tagged w/ albinism
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24 October 2010 Last updated at 03:51 ET
Burundi albino boy 'dismembered'
Albinos in Tanzania have become targets for body-snatchers seeking to sell them to witch doctors
The dismembered body of a young albino boy has been found in a river on the Burundi-Tanzania border, reports say.
The boy, aged nine, was taken from Makamba province in Burundi by a gang that crossed the border, the head of Burundi's albino association said.
Kassim Kazungu told AFP the remains had been recovered from the Malagarazi river and given a formal burial.
Albino body parts are prized in parts of Africa, with witch-doctors claiming they have special powers.
Mr Kazungu told the AFP news agency that Tanzanian police had arrested five people, although there was no official confirmation from Tanzania.
In Tanzania, the body parts of people living with albinism are used by witch-doctors for potions which they tell clients will help make them rich or healthy.
Dozens of albinos have been killed, and the killings have spread to neighbouring Burundi.
In August a court in Tanzania sentenced a Kenyan to 17 years in jail on charges of trying to sell an albino person.
Tanzanian authorities have promised to crack down on albino traffickers, and several people have been sentenced to death in connection with killings.
Photo: Albinos in Tanzania have become targets for body-snatchers seeking to sell them to witch doctors24 October 2010 Last updated at 03:51 ET
Burundi albino boy... more
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Discrimination against albinos is a serious problem throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, but in Tanzania it has taken a sickening twist: at least 19 albinos, including children, have been killed or mutilated in the past year. They are victims of what local officials say is a growing criminal trade in albino body parts.
Officials say witch doctors are marketing albino skin, bones and hair as ingredients in potions that promise to make people rich. As the threats have increased, the government has acted to protect its albino population – a beleaguered group whose members are often shunned as outcasts and die of skin cancer before they reach 30.
The police are drawing up a list of the country's albinos to protect them. Officers are escorting albino children to school. Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete even sponsored an albino woman for a seat in parliament to show "we are with them in this," says Salvator Rweyemamu, a government spokesman.
Discrimination against albinos is a serious problem throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, but... more
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Twenty-five people with albinism have been murdered in Tanzania since March, a BBC investigation has found. Albinos are targeted for body parts that are used in witchcraft, and killings continue despite government efforts to stamp out the grisly practice, the BBC's Karen Allen says. Once, albinos used to seek shelter from the sun. Now they have gone into hiding simply to survive, after a series of killings linked to witchcraft. In Tanzania, 25 albinos have been killed in the past year. The latest victim was a seven-month-old baby. He was mutilated on the orders of a witchdoctor peddling the belief that potions made from an albino's legs, hair, hands, and blood can make a person rich.
Sorcery and the occult maintain a strong foothold in this part of the world, especially in the remote rural areas around the fishing and mining regions of Mwanza, on the shores of Lake Victoria. Nobody seems to know why the killings are happening now, but Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete is now putting pressure on the police to identify where albinos live and offer them protection. This is not an easy task when BBC investigations suggest that some police are being "bought off" in order to look away when such appalling crimes are committed.
Read more...Twenty-five people with albinism have been murdered in Tanzania since March, a BBC... more
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There are many misconceptions about the condition of albinism. Albinos are not a freak show.There are many misconceptions about the condition of albinism. Albinos are not a freak... more
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