Albinos Murdered in Tanzania: How Are American Albinos Faring?

How Are American Albinos Faring?

Since March 2008, a growing number of Tanzanian citizens with albinism have been murdered for their body parts, which are used in witch-craft rituals. An estimated 60 albino people, many of them only infants, have been murdered for their teeth, skin, hair, arms, legs, and tongues, which are ground into "medicines" or woven into charms with the belief that they are capable of making people rich.

On October 19, 2008, President Jakaya Kikwete attended a march organized by the Tanzania Albino Society, calling for an end to the superstitious killings of albinistic individuals, calling the practice "utterly stupid". He emphasized that the witch doctors prescribing the use of albino bodies are con artists, not physicians, and told Tanzanian citizens to remember that wealth is gained by hard work, not lucky charms or potions.

Tanzanian albinos lead hard lives, with many of them being murdered at birth. Others are rejected for employment, and many die young because of the extremely high rates of fatal skin cancer in equatorial regions.

While many Americans may scoff at what they view as primitive, superstitious practices that lead to the slaying of albinos in Tanzania, the fact is that we have yet to accept or fully understand our own albinistic citizens, many of whom are plagued by misunderstanding and discrimination.

According to the National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation (NOAH), the "evil albino" stereotype is one of the biggest problems to plague albinistic Americans. Western pop media often depicts albinos as evil, demonic, or insane, frequently casting them in the role of hitmen, mobsters, or sociopaths.

Silas from The Da Vinci Code, "the Albinos" from Hitman: Blood Money, and the "the Twins" from Matrix: Reloaded are only a few recent examples of this common stereotype. NOAH states that sixty-eight films were released between 1960 and 2006 that linked albinism to sadistic and evil practices.