African albinos do not hide their fears. The terrible fate of albinos in Tanzania (11 photos)

Eduardo was born and raised in a fishing village on Lake Tanganyika. He was the fifth child in an ordinary family of Tanzanian fishermen who make their living in lake waters. He himself, like his parents and brothers and sisters, was a typical Tanzanian - dark-skinned with black curly hair.

When the time came, he married his neighbor, the pretty black girl Maria, whom he had his eye on as a teenager. The young people settled in a separate hut. Eduardo adored his wife and was over the moon when she became pregnant.

The family idyll ended as soon as Eduardo looked at the newborn - a white-skinned girl with whitish fluff on her head. The husband, in a rage, showered his wife with a hail of reproaches, accusing her of all mortal sins: she supposedly got involved with evil spirits, a family curse hangs over her and the gods sent her a “zera” (“ghost” in the local dialect) as punishment. To top off the scandal, Eduardo brutally beat Maria and kicked her and her child out of the house, depriving her of all help and support.

The unfortunate woman was not accepted by her parents either. Only the 70-year-old grandfather, who lived in a squalid shack on the outskirts of the village, took pity on her.

Maria had a hard time. The villagers shied away from her as if she were plagued. She somehow earned food for herself and her daughter Louise through hard daily work, and the baby remained under the supervision of her grandfather all day.

When Luisa was eight months old, Eduardo and three accomplices burst into the hut. Everyone was very drunk. In front of the grandfather's eyes, numb with horror, they cut the girl's throat, drained her blood into a placed wineskin, tore out her tongue, cut off her arms and legs...

Further dismemberment was prevented by the terrible scream of Maria returning from work. The woman lost consciousness. And the criminals, grabbing a wineskin with blood and cut off body parts, rushed away.

Louise's remains were buried right there, in the hut, so that other albino hunters would not encroach on her bones.

Africa is hell for the “colorless”

Unfortunately, this tragedy is typical for countries South East Africa. The percentage here is abnormally high albinos- people with congenital absence of pigment in the skin, hair and iris of the eyes. If in Europe and North America There is one albino per 20 thousand people, then in Tanzania this ratio is 1:1400, in Kenya and Burundi - 1:5000.

It is believed that this disease is caused by a genetic defect leading to the absence (or blockade) of the enzyme tyrosinase, which is necessary for the normal synthesis of melanin, a special substance on which the color of tissues depends. In addition, scientists claim that an albino child can only be born when both parents have the gene for this disorder.

In Tanzania and other East African countries, albinos are outcasts and forced to marry only among themselves. This could be considered the main reason for the high proportion of albinos among the local population, because such families usually produce white children.

However, they are often born into families where there has not been a single albino in the entire chain of generations. So science throws up its hands, unable to explain the reason for such a high percentage of albinism in these territories.

Africa is a living hell for albinos. The burning rays of the tropical sun are destructive to them. Their skin and eyes are especially susceptible to ultraviolet radiation, are practically not protected from it, and therefore by the age of 16-18, albinos lose 60-80% of their vision, and by the age of 30 they have a 60% chance of developing skin cancer. 90% of these people do not live to be 50 years old. And in addition to all the misfortunes, a real hunt has been announced for them.

Crime and Punishment

Why didn't their white-skinned brothers please the black Africans? Not knowing the true nature of this genetic deviation, local residents, most of whom cannot read or write, explain the appearance of an albino child as a generational curse, damage, or God's punishment for the sins of the parents.

For example, the aborigines believe that the father of such a child can only be evil spirit. One of the albinos says this:

I am not from the human world. I am part of the spirit world.

According to another version, prevailing in African society, albinos are born because their parents had sex during the period when the woman was menstruating, or during the full moon, or it happened in broad daylight, which is strictly prohibited by local rules.

And therefore, some village sorcerers, who still enjoy great authority among the population, consider albinos cursed, bringing the evil of the other world, and therefore subject to destruction. Others, on the contrary, claim that the flesh of albinos is healing, there is something in their blood and hair that brings wealth, power and happiness.

