Albinos Declared Endangered Species in Africa, and ‘Good Luck’ in the US!
It is official, and the pronouncement was made by none other than the head of state himself: albinos in Tanzania are an endangered species and must be protected!
President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete recently ordered a massive police crackdown on witchdoctors who lure and kill albino people for body parts to be used in ritualistic healing sessions with their clients as a talisman for good luck.
Woe unto you if you are an albino in this poor east Africa nation of 39 million people. The government says 19 have been murdered in 2008, but activists claim the figure could be as high as 60, in a country where more than 160,000 are said to suffer the genetic condition in which the person lacks pigmentation in the eyes, skin and hair.
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Albinism is an inherited condition resulting from the combination of recessive genes passed from both parents of an individual. This condition is known to affect mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
It is not an infectious disease and cannot be transmitted through contact, blood transfusions, or other vectors. The principal gene which results in albinism prevents the body from making the usual amounts of the pigment melanin.
In the United States, about 1 in every 17,000 have albinism and the condition affects all races. According to a University of Maryland online fact page, the condition results when the body is unable to produce or distribute pigment, called melanin, because of one of several possible genetic defects.
There are about two distinct types of albinism but in the most severe form of albinism (called oculocutaneous albinism), those affected appear to have hair, skin, and iris color that are white or pink as well as vision defects. This is inherited via an autosomal recessive process.
In Tanzania, where there are about 270,000 albino people, they are also prejudicially known as the “Zeru Zeru”, or ghosts. Albinos have had to put up with stigmatization of being “black in a white skin” and some have been killed by own family if not ostracized because they are seen a curse on their folk.
Albinism has turned deadly in Tanzania and if the government has recognized the prevalence of albino killings as alarming, the society in general is up in arms against the witchdoctors who perform gruesome deeds in harvesting their body parts for magic.
In the north west of the country around the shores of Lake Victoria, villagers recovered an exhumed corpse of an albino whose limbs had all been cut off. Some have been found minus tongues, genitals or breasts. President Kikwete recently summed up the grave situation: “These killings are shameful and distressing to our society, I am told that people kill albinos and chop their body parts, including fingers, believing they can get rich.”
To forestall the fatal prejudice against albinos, Kikwete said his government will hunt down all witchdoctors suspected in the killings and bring them to justice. And to prove that he means business trying to change societal perception of albinos in his country, he appointed the first albino member of parliament, a lady by name Al-Shymaa Kway-Geer, in a nationwide effort to eliminate discrimination.
Today, July 10, 2008, marks the start of a four day national congress in Las Vegas, Nevada of the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation (NOAH) in the United States. While they kill albinos in Africa for ‘good luck’, the theme of the family event is - couldn’t have been better - “Imagine Your Luck.”
Resources:
Organization: The National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation (NOAH)
Website: Albinism: Life as an Albino, by Bianca Knowlton
Organization: National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc. (NORD)
Organization: Albinism Fellowship UK and Ireland
Images courtesy: Wikipedia Commons
wow. very informative post. well-researched! i’m sure it is a dreadfully under-reported issue. thanks for taking the time. i learned a lot!
Well useful report, greetings, bye.
This is a tragic situation, and an informative report. Unfortunately, I have read reports published by the BBC since your report was written indicating that the problem is still serious and many people from rural areas have been forced to flee to cities in Tanzania because they have been persecuted by criminal gangs for being albino or having albino relatives. Some people were reportedly murdered in Tanzania attempting to protect their albino family members.
It is indeed tragic. You know, it is because of superstitious behaviour originating from ignorance, apathy etc. There has to be awareneness raising and sensitization through the media, members of the community, churches, mosques, schools etc. People have to be made to understanmd the causes of the condition as well as the health and social problems facing such individuals. I am a mother of two sons with albinism in Tanzania, both of them over twenty years with Univerity education. It can be done if parents and relatives as well as the surrounding community accept such individuals. Remember that there are individual diffrences, we are the same but different.
Mwajabu, I agree with your wholeheartedly about the need for acceptance. Our mere existence on this earth is our major commonality. There is so much more to love and cherish each other for than to harm each other for.
I heard about this last year and it’s been haunting me ever since. It’s a huge challenge to stop the murders and change public perception of albinism and I’ve been wondering just how on Earth that’s going to be achieved! Mwajabu, you have some excellent ideas on how to solve this tragedy as simply creating a safe haven for albinos to live in is nothing more than a band-aid solution — society needs to be educated about albinism and the witch doctors’ claims that they’re mystical beings be totally debunked. Albinos shouldn’t have to be relegated to living in a protected compound — they should be allowed to live their life free from the threat of being mutilated or murdered EVERYWHERE in Tanzania. I hope this can be achieved in our lifetime and that ignorance about albinism is not passed down to the next generation.