Why doesn't the Tanzanian albino black live to adulthood? The hard life of African albino blacks.

It just shocked me! Find out why being born an albino in Africa is so dangerous and what makes people so cruel to them. Incredible facts that will give you goosebumps...

Today we would like to talk about a topic that is rarely discussed. You may have seen albinos several times. Maybe you even know one of them closely. As is known, albinism is a genetic disease characterized by the absence of melanin pigment in the skin, hair and iris of the eyes.

Play sports, stick to proper nutrition and!

Both people and animals are susceptible to this disease. The lack of melanin also causes other serious skin diseases, because in this case the skin is too sensitive to the effects of sunlight.

Being an albino is not at all easy, but it is even worse to suffer from this disease in countries with a hot climate. For example, in Africa.

Today we will tell you the story of a young African model, Thando Hopa. It was thanks to her that the world became aware of the monstrous difficulties that albinos are forced to face.

History of the Tando Hopa model

Tando Hopa is 24 years old. This girl is not only a model, but also a lawyer. She considers herself very lucky, because being an albino in Africa is a real curse. She completed her studies in Johannesburg. It was there that the girl attracted a lot of attention due to her delicate and exotic appearance.

Thanks to this, Thando became a catwalk star and began to shine on magazine covers. Thando is one of the few business representatives with albinism known in our world.

It is possible that it was success and fame that prompted her to study law in order to tell the world about the social drama, unfamiliar to most people, that is playing out in Africa.

Albinism as a curse in Africa

It may seem strange to you, but it’s true: exactly Africa is one of the continents with the most people living with albinism. There are especially many albinos in Tanzania.

Experts still do not fully know the reasons for this strange phenomenon. There are suspicions that the culprit of albinism is the blood relationship and heredity of the first settlers from Europe who came to the African continent. It is here that the number of albinos is 15% higher than in other regions of the world.

According to Tando Hop, albinism in Africa means not only a serious physical defect, but also a real social drama. The sun's rays here are very aggressive, which is why many people develop blindness. After all, human skin and eyes without melanin are extremely sensitive to the sun and need serious protection. In addition, society is very suspicious of such “special” people.

Albinos are often called “zeru-zeru,” which means “child of the devil or ghosts.” Albinism is believed to be the result of a sin committed by parents who made a pact with the devil himself. The white skin of the children is considered evidence of this conspiracy. This is why many mothers choose to abandon such children.

A living albino is worth nothing, but a dead one is worth its weight in gold. Why is this happening? The fact is that some ethnic groups in Africa, as well as sorcerers in distant villages, believe that the blood and organs of albinos have magical properties and can be treated for various diseases. Thus, people suffering from albinism find themselves on a par with rhinoceros horns and elephant tusks.

Some people are willing to pay a lot of money for an albino, and he could easily be deprived of a limb or even killed.

Many humanitarian organizations have been sounding the alarm for a long time, trying to convey this monstrous truth to others. Very often, armed groups of people go out at night to hunt for children and adults with albinism. When they find their victim, they amputate limbs or take the life of a defenseless person. This is due to the fact that a lot of money is paid for the blood and organs of albinos. Because of this, cruel killers do not experience the slightest shadow of doubt when taking the life of their next victim. Of course, we find it difficult to believe such cruelty.

Being an albino in Africa is a real curse. It is good that there are people like Thando Hopa who are not afraid to open the eyes of the world to this monstrous drama. Many international organizations strive to protect and provide social support to these unfortunate people whose lives are in danger every day. This is especially true for Tanzania.

It is known that a large number of albinos die there every year. They become victims of attacks by heartless people or die as a result of untreated diseases. Skin burns, infected wounds and cancer are the main problems that people with albinism have to face.

Today, many of the children who have been attacked are forced to adapt to life without limbs. And despite this, many of them continue to smile. Although it is not at all easy to be different, to be different from the rest. Unfortunately, it still often happens in society that people who are different are persecuted.

Albinos of Africa are an amazing phenomenon of the black continent. These people have to fear both the hot Sun and ignorant fellow tribesmen who kill them in order to test the ancient wild belief that after death an albino melts into air. In addition, parts of their bodies are used by shamans in pagan rituals. It is believed that a person who kills a white tribesman acquires his strength. Some shamans claim that albinos are cursed and bring evil. Women are afraid to look at an albino lest they have a white child. Even the government of the country cannot guarantee the safety of any of these people. In Africa, albinos rarely live past 40 years.

The most striking thing is that people with a congenital absence of pigment in the skin, hair and irises are found here much more often than in other places on the planet. If in Europe and North America there is one albino per 20 thousand people, then in Africa there is one per 4 thousand. In Tanzania, for example, there are about 370,000 albinos.

Zihada Msembo, an albino woman, says that until recently she was afraid only of the Sun. And now, when she goes out into the street, she constantly hears insults, such as: “Look - “zeru” (in the local dialect “ghost”). We can pin her down."

