~ Albino children ~

When I go into town I see often this Albino girl, she must be in her young twenties or late teens. Since she is mostly alone and kind of always gives me a sad impression. It is quite an odd sight, to see such a white 'black' person. Her features are clearly black but then she is completely white. I wondered how the locals look upon her and I did some research... I mean it is not easy being an outsider wherever you are, but as an albino child you are even more an outsider in a community where 90% of the locals are black!

Even today, albinos in South Africa face widespread prejudice and discrimination. Rejected by both the black and white communities, they struggle to find their place in society. And every time I see this Albino girl walking in town, you can see that she is not living an easy life! Sad....

Look at this video and pictures below! I wish that the world would better understand and give these children a break!

"Some women spit when they see me. They think albinism is contagious and that will stop them catching it", confides albino Ntswaki. Both her parents are black but because of her white skin her father rejected her at birth. "I feel I am in strange place -- not white enough, not black enough."

Click on this link to see a video of Ntswaki, a girl who lives in Soweto: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEtl91408eM







Life is tough enough as an albino, but here in Africa, in most African countries, they still believe in Witch craft, that makes it even worse!

Albino girl beheaded in South Africa.

An 11-year old albino girl was killed and beheaded in Swaziland because there is a belief that body parts of albinos are good for curing many diseases. It seems this albino girl (albinos are those who do not have any pigments in their eyes, hair or skins) was returning from the river with her friends when a man caught her, shot her and cut off her head. There have been an earlier instance of the hand of an albino girl being cut off and a person was caught in Tanzania trying to sell a live albino man. Witches and wizards are fine for Harry Potter and friends but not in real life. Those who practice such rituals should have the death sentence reserved for them.









Not the most uplifting story today, but I feel we need to pay attention to the less fortunate in life and think and do something about the widespread prejudice and hopefully with an article like this that people understand that albinos are normal people with normal feelings and we should stop judging and treating them with respect and dignity!!

Have a good day y'all!
Mireille