I know, talking about Evil Witch Doctors in Darkest Africa hiring people to kill and butcher Albinos so they can use their bones and organs to make potions and cast magic spells, sounds not only racist as Hell, but entirely absurd.
But it's not. If it wasn't really happening, and real people weren't getting away with murder, I'd agree it was worth a hundred hide ratings.
But it IS really happening, and it needs to stop. More below the fold.
There are some places that you're not usually allowed to go. Conference Room 4 at the United Nations, which is the where all the high mucky-mucks of the diplomatic world go when the General Assembly is in Session and they have to multi-task, is one of them.
I was invited by a publicist to see a documentary on a subject I never heard of that was screening in that room. "Cool!," I thought, "I can sit where the UN Human Rights Commission meets."
So I went.
The press release goes like this:
Both heart-breaking and hopeful, THE BOY FROM GEITA is a film about human courage and is part of a growing global effort to break down the stigma and deadly misconceptions surrounding albinism in Africa. In a remote village in Tanzania, twelve-year old Adam is called "Ghost" or “zero zero” – nothing – because he has albinism, a genetic condition that causes the absence of pigment in skin, hair and eyes. His pale complexion makes him vulnerable not only to the sun but to the most violent and hateful crimes imaginable. Ostracized from society and fearing for his life, Adam finds an unlikely kindred spirit in Peter Ash, a businessman from far across the globe who also has albinism. Together they embark on a journey that transcends cultures and continents.
The film follows Adam and a couple of other people who were attacked because of the color of their skin. Literally so their limbs could be hacked off and sold to Witch Doctors to make magic potions. He is then taken by Ash to Canada to get reconstructive surgery.
The Boy From Geita [Trailer] from 108 Media on Vimeo.
There are two kinds of Albanism, There are two different forms of albinism: a partial lack of the melanin is known as hypomelanism, or hypomelanosis, and the total absence of melanin is known as amelanism or amelanosis.
Amelanism causes Vision problems, sometimes severly so. http://images.dailykos.com
Here in North America, hypomelanism is nearly invisible. My mother couldn't go sunbathing and wore sunglasses outside, but that was it. She was Caucasian. There are lots and lots of Blonde Caucasians running around. She didn't talk about her condition because she didn't have to.
Blonde-haired, blue-eyed African Americans are generally considered to be biracial. At least until you get to know them. (okay, racial profiling—we ALL do it) They don't have it any worse than anyone else of color.
Subsaharan Africa is a different matter. People with both forms of Albanism stick out like a sore thumb. People are prejudiced, especially those in third-world countries who don't really know any better, and YES, I KNOW, These are oppressed people who are impoverished. But if they reject little children, sometimes their own, and on occasion even KILL THEM, why the Hell should we give them a pass?
While prejudice against Albinos has been going on forever in Africa, the idea of killing and butchering them to make magic potions is not. It's only since the 1960s. Albino parts are very expensive. Ignorant poor people is forgivable almost, Ignorant RICH people is NOT. Witch doctors out in the bush aren't usually poor, and can hire slick lawyers. The number of people who get away with murdering or maiming Albinos is horrendus. Convictions can be counted on one hand.
The governments of the various countries involved don't want to talk about this kind of thing because it fits the racist stereotype so perfectly. It's maddening.
Subsaharan Africa is someplace no one seems to care much about. You can find out more about the problem here.