In Africa, the killing of albinos has become an industry based on terrible superstitions. Fishermen in Tanzania believe that if you weave red hair from an albino's head into a net, the catch will increase several times. Shamans inspired people that the legs, genitals, eyes and hair of these people bestow special strength and health. “Ju-ju” amulets, made with an admixture of albino ashes, are supposedly capable of bringing good luck to the house, helping in a successful hunt, and winning the favor of a woman. Amulets made from the genitals are in particular demand. They are believed to cure all diseases. Even bones are used, which are ground, and then mixed with various herbs, used in the form of decoctions. This supposedly gives them a special mystical power.

The dismembered organs of albinos are sold for big money to buyers in Congo, Burundi, Kenya and Uganda. An albino hand costs 2 million Tanzanian shillings (1.2 thousand dollars). In poor countries this is a lot of money! Having killed one such victim, the hunter can exist comfortably for a couple of years.

Recently, more than 50 people have been killed in Tanzania for the sake of profit, including men, women and even children. Five-year-old albino Mariam Emmanuel was killed and dismembered in the home of her 76-year-old grandfather in February 2008. Relatives collected what was left and buried it right in the hut. They were afraid that hunters for albino bodies might even steal her bones. Indeed, after the funeral, the killers raided the house a couple of times, but Mabula’s grandfather guards his granddaughter’s bones around the clock.

It happens that relatives of the victim participate in the murder. Thus, seven-month-old Salma was killed by her relatives. They ordered the girl's mother to dress her daughter in black clothes and leave her alone in the hut. The trusting woman did everything they wanted, but decided to hide and see what would happen next. A few hours later, unknown men entered the hut. They used a machete to cut off the girl's legs. Then they cut her throat, drained the blood into a vessel and drank it. The mother could do nothing to help the child.

In early November 2008, the Daily News reported on a fisherman from Lake Tanganyika who tried to sell his albino wife for $2,000 to Congolese businessmen. One guy was caught with the head of a child. He told the police that the shaman promised to pay him for the goods by weight.

Bloodthirsty savages from Burundi broke into the widow's clay hut. They grabbed her six-year-old albino son and dragged him outside. In front of his screaming mother, they shot the boy and dismembered his body. They took away what they thought was the most valuable thing: tongue, penis, arms and legs. Then they threw the mutilated corpse of the child at the feet of the mother and disappeared. None of the local residents of the village came to the rescue, since almost all of the tribesmen believed that the unfortunate woman was cursed because she gave birth to an albino child.

In the past, midwives killed such children; now they are destroyed by hunters for profit. There is also a belief that a woman became pregnant from a spirit; even albinos themselves believe in this. This is what one of them said: “I am not part of the human world. I am part of the spirit world." According to another version, the parents had sex with each other during the period when the woman was menstruating or there was a full moon, or it happened in broad daylight. In general, they violated the prohibitions of society, and so they were cursed.

In Tanzania, near Lake Tanganyika, a public school for the disabled was established, which began to accept albino children. These schools are carefully guarded by local army soldiers. But cases have become more frequent when soldiers collude with criminals, and even in this school children do not feel at least somewhat safe. True, they do not go beyond the boundaries of their classes and dormitories.

Sometimes there are trials of murderers. For example, in May 2009, a trial of 11 Burundians took place. They were accused of killing albino blacks whose limbs were sold to healers from neighboring Tanzania. Parts of the human body appeared as physical evidence: a femur, flayed skin. The defendants were given between one year and life in prison, but albino killers usually go unpunished.

Introduction

What is happening these days in Africa in the 21st century defies common sense. It is a real crime that our developed countries turn a blind eye to the terror that occurs on the territory of these seemingly small, picturesque and exotic countries. Terror perpetrated by the citizens themselves against their “dissimilar” fellow citizens. The authorities of these countries officially declare their complete powerlessness to do anything to stop the bloodbath.

What is Albinism?

From (Latin albus, “white”) - congenital absence of pigment of the skin, hair, iris and pigment membranes of the eye. There are complete and partial albinism. It is currently believed that the cause of the disease is the absence (or blockade) of the enzyme tyrosinase, which is necessary for the normal synthesis of melanin, a special substance on which the color of tissues depends.

The African authorities blame the village shamans for the current situation, whose opinions the population still listens to; they simply sacredly and stupidly believe them. Attitudes towards albinos are ambiguous even among the “black magicians” themselves: some attribute special positive properties to their bodies, while others consider them cursed, bringing the evil of the other world.

Bloody Tanzania

In Africa, the killing of albinos has become an industry where the majority of the population cannot read or write and generally considers it an absolutely unnecessary activity, and even less understanding of medical nuances.

But there are various superstitions in use here. Residents believe that an albino black man brings misfortune to the village. The dismembered organs of albinos are sold for a lot of money to buyers from the "I'd like to notice" Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Kenya and Uganda. People blindly believe that the legs, genitals, eyes and hair of people with albinism confer special strength and health. The killers are driven not only by pagan beliefs, but also by the thirst for profit - the hand of an albino costs 2 million Tanzanian shillings, which is about 1.2 thousand dollars. For Africans this is just crazy money!

