lay in the forest naked for 2 hours alone as the last part of the hazing ritual. This is now put on hold.

21:15, Arrival hospital Malle

When they arrive at the hospital, more than 2 hours after sending the first picture, it turns out he is in a life threatening state. The other two newcomers are also admitted to the hospital, but are able to leave relatively fast. >>

Sanda has a serious case of hypothermia, with a body temperature of 27.2° celcius.

22 min later he is brought in at the Antwerpen University hospital, where a dr concludes that he has an extremely high salt level in his blood.

Sanda dies of multiple organ failure >