By Tatenda Gapa

“Handisi musope ini, ndiri muShona,” (I am not albino I am Shona) said a young man living with albinism at the first celebration of the ‘International Albinism Awareness Day’ held at Harare Gardens last Saturday.
Albinism is a rare, non-contagious, genetically inherited condition which occurs regardless of ethnicity or gender.
It most commonly results in the lack of melanin pigment in the hair, skin and eyes, causing vulnerability to sun exposure.
This can lead to skin cancer and severe visual impairment. Both parents must carry the gene for it to be passed on to their children, even if they do not themselves have manifestations of the condition.
The prevalence of albinism varies across the world.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), estimates vary from 1 in 5 000 to 1 in 15 000 people in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Albinism is still profoundly misunderstood, socially and medically.
The physical appearance of persons with albinism is often the object of erroneous beliefs and myths influenced by superstition, which foster their marginalisation and social exclusion.
This leads to various forms of stigma and discrimination:
Women who give birth to children with albinism are often repudiated by their husbands and their families, because they are not aware that both parents must carry the gene to pass it onto their children.
Further, children with albinism are frequently abandoned by their parents or, more sporadically, the victims of infanticide, because of the appearance of their skin, the disabilities they may have as a result of their condition, and the belief that they may be a source of misfortune.
The deeply entrenched prejudices they face worldwide also impede persons with albinism from accessing adequate health care, social services, legal protection and redress for rights abuses.
The forms of discrimination faced by persons with albinism are interrelated.
The discrimination often begins in the family setting where by child feels neglected from an early age and when they get to a school-going age, they isolate themselves from others.
The isolation plus the fact that individuals with albinism have problems with vision they tend to have problems with their schoolwork and as a result, some fail to go past the level of basic education.
A poor level of education, in turn, can lead to unemployment and affect their right to an adequate standard of living, consigning many to poverty.
Not only are they often cast out by their own families, in some countries they are killed immediately after birth. Nearly 20 albinos, mainly children, have reportedly been wounded, abducted or killed in East Africa in the past six months mostly in Tanzania, Congo (DRC), Malawi and Burundi.
The flesh of people with albinism is thought to contain ingredients that can bring luck, fertility, wealth and ward off evil spirits.
Traditional healers and witchdoctors have long considered the body parts of albinos as being essential to their magical recipes.
The general belief in Tanzania is that expensive concoction made from albino limbs, genitals, hair and skin bring good luck, especially to those in business.
This has led to many albinos being murdered just for their ‘miraculous’ body parts.
According to the United Nations (UN), there have been at least six attacks on albinos reported in Malawi in the first 10 weeks of 2015, compared to four incidents over the past four years.
Gwen Mushonga Marange, the founder of Alive Albinism Initiative who hosted the first celebrations of the international albinism awareness day, said that the people living with albinism are just as deserving as every other human being.
“There is no room in this 21st century for erroneous and harmful beliefs, or for discrimination on any grounds,” said Marange.
“People with albinism are just as deserving of dignity as every other human being.
“They have the right to live free from discrimination, deprivation and fear.”
Marange said that the killings in Tanzania were a cause of concern and there was need for people to be educated so that the same tragedy does not happen in Zimbabwe.
“This killing and the terrible circumstances surrounding it sadly demonstrate that the human rights situation of people with albinism in Tanzania and other countries remains dire,” said Marange.
“Zimbabweans must be educated on issues to do with albinism so that we do not have similar cases of discrimination and killings as is being done in Tanzania and elsewhere because one does not become rich or cure any disease by killing a person with albinism.”
Concrete measures need to be established to protect people with albinism, and to actively engage in the fight against stigma attached to albinism through education and awareness-raising campaigns.
Many people have succeeded in life despite living with albinism. The late prominent medical practitioner, Isodore Pazvakavambwa, political scientist professor John Makumbe, Star FM radio announcer Tapiwa Musoni, Salum Khalfani Bar’wan, a Tanzanian politician elected to the National Assembly of Tanzania in October 2010, Michael Bowman, an American actor and Salif Keita who is not just a Malian, but international superstar are examples of successful persons with albinism.
With less stigmatisation, more people with the condition can be just as successful.
Albinos are simply normal people like you and me.