REALLIFE
16
BULAMASANJAwaswalking
homefromschoolwhena
manfollowedher.A fewdays
ater,threemenarrivedatthe
teenager’shome.Theatt ackers heldthegirl
down andinthree hacks cutoffherright
armnearthearmpit,stuff editinaplasti c
bagandranaway.
Kabulais nottheonlypersonwithalbinsm
tohavebeenbutcheredbecauseof
supersti tiousbeliefs. At age sixBaraka
Lusambowaspinneddownandhishand
slicedoffwithamachete;five-year-old
DjenebaDiarrawasabductedwhileshe
was sleeping––thefamily andsurrounding
communitysearched for thelittlegirl
everywherebefore findingherheadless
bodybesideamosque.
Closertohometherehasbeena spateof
albino murders. Thirteen-year-old Gabisile
ALBINISM AWARENESS
MONTH is all about dispelling
myths, stamping out ingrained
prejudice and saving lives.
SHEDDING
LIGHT ON
Albinism
Shabanewas found buriedinashallow grave
inCullinan‚east ofPretoria. Herkillerhad
harvestedvarious bodypartsincludingher
head,arms,genitals, heart,lungs,uterus,
ovaries, allabdominalorgans andherbladder.
Twenty-year-oldThandazileMpunziwas
att acked andstrangled before hergenitals,
limbs andskinwere removed.
Hundredsofotherpeoplewithalbinsmhave
suffered thesamefate. At least 20Malawians
withalbinismhave beenkilledfor theirbody
partssinceNovember2014,accordingto
Amnesty Internati onal.InTanzania, at least 75
have beenkilledsince2000.Butthenumber
isbelieved to befar higher, withmany other
victimssimplyvanishing,like 12-year-old
JamesKachingweand14-year-oldGoodson
Makanjira.Att acks are blatant. Homesare
invaded inbroad daylight. Babies,toddlers
and children are snatched in front ofwitnesses.Oftenvictimsare ‘harvested’while
alive.
Inmany partsoftheworld butespecially
inAfrica peoplewithalbinsmare targeted
inritualatt acks because ofthemyth that
theirbodypartscan bringgood luckand
wealth whenusedinwitchcraftpracti ces.
Accordingto theUnited Nati ons,inthepast
decade over 600peopleacross 28countries
inAfrica have beenkilledandmutilated, or
traumati sedaft ersurviving att acks. Those
livingwithalbinismare alsoat ahigherriskof
sexual assaultandrape because ofthefalse
beliefthathaving sex withthemcan cure
HIV/AIDS.Onadailybasisthesepeopleface
prejudiceandsti gmati sati ondueto theirlack
ofskinpigmentation;because ofprevailing
supersti tionsmany are shunnedfrom society
andcannot findjobs. Alarge numberofadults
are forced to depend on family membersBY VA N ESSA PA PAS