According to African belief, albino people are not real people. Many believe that they are demons or ghosts. And it is also believed that albinos are immortal, and their bodies have healing magical properties. Shamans still practice dark magic in many countries, although the persecution of albinos occurs mainly in Malawi and Tanzania.
Applicants are willing to pay huge sums of money for parts of albino bodies, since they are later used by shamans in spells for luck or success. Being an albino and living in Africa is at least scary. The following ten stories of persecution and mutilation are so tragic that they seem incredible and wild for our modern society.
1
Misunderstanding and Racial Discrimination
Discrimination against albino people goes hundreds, if not thousands of years. Even today, they cannot completely stop this trend. In 1892, explorer Charles Staniland Wake from Chicago traveled to Africa. He studied various tribes and their culture, and then published a book, Memoirs. Once during a hunt, he was shocked by the meeting with the albino. He admitted that meeting with another white man over a year in Africa scared him. Local explained that albinos for them are demonic creatures and it is rarely possible to see an albino who has survived to an older age. Usually they are killed in infancy.
Despite explaining to him all superstitions about albinos, Charles came to the conclusion that they were being killed in order to preserve the dark color of the skin in the family or village. Knowledge about the work of genes at that time was not yet generally known.
In his book, Charles Wake writes that Africans must appear in all shades, from crystal white to dark. “Black can turn white, but white never turns black. It seems like the beginning of the disappearance of the dark race, ”he wrote.
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2
Body parts for profit
Once in Tanzania, an albino girl named Kabul was walking home from school. A man passing by noticed her and found out the address of her residence. A few days later, three men broke into Kabul's house. They cut off her hand, threw it in a bag and disappeared.
Kabul is not alone. A hundred people in Tanzania suffered the same fate. Now they are hoping for prosthetics provided by international charitable organizations. It is hard to imagine how someone can be so cruel to children, but selling body parts of albinos to shamans can be quite profitable. For Tanzania, with an average annual income of $ 400, getting $ 2,000 a hand is an excellent income. And the whole body costs about $ 75,000. In a world where poverty is around and it is suggested that the albino is not a person, it is clear why people are so easy to commit violent crimes without remorse.
3
Exhumed bodies
An albino named Stefan Ebon has been harassed and discriminated since childhood. When he grew up, he went to university and became a journalist in Italy. In 2016, he returned to his African origins and decided to meet with the shaman in the presence of BBC reporters.
Instead of looking at Stephen as a man, the shaman looked at him like a lion, who was preparing to jump on his victim. He made Ebon hold the entire interview with a few magic wooden sticks. The shaman kept talking about the cost of Ebon. He explained that albinos are so valuable that he himself digs up graves after their death. When the sorcerer was asked if he felt remorse for the killings and if he was worried that he might be arrested, he admitted that he never hid it. He replied that he earned so much that whenever the police arrived, he simply bribed them and they left.
4
Special schools and camps
Since albino children are too dangerous to go to regular schools, many of them never leave their homes. Those who want to get an education attend special boarding schools. In extreme cases, they can visit summer camps to meet with albinos like them. However, many parents simply abandon their children in boarding schools and never return.
There is an old superstition that the birth of an albino child entails a curse in the house. Parents want to quickly abandon them without resorting to murder. These camps were created after the government realized the need for its intervention to prevent the killing of so many albinos. High fences are locked every night. Security guards monitor security. Such schools save the lives of albino children, but they also isolate them from the outside world. Nothing is being done to help society accept them as people. When they become teenagers, they can no longer stay at school due to their age, and are forced to figure out how to live in a world that hates them.
5
Dedicated to poverty
Since many people are superstitious about albinos, they shun society and cannot find work. Many adult albinos are forced to depend on other family members.
In RT's documentary Fear and Loathing: An African Albino Survives Tanzania, 50-year-old albino Said was attacked and his arm was chopped off. His sister allowed him to "live" with her, but allowed him to sleep only on the street, hiding with a mosquito net.
In many countries, education is a way to escape poverty. Since albinos are born with poor eyesight, it is difficult for them to get a good education. According to the Red Cross, many African teachers believe that albino children are stupid, and they just don't see the blackboard.
