Article excerpted from the Huffpost:10,000 Albinos In Hiding after Killings In East Africa
NAIROBI, Kenya -- 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.
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 society said.
WTF?? Africa, the supposed cradle of humankind, has done absolutely nothing to advance humankind in recorded history. What will these assholes think of next?
Well, now we know why white people left Africa.
ReplyDeleteWow.
ReplyDeleteJust...wow.
From top to bottom, from east to west, Africa is one screwed up continent. 19th century colonization didn't do anything for their well being and all the asset stripping that went with it didn't do anything but keep them tribal and superstitious. The harvesting of elephant tusks for ivory and rhino horns for aphrodisiacs was bad enough, now they're harvesting people for good luck charms. WTF indeed.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Hannah: I don't have much other than WOW.
ReplyDeleteThat's terrible... But when for as long as the earth is old people of that continent have been treated as less than human by everyone else, and because of that treatment have never been given access to the education and modernization the rest of the world has experienced, what else do we expect? So I'm not surprised.
ReplyDeleteI'll see the wows and raise them a 'good grief'.
ReplyDeleteIt's a transatlantic thing I guess.
Unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteI read about this scary, scary behavior a while back at Bruce M Hood's blog some months ago:
ReplyDeletehttp://brucemhood.wordpress.com/2009/02/21/stop-the-killing-of-tanzanian-albinos/
Bruce follows superstitions and is very funny, although this particular issue isn't a bit funny. The Nigerian police who locked up a goat because the locals said it was a shapeshifter and stole a car was funny.
Re: albinos in Africa
There's a petition, for what it's worth
http://www.underthesamesun.com/petitions.php
Good to see everyone. Hope your holiday was fine. Apparently not so fine for so many others. Some things just defy words, this situation is one of them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for turning me on to Bruce PE. Great site.
ReplyDeleteThis is mind boggling. I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving and weekend.
ReplyDeleteseriously Mr. C, that is one fucked up continent! Remind me never to go there, I'm pale, but not albino material. Geeze.
ReplyDeleteMy holiday was great thanks; hope yours was as well.
I am with scarlethue on this one.
ReplyDeleteF*cking unbelieveable.
ReplyDeleteI too feel the African peoples haven't gotten a fair shake, but that has nothing to do with plain human decency. I'm with Holte, even after centuries of colonial rule, bad and good, bye and large, little of the good has rubbed off on them.
ReplyDeleteThis be one of those cases where superstition meets greed and the only response to it is for them to either live in fear, fight or die.
ReplyDelete