And that’s why healers and sorcerers pay hunters for albinos a lot of money. They know that if you sell the victim's body in parts - tongue, eyes, limbs, etc. - you can earn up to 100 thousand dollars. This is what an average Tanzanian earns over 25-50 years. Therefore, it is not surprising that the “colorless” are mercilessly exterminated.

Since 2006, about a hundred albinos have died in Tanzania. They were killed, dismembered and sold to sorcerers.

Until recently, hunting for albinos was almost not punished - the system of mutual responsibility led to the fact that the community basically declared them “missing”. This gave rise to a feeling of impunity in the hunters, and they behaved like real bloodthirsty savages.

So, in Burundi they broke into the clay hut of the widow Genorose Nizigiyimana. The hunters grabbed her six-year-old son and dragged her outside.

Right in the yard, having shot the boy, the hunters skinned him in front of his hysterical mother. Having taken the “most valuable” things: tongue, penis, arms and legs, the bandits abandoned the mutilated corpse of the child and disappeared. None of the local residents helped the mother, since almost everyone considered her cursed.

Sometimes the killing of the victim occurs with the consent of relatives. So, Salma, the mother of a seven-year-old girl, was ordered by her family to dress her daughter in black and leave her alone in the hut. The woman, not suspecting anything, did as she was told. But I decided to hide and see what would happen next.

A few hours later, unknown men entered the hut. They used a machete to cut off the girl's legs. Then they cut her throat, drained the blood into a vessel and drank it.

The list of such atrocities is very long. But the Western public, outraged by the brutal practices in Tanzania, forced local authorities to take up the search and punishment of cannibals.

In 2009, the first trial of the killers of an albino took place in Tanzania. Three men killed a 14-year-old boy and cut him into pieces to sell to sorcerers. The court sentenced the villains to death penalty by hanging.

Eduardo, whose crime was described at the beginning of this article, was subjected to the same punishment. His accomplices were sentenced to life imprisonment.

After several such ships, the hunters became more inventive. They stopped killing albinos, and just maimed them by cutting off their limbs. Now, even if the criminals are caught, they will be able to avoid the death penalty, and will receive only 5-8 years for grievous bodily harm. Over the past three years, almost a hundred albinos have had their arms or legs cut off, and three have died as a result of such “operations.”

African Albino Foundation, funded by Europeans, the Red Cross and other Western public organizations They are trying to provide all possible assistance to these unfortunate people. They are placed in special boarding schools, they are given medicines, sunscreens, dark glasses...

In these establishments, for high walls and under reliable guard, the “colorless” are isolated from danger outside world. But in Tanzania alone there are about 370 thousand albinos. You can’t hide everyone in boarding schools.

Nikolay VALENTINOV, magazine "Secrets of the 20th Century" No. 13, 2017

According to official statistics, in Tanzania the most a large number of Albinos per share of the population, and this number is 15 times higher than the world average. But unfortunately, there is a real hunt for albinos there, where they are literally chopped into pieces and eaten as medicine. Read on, not for the faint of heart.

On average, there is 1 albino per 20 thousand people worldwide. In Tanzania the ratio is 1:1400, in Kenya and Burundi it is 1:5000. Scientists still cannot clearly explain why in these areas the percentage of albinos is so high. It is known that both parents must have the gene for this deviation in order for their child to be born “transparent”. In Tanzania, albinos are considered the most outcast part of society, and they are forced to marry among themselves. Perhaps this is the main reason for the abnormally high percentage of such people in these territories.

The high number of albinos is “regulated” by consumer consumption – in the literal sense! – the attitude of “classic blacks” towards them. For at least five centuries, there has been a belief that albino flesh is medicinal, and a real hunt is organized for them. Since 2006, at least 71 albinos have died in Tanzania, and 31 managed to escape from the clutches of hunters. You can understand the passion of the hunters: albino flesh, if you sell it to healers and sorcerers in parts - tongue, eyes, limbs, etc. – costs 50-100 thousand dollars. This is what an average Tanzanian earns over 25-50 years.

