Main Feature: Albino africans: Fellow human beings too

Nothing shocked the region like the witch-hunt for Albino Africans in Tanzania and Burundi. And again, nothing has shamed human development and civilisation like the related atrocities reported in these countries. American Rapper Eminem is by far one of the most prolific entertainers the world has seen for decades. I’m mostly taken by his ever creative style of writing and Multi-syllabic rhymes. In his hit song, “cleaning out my closet” he begins, “have you ever been hated or discriminated against? I have.” Indeed it feels bad when a fellow human being is discriminated against, hated, hunted, and killed. Press reports suggest that over 100 Albinos have been killed in Tanzania in the past nine months. The killings have been rampant in Mwanza, Mara, Shinyanga, Kigoma in the Lake Victoria zone neighbouring Uganda and in Kagera near Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwanda has not recorded any cases of Albinos disappearing or killed. With the authorities becoming increasingly vigilant in Tanzania and Burundi, it is feared that the thugs may infiltrate Rwanda and cause havoc in both the Southern and Eastern provinces that neighbour Burundi and Tanzania respectively. Police spokesperson Marcel Higiro has assured the public that, “we are aware of the situation in the region, and as ever, nothing can be allowed to happen to a citizen of the country while we look on.” So who is behind this and why? In most cases, their (Albinos’) legs and arms are cut off because they believe the skin hair and bones of albinos are magical. One can therefore assume that it is witch doctors and ignorant people who are behind this. According to Police statistics in Mwanza Tanzania, there are over 3000 registered witchdoctors. It is also accepted that Albino killings have been very rampant in Mwanza. People with such dangerous beliefs and practices can truly lead a society to mayhem. They (witchdoctors) are seen as elders in most African communities and societies look up to them for solutions to their day to day problems. Telling them that parts of a fellow human being can bring wealth is lightly taken by the largely ignorant populations. It is also said that sleeping with an Albino person is a direct cure of AIDS and this has further worsened their woes. For example, in Zimbabwe, the sad belief that sex with an albino woman will cure a man of HIV has led to rapes (and subsequent HIV infections). That is how far superstitions can get! We all agree that such acts are very disturbing and depressing, so how does one start to change the mentality that our brothers and sisters have? I thought the world we live in had changed a great deal, but every hour and then, something sickening comes up, and I wonder where we are going. Not to derail, but I was watching either the Discovery Channel or the Science Channel and they had this show “Machines of Malice” (or something like that) which talked about the history of the use of technology to kill and torture. It was so incredibly disturbing. How human beings go to so much trouble to contrive ways to harm and hurt each other is profoundly depressing. I truly believe that most people are decent, but this propensity for cruelty seems deeply embedded. As repellent as I find, say, serial killers and such, I find the inclination toward organised, sanctioned and formalized brutality and cruelty so much more disturbing. It is even worse when such actions happen when the whole world is looking on and now, how Governments give a blind eye while part of its population is slaughtered. Reminds me of the 1994 genocide against Tutsis! It’s hard to believe that, when these killings started in Tanzania, it took the Government a substantial period of months to take action. It actually looked as if killing Albinos was generally accepted. Had it not been for the press, I’m quite sure these atrocities would go on. This comes as a complete shock to me and indeed any Human being would be shocked. I still wonder what kind of culture has created this ignorance. What Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete could only do was to condemn the witchdoctors who kill albinos and harvest their body parts in the hoping it will bring wealth. I think he should have tried to assure the Albinos of protection from such rogue characters. The BBC hired a sorcerer-turned-born again to do an undercover story. Shilinde, 41, had confessed at Sengerema Evangelical Lutheran Church that he had been a wizard since the age of three and had fled his region for fear that his fellow sorcerers and witches would be angered by his new faith. Undercover, he found witchdoctors who were promising a magic concoction mixed with ground albino organs. The starting price was $2,000 (about1m francs) for the vital organs. Another witch boasted that the police were also his customers and that he could make a special potion mixed with ground male and female private parts to enable people to commit armed robbery without being caught. The police are investigating the claims. Albinos have gone into hiding, while others have flocked urban centres where they feel a little safer. In Dar es Salaam, the albino community organised a rally to denounce the killings and called for more protection. Please from international organisations, worldwide media attention and a newly passed EU Resolution on protection of Albinos did enough to reduce the killings. However according to Tanzanian police, middlemen and the clients who pay for albino body parts are among the 173 people in custody so far. None has been prosecuted. For a long time, albinos have been marginalised as society deems them a curse few killers have been taken in for taking the lives of innocent human being like them. They live in perpetual fear, struggling with the stigma of being branded ‘white men’, yet at the same time enduring the reality of being born in a family where everyone else is black. According to a BBC report, one albino, Nyerere Rutahiro, was having supper in his home’s modest rural compound when four strangers burst in. His wife could not restrain them from hacking Rutahiro’s arms and legs with machetes. She said Rutahiro bled to death while his hackers took off with his limbs. The community mobilised to bury the father of two in a cement-sealed grave to protect it against grave robbers who were expected to return for the other body parts. Even the dead are hunted! It’s not the old people who are hunted but also children as young as nine years. In another BBC report, a Burundian family was attacked by gun wielding men deep in the night. The family thought they were only thieves until they forced their nine year old son into plastic bag and cut off his body parts. They left with the arms and legs. Rwandan Education Minister Gahakwa Daphrose said, ‘Albinos are treated just like any other person. We have a policy that recognises their right to education and other needs that every other student gets.’ Despite all this, a number of people with albinism have become famous, including historical figures such as Emperor Seinei of Japan, and Oxford don William Archibald Spooner, actor/comedian Victor Varnado, musicians such as Johnny and Edgar Winter, Salif Keita, Winston “King Yellowman” Foster, Brother Ali, and Willie “Piano Red” Perryman, and even a fashion model, Connie Chiu. FACT FILE Albinism is an inherited genetic condition characterised by the lack of the pigment melanin in the skin, eyes, and hair. Without melanin, an albino has very pale skin, visual problems and increased risk of skin cancer. Albinism affects people from all races. It’s even found in other animal species. Most children with albinism are born to parents with normal skin colour. There is no cure for albinism, but treatment can help the symptoms. Avoiding exposure to Ultra Violet light and using high-factor sunscreen are essential. Ante-natal testing for the condition could also help. Ends