The albino needs respect, not pity

By Phitalis Were Masakhwe

Unless far reaching and urgent measures are taken, persons with albinism in Africa face real survival threat.

The recent killing of a six-year-old girl in Tanzania best epitomises the cruelty and danger the group faces. The treatment best depicts intolerance to diversity in its vile form.

Merely on account of their pigmentation, albinos have been shunned, ridiculed, tortured and killed not only in Tanzania but also in Burundi, Malawi, Mozambique and DRC.

Going by media reports and the reasons behind their plight, persons with albinism in African countries like Kenya, Rwanda, Lesotho, Ghana and Sudan have a reason to be worried. Indeed, they are a very apprehensive lot.

The threat to albinos in Africa is misguided belief system combined with illiteracy and limited knowledge about their condition. Some people wrongly believe they are a cursed lot while others consider them terminally ill, weak, and/or intellectually challenged.

Considered useless

In traditional Maasai societies, an albino child was traditionally abandoned and left for the dead in the wilderness. Alternatively, they were left at the doorstep to be trampled upon by cattle because a "child with sight problems cannot take care of cattle and is therefore useless."

Mr Isaac Mwaura of the Albinism Society of Kenya (ASK) says: "It is funny even in cosmopolitan Nairobi, where orientation to human diversity is assumed, there have been weird accounts of people associating albinism with disease.

"Many others believe albinos are barren, mentally handicapped, or their body tissues can cure HIV/Aids. Others think the tissues are a source of good luck and instant riches."

The latter speaks volumes in a continent where majority are poor and keep hoping for good luck to join the ranks of the rich and powerful.

There is also a gender angle to this issue. Mothers of albino children are the primary victims from the misconception they sired them with illegal white fathers. Such mothers are often disowned by their husbands and even banished from the community.

"Don’t stare, just ask," boldly declares the motto of ASK.

Taken as outcasts

Tired of the daily stares that meet its membership, the organisation’s motto calls on Kenyans who need to know anything about albinism to get the information from them, instead of taking albinos as outcasts.

Albinism refers to a group of inherited conditions that cause little or no pigmentation in the eyes, skin or hair. It is a genetic mutation that causes lack or deficiency of melanin in the body, the photo-protective pigment that protects us from the sun’s harmful ultra-violet rays.

It results in physical characteristics such as white or light blonde hair, violet to blue eyes and very pale skin that is particularly sensitive to the sun.

To preserve and ensure protection and dignified life for albinos, robust and extensive public awareness and education programmes, particularly at the grassroots, are necessary.

Enhanced and diversified media work on the subject, such as Lupita Nyong’os In My Genes film, is highly encouraged.

Mr Martin Wanyonyi of ASK calls on the Government to do more to improve policy and legal environment for Kenyans with albinism.

He says: "We need a specific law or a review of the Persons with Disability Act (2003) to specifically recognise and cater for our rights and unique needs such as skin cancer, ritual killings and discrimination in employment, education and healthcare services."

Thanks to Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa, the Parliament for once discussed the agenda in response to a petition from ASK. The petition also called for a special code to help identify and count albinos for national planning.

Waive duty on sunscreens

The Government also needs to consider waiving duty on sunscreen used by albinos.

For instance, Tanzania’s President Kikwete has taken the lead on the issue. He not only regularly advocates for support of albinos but he also nominated a woman with albinism to Parliament to give enhanced visibility to the cause. Other African leaders should emulate the Tanzanian leader.

The writer, a sociologist, has a physical disability —[email protected]