There's this crazy belief that albino body parts have magical powers, where a complete dismembered set of limbs and body parts could be sold for $75,000. Since 2007, 44 albinos have been killed in Tanzania and 14 others have been slain in Burundi, sparking widespread fear among albinos in East Africa, causing over 10,000 of them to go into hiding.
African albinos endure insults, discrimination and segregation throughout their lives. They also have a high risk of contracting skin cancer in a region where many jobs are outdoors. Because many people used to believe albinism was a mental retardation, parents didn't take them to school, forcing them into these menial jobs.
This is absolutely disgusting to me. I feel like the U.N. needs to take action on this immediately. This is such an atrocity.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
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20 comments:
i agree that this is an atrocity but the UN cant do everything everywhere, and plus the only thing the UN could do is tell the governments of the areas affected to do something about it. the UN forces couldn't use force or anything to stop, they would have to use persuasion, which personally i find it doesn't work all that well
I've never heard of anything like this before, but it make me wonder what the governments in Africa are doing. Hopefully people will start realizing that the body parts they bought for 75$ are useless.
While this is a terribly tragic story, I don't think the UN can do anything about it. People within Tanzania who notice these kinds of atrocities need to start taking initiative themselves. Also, the government should be playing a big role in trying to stop it. This incident, however, does not fall in the jurisdiction of the UN.
I agree with everyones comments here. This is absolutely inhumane but the UN won't be willing to investigate this situation because they have much more massive problems. Unfortunately this is some local tradition that is doing this and the UN would probably not take much interest in it. :/
My first reaction to reading this post was "holy ____" (you can figure out the rest.) Seriously though, what the heck? I understand there is a lack of education in places like Tarzania/Burundi/etc but this killing has got to stop.
Crazy.
This is absolutely unbelievable and nauseating. I feel so bad for the African albinos who are so scared for their lives that they feel their only alternative is going into hiding. That is a horrible way to live.
Also, aren't Africans aware that they were discriminated against for centuries in the U.S. because of their dark skin color, and now they are doing the same thing to their people who are albino? I just hope that one day everyone's skin color won't matter as much as their character.
Woah. This is a very surprising story.I have never heard of such bad things happening to albino people. This is totally unfair to them. They were born that way and there is no way they can reverse it. Just because of they way they were made, they have to endure all the insults and threats. Also, what kind of person would think that albino body parts are magical? Selling human body parts for money is just disgusting.
Its really sad that UN has no power to do anything, but hopefully the world can rally to do something.
It seems like this has been going on for a while now because I heard of this a few years ago at my friends house. I agree it's inhumane, but like a few of you have already stated, I do not believe that there is any realistic way to stop this. The people who are committing these atrocities must believe that this is the real deal if they actually go around chopping people's body parts up, so its probably going to be difficult convincing them otherwise, even with government intervention.
-Yuzo Yanagitsuru
This is a tragic story. This is the first time I've heard the albinos have to go in hiding because they are afraid that they will be killed and their body parts sold. I think it is ridiculous how people are willing to buy other people's body parts believing they contain "magical power". I hope the local governments are able to control the situation and prevent further albinos from getting killed.
I'm kind of confused. They are being slain because people want the body parts to sell?
Either way, I agree. Killing based on skin color, or lack of, is horrible. Once again, this shows how people discriminate based on appearances. There is nothing wrong with being albino and people who are cannot help it. It is something that they are born with. I wonder if albinos in other countries are discriminated against as well?
This is so gross. I cannot believe any one would want to kill an albino for body parts to sell, just because they are believes to have magical powers. Yes, it really reflects on what a poor job the African government is doing to protect their citizens. This kind of killing needs to end now.
I think it might even have been a desperate attempt to make money. He/she could make up a story and African Albinos are an easy minority to target. However it also takes someone who is in a situation where he/she is willing to believe such a lie.
Anyway,I guess it comes down to what you're willing to sacrifice for money. conscience? morals? others?
wow i have no idea this was going on! how horrible
To reply to people's comments asking "what kind of person would think that albino body parts are magical?" I would like to point out that people will make up all kind of fantastical lies to persuade desperate people into giving them money, power, etc. It's quite prevalent in our society, just not to the extent that we're eating albinos, but still an embarrassing amount. I'm sure you all have received "Nigerian Prince" emails, or wondered why brand name products cost 2-3 times more. But hey, that's full-blown capitalism for you. While it is an atrocious violation of basic human rights and decency, the selling of albino body parts is fundamentally the same.
While I am slightly surprised to hear that African myth about albinos, I am not shocked. It seems that differences have always been persecuted, and I am sure that a 3rd world country, like Africa, is far less accepting than many developed countries.
Sandy, I agree with you that something needs to be done. However, I wouldn't place my faith in the UN to fix this problem, as it seems that the problem lies in the African culture itself. I think that re-education is the best way to put an end to this horrible occurance.
Wow. This is crazyy! I also agree that the UN cannot do much about it. It's the government's DUTY to fix this horrible atrocity and I feel like even if they do..people will not listen.Its just like history repeating itself. Once discrimination strikes towards those people who are "different" or to those who are blamed as scapegoats or in this case benefit others for having "magical powers" it will not stop.
-Emily Niemann
Due to the traditional beliefs of many African tribes, people who appeared to be different would be classified as either devils or some form of divine being. Imagine living in a town full of people who look just like you...except for that one young man living at the outskirts of the village. For some reason his skin is completely different even though you share the same facial features, the same language, and maybe even the same ancestors. You would undoubtedly think that there was either something wrong with him, or that he was meddling with witchcraft of some sort.
What these people are doing, with the whole body part farming/selling seems atrocious when we understand that albinism is caused by genetic mutations. But to a person who probably doesn't even know what a cell is, to a person who hasn't even heard of genetics, it seems mysterious and perhaps magical.
Just remember to think about multiple points a view.
~Victor Hung
Um.. wow. The things people do for money, I guess. It makes it sound like poaching, basically. It is completely inhumane because albinos are still people as well. They're not animals that you can just go hunting after any time you want. Unbelievable.
In the U.S. we have teenagers taking calculus. In Tanzania, there are fully-grown adults who actually believe that it is ok to kill fellow human beings for their "magical" body parts. There is something wrong with that.
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