The demand for albinos increased sharply with the spread of AIDS in Tanzania. There was a belief that eating dried genitals would get rid of this disease.

Until recently, hunting for albinos was almost not punished - the system of mutual responsibility of the local society led to the fact that the community basically declared them “missing”. But Western public opinion, outraged by the brutal practices in Tanzania, forced local authorities to reluctantly begin searching for and punishing the cannibals.

In 2009, the first trial of the killers of an albino took place in Tanzania. Three men caught a 14-year-old albino, killed him and cut him into small pieces to sell to sorcerers. The court sentenced the villains to death by hanging.

But this incident made the cannibals more inventive - they switched from killing albinos to cutting off their limbs. Even if the criminal is caught, they will be able to avoid the death penalty, and will receive only 5-8 years for grievous bodily harm.

Over the past three years, at least 90 albinos had their arms or legs cut off, and three died as a result of such “operations.”

98% of albinos in Tanzania do not live to be 40 years old. But this is not only due to their killing (for the sake of eating). Their skin and eyes are especially susceptible to ultraviolet radiation, and therefore by the age of 16-18, albinos lose 60-80% of their vision, and by the age of 30 they have a 60% chance of developing skin cancer.

Saving your health is not difficult - you need to constantly use it sunscreen and wear sunglasses. But in impoverished Tanzania, people do not have money for all this.

Albinos have one hope for salvation - the attention of the West. And he helps them survive. Medicines for albinos are being supplied to Tanzania and other countries of East Africa, and most importantly, special boarding schools are being built for them with Western money, where albinos live behind high walls and guards in isolation from the surrounding terrible reality.

Remember one of the mutually exclusive concepts - white black man? It even sounds somewhat funny in the ordinary minds of representatives of this race. However, in reality, such a phenomenon, although rare, does occur.
Usually albino cubs are born in animals, but this also happens in humans. Well, where else could this happen if not in Africa?! But it’s one thing to be born with such an anomaly, and another thing...to survive with it. Exactly to survive! See below for details on how difficult this is.

(Total 14 photos)

East Africa and especially Tanzania is an area with abnormal high share albinos - it is 15 times higher than the world average. Albino blacks are the most vulnerable part of local society - they are hunted, chopped into pieces and eaten as medicine. The West saves them in special boarding schools.
On average, there is 1 albino per 20 thousand people worldwide. This ratio is 1:1400, in Kenya and Burundi – 1:5000. Scientists still cannot clearly explain why in these areas the percentage of albinos is so high. It is known that both parents must have the gene for this deviation in order for their child to be born “transparent”. In Tanzania, albinos are considered the most outcast part of society, and they are forced to marry among themselves. Perhaps this is the main reason for the abnormally high percentage of such people in these territories.

The high number of albinos is “regulated” by consumer consumption – in the literal sense! – the attitude of “classic blacks” towards them. For at least five centuries, there has been a belief that albino flesh is medicinal, and a real hunt is organized for them. Since 2006, at least 71 albinos have died in Tanzania, and 31 managed to escape from the clutches of hunters. You can understand the passion of the hunters: albino flesh, if you sell it to healers and sorcerers in parts - tongue, eyes, limbs, etc. – costs 50-100 thousand dollars. This is what an average Tanzanian earns over 25-50 years.

The demand for albinos increased sharply with the spread of AIDS in Tanzania. There was a belief that eating dried genitals would get rid of this disease.
Until recently, hunting for albinos was almost not punished - the system of mutual responsibility of the local society led to the fact that the community basically declared them “missing”. But Western public opinion, outraged by the brutal practices in Tanzania, forced local authorities to reluctantly begin searching for and punishing the cannibals.