Just recently, more than 50 people who differed from their compatriots in skin color were killed in Tanzania. They were not just killed, they were dismantled for organs, and the organs of albino blacks are sold to shamans. It so happens that those who hunt albino blacks don’t care who they kill: a man, a woman or a child. The product is scarce and expensive. Having killed one such victim, the hunter can live comfortably, by African standards, for a couple of years.

Below, Mabula, 76, squats in his dirt-floored bedroom next to the grave of his granddaughter, five-year-old Mariam Emmanuel, a small albino who was killed and dismembered in the next room in February 2008. The girl was buried right in the hut so that hunters for albino body parts would not steal her bones. Mabula says that there have already been raids on his house a couple of times, after the death of his granddaughter, hunters wanted to take her bones. The photo was taken on January 25, 2009 in one of the villages near Mwanza. Mabula guards her house day and night.

A Tanzanian teenage girl is pictured sitting in the girls' dormitory of a public school for the disabled in Kabanga, a town in the west of the country near the town of Kigomu on Lake Tanganyika, June 5, 2009. The school began accepting albino children late last year after In Tanzania and neighboring Burundi, albinos began to be killed in order to use parts of their bodies in witchcraft rituals. The children's school in Kabang is guarded by soldiers of the local army, but this does not always save children from hunters for their bodies; cases where soldiers collude with criminals have become more frequent. Children cannot even take a step outside the walls of their classrooms.

Little nine-year-old Amani sits in the recreation room of Mitido Primary School for the Blind, photographed January 25, 2009. He was admitted there after the murder of his sister, five-year-old Mariam Emmanuel, an albino girl who was killed and dismembered in February 2008.

In Europe and North America, there is one albino for every 20 thousand people. In Africa their number is much higher - one per 4 thousand people. According to Mr. Kimaya, there are about 370 thousand albinos in Tanzania. The government of the country cannot guarantee the safety of any of them.

Nature

It so happened that Africans, who by a whim of nature turned out to be white, had to flee from their own neighbors. Their life often resembles a nightmare when you don’t know whether, when you wake up in the morning, you will be able to live until the evening. Apart from ignorant people, albinos are mercilessly tormented by the hot African sun. White skin and eyes are defenseless against powerful ultraviolet radiation. Such people are forced to rarely go outside or apply copious amounts of sunscreen, which many simply do not have the money for. Because there is simply no one there who doesn’t have them!

The picture shows small albino children at recess in the courtyard of a primary school for the blind in Mitido, the pictures were taken on January 25, 2009. This school has become a real refuge for rare albino children. The school in Mitido is also guarded by army soldiers, children feel safer than at home with their parents.

In this photo taken on January 27, 2009, Nima Kayanya, 28, makes a clay pot at her grandmother's house in Ukerewa, Tanzania, where her brother and sister, who are also albinos like her, now live. Ukerewe, an island on Lake Victoria located near the city of Mwanza, is a safe haven compared to other regions of Tanzania.

African sorcerers say that amulets made from albino blacks can bring good luck to the house, help in a successful hunt, and win the favor of a woman. But amulets made from the genitals are in particular demand. It is believed to be a powerful remedy that cures all diseases. Almost any organ is used. Even bones, which are ground and then mixed with various herbs, are used in the form of decoctions to impart mystical power.

These hunters are real bloodthirsty savages; they are not afraid of anything. So in Burundi they burst straight into the mud hut of the widow Genorose Nizigiyimana. They grabbed her six-year-old son and dragged him outside. Right in the yard, having shot the boy, they skinned him in front of his hysterical mother. Having taken the “most valuable” things: tongue, penis, arms and legs, the bandits abandoned the mutilated corpse of the child and disappeared. None of the local villagers will help the mother, since almost everyone considers her cursed.

Court and body parts

In this photo taken on May 28, 2009, human body parts, including a thigh bone, and flayed skin can be seen on display in a courtroom during the trial of 11 Burundians. The defendants are accused of killing albino blacks whose limbs were sold to healers from neighboring Tanzania, in Ruyigi. During the trial, the Burundian prosecutor, Nicodeme Gahimbare, demanded a sentence of one year to life imprisonment for the defendants. Gahimbare had sought life imprisonment as punishment for three of the 11 accused, eight of whom were in the dock for the murder of an eight-year-old girl and a man in March this year.

African albinos

Red Cross

The well-known organization the Red Cross is actively recruiting volunteers, conducting its propaganda all over the world, very often Africans themselves join it. Pictured July 5, 2009, a Tanzanian Red Cross Society (TRCS) volunteer holds the hand of an albino toddler at a picnic organized by TRCS at a government school for the disabled in Kabanga, in the west of the country near the town of Kigomu on Lake Tanganyika.

Despite the fact that we live in the civilized 21st century, the century of discoveries of “development and technology,” but despite this, in the far corners of our planet the blood of innocent people and, most importantly, small children is still being shed.