Black Market for ‘White’ Africans
Sabina, mother of 4, is suddenly awoken by the sound of intruders. She runs to May, her son, to find the four year being kidnapped. She grabs her son and jumps out the window, sprinting for her son’s life with the intruders chasing behind her, and the kidnappers do not rest until she wakes the neighbors. What could this innocent four year old boy have done to cause these men to want to murder him? May is an albino living in Tanzania. In our Western society only 1 in 20,000 have albinism, the genetic disorder which causes the skin, hair, and eyes to all lack pigmentation. In the African country of Tanzania, as many as 1 in every 1,400 are affected by this disorder, possibly because of the inbreeding. Albinos in Tanzania are constantly at risk of being harmed or even murdered for their body parts and organs (Mulisa). Many witchdoctors in Africa believe that the hair, blood, and organs of albinos possess magical powers that can bring good luck and wealth. Albinos in Tanzania are constantly fearful for their lives, so the question must be asked, what can be done?
Since just the year of 2007, 75 albino people have been killed and many others mutilated. Despite these high numbers, only 10 have been convicted for their crimes. Police say this is due to lack of evidence. It is believed that the more prominent members of society are the ones involved in this system, because no poor man could afford a $10,000 body part. Because of this, very few have yet to be arrested, charged, convicted or jailed. Police say they do try their best to investigate each and every attack. Mwanza police commander, Valentino Mlowola, says, “These cases are complicated because most incidents happen in very remote areas where there is no electricity, for example, and that makes identifying perpetrators at night very hard.”
In hopes of solving this problem, the government is attempting to educate Africa on albinism and how they too are just normal people. Local movie stars are joining the fight by creating a movie that will hopefully bring more light and understanding to this issue (Rugonzibwa). The Children's Book Project in Tanzania and Book Aid International have come together as well to create and publish a book about a young boy with albinism (O'Reilly). They say, “Education is the key to challenging people's prejudices. Working with the Children's Book Project and Book Aid International provides us with a unique opportunity to encourage respect for people with albinism.” Through this book and movie, we begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel for people just like young May.
Although fully solving this problem will take a lot of effort, help is needed from outside communities and organizations. One day, these people will be able to go through life without having to watch their backs. One day, people won’t be discriminated against for the color of the skin. One day, May will live a life like any other four year old.
Works Cited
Mulisa, Meddy. "Church Leaders Concerned Over Albino, Ritual Killings." Galegroup.com. Africa News Service, 6 Mar. 2015. Web.
O'Reilly, Joseph. "Using Books to Challenge Prejudice: In Tanzania, a New Children's Book Is Helping to Dispel Myths about Albinism, as Joseph O'Reilly Reports." Galegroup.com. New Internationalist, 1 July 2009. Web.
Rugonzibwa, Pius. "Bongo Movie Stars Join Fight Against Albino Killings." Galegroup.com. Africa News Service, 4 Mar. 2015. Web.
My favorite part about this article is how original it is. I honestly had never head of this being a problem in any parts of the world, and hearing about this problem was very interesting.
ReplyDeleteYour topic was very unusual and unexpected. I loved your intro, making the reader feel like they are part of the problem. I know that the rates of albino people/animals in the US are going down, so it is interesting to hear that someone would kill them off. Do they just kill the albino's for 'potions' or for other purposes?
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that this was such a big problem. I thought your hook was great, it really brings the reader into the situations. It's really terrible that the albino people are being killed for that and I am grateful that we don't have to witness that in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the title of your article, and your introduction and conclusion because of the personal level that the take. I also like how unique your article is and how it tackles a problem that many people haven't heard of.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think there is no publicity behind this issue?
ReplyDeleteDo you believe that the government is doing all that it can to protect the lives of their citizens with albinism?
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think that not many people are aware of this issue?
ReplyDeleteI really like your hook and the evidence you choose to prove your point. This is very different from the US in which albinos are not discriminated against. Why is the public so unaware of this issue?
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting topic that I had no idea was occurring in Africa. What surprised me the most was the idea that people believe the body parts of albino people possess the power to bring affluence and prosperity. A question I have is, why are there so many more albino children born in Africa than other places in the world?
ReplyDeleteI'd be curious to know more about the 'witchdoctors' in Africa... I did not think that they were still that prominent in our world today and could help stem such a problem.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that this was such a big problem. It is disturbing to me that so much violence in Africa is a result of myths and legends... education and changing mindsets is so key. I wonder why more people are not aware of this issue?
ReplyDeleteThis is a very unknown issue that is not discussed. Your hook brings you into the article and I feel it was interesting and informative.
ReplyDeleteI like that you chose such a rarely discussed topic and went into depth about what the disorder is and what is causes. This definitely reminds me of how in general albino people are treated very differently from "normal" pigmented people. In the US albino people are often times targeted for being different from what society deems normal. Do you think that people with albinism are the cause of the children in Africa that have dark pigmented skin with bleach blonde hair and gray eyes?
ReplyDeleteI think this is a really intriguing topic and you wrote it very well, using both first hand experiences like in your intro as well as different statistics. This is something that would (hopefully) never occur in the US which makes the contrast between Africa and the US very interesting. I wonder what made the witch doctors begin to believe this about albinos in the first place?
ReplyDelete