In 2009, the first trial of the killers of an albino took place in Tanzania. Three men caught a 14-year-old albino, killed him and cut him into small pieces to sell to sorcerers. The court sentenced the villains to death by hanging.

But this incident made the cannibals more inventive - they switched from killing albinos to cutting off their limbs. Even if the criminal is caught, they will be able to avoid the death penalty, and will receive only 5-8 years for grievous bodily harm.

Over the past three years, at least 90 albinos had their arms or legs cut off, and three died as a result of such “operations.”

98% of albinos in Tanzania do not live to be 40 years old. But this is not only due to their killing (for the sake of eating). Their skin and eyes are especially susceptible to ultraviolet radiation, and therefore by the age of 16-18, albinos lose 60-80% of their vision, and by the age of 30 they have a 60% chance of developing skin cancer.

It is not difficult to save your health - you need to constantly use sunscreen and wear sunglasses. But in impoverished Tanzania, people do not have money for all this.

Albinos have one hope for salvation - the attention of the West. And he helps them survive. Medicines for albinos are being supplied to Tanzania and other countries of East Africa, and most importantly, special boarding schools are being built for them with Western money, where albinos live behind high walls and guards in isolation from the surrounding terrible reality.

This is such a difficult life in such a difficult life African life. Even being born blue-black in our country cannot be compared to having white skin on a black continent...

Introduction

What is happening these days in Africa in the 21st century defies common sense. It is a real crime that our developed countries turn a blind eye to the terror that occurs on the territory of these seemingly small, picturesque and exotic countries. Terror perpetrated by the citizens themselves against their “dissimilar” fellow citizens. The authorities of these countries officially declare their complete powerlessness to do anything to stop the bloodbath.

What is Albinism?

From (Latin albus, “white”) - congenital absence of pigment of the skin, hair, iris and pigment membranes of the eye. There are complete and partial albinism. It is currently believed that the cause of the disease is the absence (or blockade) of the enzyme tyrosinase, which is necessary for the normal synthesis of melanin, a special substance on which the color of tissues depends.

The African authorities blame the village shamans for the current situation, whose opinions the population still listens to; they simply sacredly and stupidly believe them. Attitudes towards albinos are ambiguous even among the “black magicians” themselves: some attribute special positive properties to their bodies, while others consider them cursed, bringing the evil of the other world.

Bloody Tanzania

In Africa, the killing of albinos has become an industry where the majority of the population cannot read or write and generally considers it an absolutely unnecessary activity, and even less understanding of medical nuances.

But there are various superstitions in use here. Residents believe that an albino black man brings misfortune to the village. The dismembered organs of albinos are sold for a lot of money to buyers from the "I'd like to notice" Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Kenya and Uganda. People blindly believe that the legs, genitals, eyes and hair of people with albinism confer special strength and health. The killers are driven not only by pagan beliefs, but also by the thirst for profit - the hand of an albino costs 2 million Tanzanian shillings, which is about 1.2 thousand dollars. For Africans this is just crazy money!

Just recently, more than 50 people who differed from their compatriots in skin color were killed in Tanzania. They were not just killed, they were dismantled for organs, and the organs of albino blacks are sold to shamans. It so happens that those who hunt albino blacks don’t care who they kill: a man, a woman or a child. The product is scarce and expensive. Having killed one such victim, the hunter can live comfortably, by African standards, for a couple of years.

Below is 76-year-old Mabula, squatting in his dirt-floored bedroom, next to the grave of his granddaughter, five-year-old Mariam Emmanuel, a small albino who was killed and dismembered in next room in February 2008. The girl was buried right in the hut so that hunters for albino body parts would not steal her bones. Mabula says that there have already been raids on his house a couple of times, after the death of his granddaughter, hunters wanted to take her bones. The photo was taken on January 25, 2009 in one of the villages near Mwanza. Mabula guards her house day and night.

