Education is the key to stopping the murder, abuse and discrimination. It is important that others – even members of my extended family – learn that we are people just like them.
body parts, they will become rich and prosperous. Even though it is illegal to kill people with albinism, it still happens – it’s greed that makes people do it. But it’s all based on lies: There are people who have done these terrible things, yet their lives have remained the same. A few months ago, thanks to a friend of my father, my siblings and I escaped being the victims of murder for witchcraft. My father’s friend came to warn him that his three albino children were in danger of being hunted, and he begged my father to leave Mwanza. This wasn’t easy because my parents’ financial situation was not good, but we packed up everything and left at 3 a.m. that night. We travelled over 500 kilometres to Dodoma and after two days received news from home that people had broken into our house in Mwanza looking to kill us. When these people found that we had escaped, they went to our next-door neighbour’s house. He was our local albino
representative and had done so much to help us and advocate for albino rights in our community. They cut off his genitals and arms, and left him there to die. We later received a phone call from another neighbour telling us what they did to him. This news hurt me so much that I cried a lot, but what could I do? This is the way things are. I don’t understand why people do such things to fellow human beings. But I think education is the key to stopping the murder, abuse and discrimination. It is important that others – even members of my extended family – learn that we are people just like them. We are all the same.
Note: Albinism is a rare, genetically inherited condition found in all ethnicities. People with albinism have little or no pigmentation in their eyes, hair and skin owing to a lack of melanin. They are sensitive to bright light and have a higher than average risk of skin cancer from sun exposure. Most people with albinism are also visually impaired. Under the Same Sun, a Canadian nongovernmental organization, estimates that albinism affects 1 in 2,000 Tanzanians. Although the medical condition itself does not affect life expectancy, in the United Republic of Tanzania the average lifespan of a person with albinism is around 30 years.
To escape life’s difficulties, I love to write songs and sing. I have just written a song about albinos and our struggle. My dream is to one day be able to record my music in a studio and spread my message. I pray that people around the world can one day understand that albinos are no different from them. We are all human beings and deserve to be treated with love and respect.
INTRODUCTION
7