The mistaken belief that albino body parts have
magical powers has driven thousands of Africa's albinos into hiding,
fearful of losing their lives and limbs to unscrupulous dealers who
can make up to $75,000 selling a complete dismembered set.
Mary Owido, who lacks pigment that gives color to skin, eyes and hair,
says she is only comfortable when at work or at home with her husband
and children.
"Wherever I go people start talking about me, saying that my legs and
hands can fetch a fortune in Tanzania," said Owido, 36, a mother of
six. "This kind of talk scares me. I am afraid of going out alone."
Since 2007, 44 albinos have been killed in Tanzania and 14 others have
been slain in Burundi, sparking widespread fear among albinos in East
Africa.
At least 10,000 have been displaced or gone into hiding since the
killings began, according to a report released this week by the
International Federation for the Red Cross and Crescent societies.
East Africa's latest albino murder happened in Tanzania's Mwanza
region in late October, when albino hunters beheaded 10-year-old
Gasper Elikana and chopped off his leg, the report said. The killing
left Elikana's father, who tried to defend his son, seriously injured.
Albinism is a hereditary condition, but occurs only when both parents
have albinism genes. All six of Owido's children have normal skin
color.
African albinos endure insults, discrimination and segregation
throughout their lives. They also have a high risk of contracting skin
cancer in a region where many jobs are outdoors.
Owido, a high school teacher in the western Kenyan town of Ahero, says
she was forced to transfer from a better teaching job on the Kenya-
Tanzania border town of Isebania in 2008 after an albino girl she knew
was murdered and her body parts chopped off.
The surge in the use of albino body parts as good luck charms is a
result of "a kind of marketing exercise by witch doctors," the
International Federation for the Red Cross and Crescent societies
said.
The report says the market for albino parts exists mainly in Tanzania,
where a complete set of body parts — including all limbs, genitals,
ears, tongue and nose — can sell for $75,000. Wealthy buyers use the
parts as talismans to bring them wealth and good fortune.
"Albinism is one of the most unfortunate vulnerabilities," said
International Federation for the Red Cross and Crescent societies
Secretary General Bekele Geleta. "And it needs to be addressed
immediately at an international level."
The chairman of the Albino Association of Kenya, Isaac Mwaura, called
the murders deplorable but said the killings have given albinos a
platform to raise awareness.
Almost 90 percent of albinos living in the region were raised by
single mothers, Mwaura said, because the fathers believed their wives
were having affairs with white men.
"When I was born my father said his family tree doesn't have such
children and left us," Mwaura said.
Some African communities believe that albinos are harbingers of
disaster, while others mistakenly think albinos are mentally retarded
and discourage their parents from taking them to school, saying it's a
waste of money, he said.
Due to a lack of education, many albinos are illiterate and are forced
into menial jobs, exposing them to the sun and skin cancer, he said.
Those who manage to finish school face discrimination in the work
place and are never considered for promotions.
"People are very blind to albinism but it is very visible. Now that we
have this issue in Tanzania is when people have started to talk about
albinism," Mwaura said. "Before there was a studious silence."
TOM ODULA,NAIROBI KENYA
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