The picture shows a Tanzanian teenage girl sitting in the girls' dormitory of a public school for the disabled in Kabanga, locality in the west of the country near the city of Kigomu on Lake Tanganyika, June 5, 2009. The school began accepting albino children at the end of last year, after Tanzania and neighboring Burundi began killing albinos in order to use parts of their bodies in witchcraft rituals. The children's school in Kabang is guarded by soldiers of the local army, but this does not always save children from hunters for their bodies; cases where soldiers collude with criminals have become more frequent. Children cannot even take a step outside the walls of their classrooms.

Little nine year old Amani sits in recreation primary school for the blind in Mitido, photograph taken January 25, 2009. He was admitted here after the murder of his sister, five-year-old Mariam Emmanuel, an albino girl who was killed and dismembered in February 2008.

In Europe and North America, there is one albino for every 20 thousand people. In Africa their number is much higher - one per 4 thousand people. According to Mr. Kimaya, there are about 370 thousand albinos in Tanzania. The government of the country cannot guarantee the safety of any of them.

Nature

It so happened that the Africans, who by a whim of nature turned out to be white, had to flee from their own neighbors. Their life often resembles a nightmare when you don’t know whether, when you wake up in the morning, you will be able to live until the evening. Apart from ignorant people, albinos are mercilessly tormented by the hot African sun. White skin and eyes are defenseless against powerful ultraviolet radiation. Such people are forced to rarely go outside or apply copious amounts of sunscreen, which many simply do not have the money for. Because there is simply no one there who doesn’t have them!

The picture shows small albino children at recess in the courtyard of the primary school for the blind in Mitido, the pictures were taken on January 25, 2009. This school has become a real refuge for rare albino children. The school in Mitido is also guarded by army soldiers, children feel safer than at home with their parents.

In this photo taken on January 27, 2009, Nima Kayanya, 28, makes a clay pot at her grandmother's house in Ukerewa, Tanzania, where her brother and sister, who are also albinos like her, now live. Ukerewe, an island on Lake Victoria located near the city of Mwanza, is a safe haven compared to other regions of Tanzania.

African sorcerers say that amulets made from albino blacks can bring good luck to the house, help in a successful hunt, and win the favor of a woman. But amulets made from the genitals are in particular demand. It is believed that this powerful tool, which cures all diseases. Almost any organ is used. Even bones, which are ground and then mixed with various herbs, are used in the form of decoctions to impart mystical power.

These hunters are real bloodthirsty savages; they are not afraid of anything. So in Burundi they burst straight into the mud hut of the widow Genorose Nizigiyimana. They grabbed her six-year-old son and dragged him outside. Right in the yard, having shot the boy, they skinned him in front of his hysterical mother. Having taken the “most valuable” things: tongue, penis, arms and legs, the bandits abandoned the mutilated corpse of the child and disappeared. None of the local villagers will help the mother, since almost everyone considers her cursed.

Court and body parts

In this photo taken on May 28, 2009, parts of the human body, including a femur, and flayed skin, which are on display in the courtroom during trial over 11 Burundians. The defendants are accused of killing albino blacks whose limbs were sold to healers from neighboring Tanzania, in Ruyigi. During judicial trial Burundian prosecutor, Nicodeme Gahimbare demanded a sentence of one year to life imprisonment for the defendants. Gahimbare had sought life imprisonment as punishment for three of the 11 accused, eight of whom were in the dock for the murder of an eight-year-old girl and a man in March this year.

African albinos

Red Cross

The well-known organization the Red Cross is actively recruiting volunteers, conducting its propaganda all over the world, very often Africans themselves join it. Pictured July 5, 2009, a Tanzanian Red Cross Society (TRCS) volunteer holds the hand of an albino baby at a TRCS picnic in public school for the disabled in Kabanga, in the west of the country near the city of Kigomu on Lake Tanganyika.

Despite the fact that we live in the civilized 21st century, the century of discoveries of “development and technology,” but despite this, in the far corners of our planet the blood of innocent people and, most importantly, small children is still shed.