In many countries of sub-Saharan Africa people with albinism suffer discrimination and ostracism and are seen as a curse. Some cultures believe that they do not die, but disappear, or that having sex with a person with albinism cures AIDS.
Discrimination and persecution
PERSECUTED BY BLACK MAGIC
Some superstitions look at people with albinism as a source of income, so they are mutilated and the parts of their bodies are used in rituals of black magic, under the belief that they give wealth and fortune to those who own them.
In countries where annual income barely reaches the 300 euros, a member of a person with albinism can cost up to 2.000 euros on the black market, the entire body 70.000 euros.
The inefficiency of criminal justice systems and the deficient application of the law fuels the perpetration of these attacks.
The children are the target of most incidents of violence; The more innocent the victim is, the more valued the body parts will be. They are often abandoned by their parents, and many women are rejected by their partners when they give birth to a baby with albinism.
To protect these children, some countries created the «safe centers», where children with albinism live isolated from their families and communities. The same walls that protect them from the attacks, prevent them from leading a normal childhood and integrating into society.
At school they are victims of teasing from their classmates and the poor vision caused by their condition, also condemns them to academic failure. In Tanzania, only 10% access Secondary Education.