One of the many things the Red Cross does for albino children is the spread of learning Braille, as many of them are blind. The organization also provides glasses and magnifying glasses to help them read.
6
Skin cancer and aids
All albinos are extremely susceptible to skin cancer. Melanin is not produced in their body, as a result, their skin has no pigmentation and no protection from sunlight. An albino should always wear a wide hat and use a protective cream throughout the day.
According to a study by the European Organization for the Study of Cancer, African albinos usually form tumors on the face and neck. In the absence of proper treatment, tumors become malignant, leading to early death. It was also found that African albinos often do not live up to 30 years.
Worse, the “magic abilities” of albinos have been rumored that if a person with AIDS enters into an intimate relationship with an albino, then he will recover. This led to the fact that young albino girls were caught and raped, simultaneously infecting AIDS.
7
Albino island
Since albinos are often rejected by society, many of them decided to create their own community on the small island of Ukerwe off the coast of Tanzania. Since 2014, 70 people have been living there. Some of them are fortunate that they have a family that does not believe in superstition. They can all live together in peace and tranquility.
However, life on the island does not guarantee security. The big city of Mwanza is three hours away. Albino Alfred Kapole was attacked on Ukreve. On the island he was brought up by parents who wanted to give him a better life. Capone realized that until everyone around them understood that they were not magical, they would never be safe anywhere. He moved to the city of Mwanza and created the organization “Albanism Society of Tanzania”. On the wall of the organization’s office, he wrote, “We do not melt in the sun. Do not fade. We live and die like all other people. ”
He devoted his entire life to seminars, trying to break people's thinking about albinos, especially in villages.
8
Political motives
Many will be surprised how such a terrible practice still exists today, because there should be many educated people in the government. Tanzanian journalist Eric Cabender noted that the number of killings of albinos increases dramatically during the presidential election. It has been recorded that many politicians in Africa still believe in magic, and will pay shaman sorcerers for spells that will lead them to victory. Also, politicians are the few who can pay such huge money for Africa for bodies.
Therefore, it is not surprising that if this theory is true, then politicians will not protect albinos in any way. The UN and the Human Rights Organization needed to intervene. Jakaya Kikvet, who was the president of Tanzania in 2015, said this disgusting and shameful practice for the country. She agreed to the arrest of the shamans, which not a single president had done before her.
9
Villagers fight back
While there are many superstitious Africans who believe that albinos should die, there are many educated people who find this terrible. Since the government is very corrupt, people are literally getting away with numerous killings. Many young activists have taken matters into their own hands and are now hunting for these killers.
In 2015, a rumor spread that 58-year-old Jane Fayda Bakari was a witch who paid for killing albinos for spells. People were reimbursed and broke into the Bakari house in the middle of the night. More than 200 angry villagers dragged her out into the street. They chopped her body into pieces while Moses' husband stood and looked at it. They burned her body and then burned the house. The husband had to escape with three children. He later claimed that the wife was not a shaman and that activists killed an innocent woman.
Unfortunately, since shamans hide their true identity, the fault often lies with older women. They fall under the stereotype of sorcerers. In a world where villages live, wondering which of them is a serial killer, residents attack as soon as at least some evidence appears.
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10
Arrests
For centuries, the leaders of the communities, the police and justice of Tanzania have done very little to stop the killing of albinos. Finally, in 2015, after a statement by the United Nations and community activists on these issues, the government stepped up and did what needed to be done many years ago. They arrested 225 so-called “healers, healers,” who practiced without a license, as well as sorcerers who paid bounty hunters for parts of the body of albinos.
During raids on shaman dwellings, they found monkey tails, lion skin, warthog teeth, and other parts of animals that they mixed and forced their customers to consume.
This is a huge victory, because now buyers of body parts are sitting behind bars, and people will not have such motivation to hunt albinos. And any shaman who has not yet been caught will think twice before revealing himself. Unfortunately, many sorcerers still practice in other African countries.
More photos
The following photos do not need comments. They perfectly convey that mood and life of the African albino people. Some of them were lucky enough to find help and extend their life for some time.
Nice pictures
And now let's see what African Albino people look like who were able to get out of their homeland. They are beautiful and able to give happiness to people, and at the same time be happy.
Article author: sergej1984