Pictures: Inside the Lives of Albinos in Tanzania

A Safe Haven

Photograph by Jacquelyn Martin, AP

In an overcrowded dormitory at the Kabanga Protectorate Center, albino children share a quiet moment beneath mosquito netting. A boarding school of sorts, their refuge is enclosed by thick walls to protect them from hunters and witch doctors. They are physically safe here, though long-term plans for their future are few.

Published January 25, 2013

A Better Tomorrow?

Photograph by Jacquelyn Martin, AP

Zawia Kassim, a 12-year-old student at the Kabanga Primary School, dreams of being a teacher one day. Yet many albino children face dim futures. Beyond primary school, little educational infrastructure exists for them. And in some communities, they’re considered mentally retarded and discouraged from attending school at all. Those who pursue an education often fall behind due to low vision, an affliction associated with albinism that makes reading difficult. Many grow up to be illiterate and work menial jobs.

Published January 25, 2013

Defiance and Independence

Photograph by Jacquelyn Martin, AP

Maajabu Boaz, 20, carries blades with him for safety outside his home in Tanzania’s Nengo Village. Maajabu—Swahili for “wonder” or “miracle”—refuses to leave Nengo for the safety of a compound. Though albino children in the village have been attacked, Maajabu’s fierce reputation has protected him—so far.

According to the International Federation for the Red Cross and Crescent Societies, at least 10,000 albinos in East Africa have been displaced or have gone into hiding. Witch doctors have made tens of thousands of dollars from selling potions and other items made from their bones, hair, and skin.

Published January 25, 2013

Supply and Demand

Photograph by Marcus Bleasdale, VII/Corbis

Traders sell “cures” in the market of Mgusu. In Tanzania, where the annual per capita income in 2010 was $442, the limb of an albino may sell for up to $2,000.

“A miner will pour it in the ground where he wants to find minerals,” albino activist Isaac Timothy told NPR. “Or a fisherman will pour it in his canoe.”

Since the police began protecting albinos, traders have complained that the price of the magic has become expensive.

Published January 25, 2013

Light Hazards

Photograph by Jacquelyn Martin, AP

Angel Salvatory, who has skin cancer, buys cloth at the Kabanga Village market. Beyond the threat of being hunted in the street, Tanzanian albinos must shield themselves from the sun’s rays. They are highly susceptible to sunburns and skin cancer, which is responsible for the death of about 98 percent of the country’s albinos.

Published January 25, 2013

Sticking Together

Photograph by Jacquelyn Martin, AP

At the Kabanga Protectorate Center, Lightness Philbert holds three-month-old Jessica. The infant arrived in the arms of her mother, Helen Sekalima, after being physically threatened by villagers. Jessica’s older brothers live at the center as well, having moved there after the eldest was assaulted in their home. Her father was injured while protecting him; he now has little mobility in one arm.

Albinism divides many families in Tanzania. Some albino children, like Lightness, arrive at a center and never see their parents again. Others are raised solely by their mothers, abandoned by fathers who accuse their wives of having had affairs with white men. As a result, some albinos choose to marry those who understand them best: fellow albinos. Two parents with albinism, however, increases the probability that their children will be born with the condition.

Published January 25, 2013

Safe for Now

Photograph by Jacquelyn Martin, AP

Ferista Daudi (right) runs playfully through the compound of the Kabanga Protectorate Center. The two-year-old left her village after a witch doctor murdered her sister for body parts.

Rape is another horror faced by Tanzanian albinos. Girls, often in the remote northwest of the country, have been assaulted by men who believe that intercourse with an albino can cure AIDS. The exact number of victims is unknown, as social stigma prevents many girls from reporting rape. About 1.4 million Tanzanians have HIV, which leads to AIDS.

Published January 25, 2013

Love

Photograph by Jacquelyn Martin, AP

Jessica rests in the arms of her mother, Helen, who visits the Kabanga Protectorate Center. Three of Helen’s nine children are albino. "The people in [my] village said that the children are not normal people, that they are like devils," she says.

Despite the Tanzanian government’s efforts to educate the populace and end these killings, albinos are still seen as valuable commodities on the black market. The hunt for them has spread across the continent to Burundi, Kenya, and Swaziland.

Published January 25, 2013