Albino boy killed in Burundi, witchcraft suspected

[Sunni Man]

BUJUMBURA — A twelve-year old albino boy was killed late on Thursday by armed men in the central Burundi district of Kiganda in what authorities suspect could be linked to witchcraft.

Albino hunters kill their victims and use their blood and body parts for potions. Witchdoctors tell their clients that the body parts will bring them luck in love, life and business.

"The twelve-year-old albino was killed by four men with guns and knives. They cut off his left hand and fled away with it," Kiganda administrator Joseph Ntahuga, told Reuters on Friday.

Ntahuga, a government official in the district 80 km from the capital Bujumbura, said the victim had two other albino siblings.

The murder brings to 14 the number of albinos killed in the tiny central African country since 2008.

The coffee producing nation of 8 million people has around 500 albinos, who lack pigment in their skin, eyes and hair.

Burundian authorities believe the killings are carried out local residents who work with witchdoctors in neighboring Tanzania, where 53 albinos have been killed since 2007 for their body parts, which are sold for use in witchcraft. There are around 170,000 albinos living in Tanzania.

Kazungu Kassim, head of the national association of albinos, says albino killings continue in Burundi because severe punishment is not taken against the perpetrators.

"The solution is to sentence those responsible for albino killings to hang as it is done in Tanzania," he said.

A man has been sentenced death by hanging for killing a five-year-old albino girl in Tanzania by hacking off her legs with a machete and then drinking her blood.

Albino boy killed in Burundi, witchcraft suspected - World news - Africa - msnbc.com

 

[waltky]

Navi Pillay says people with albinism need more protection...

UN's Navi Pillay condemns Tanzania attacks on albinos
5 March 2013 - The UN human rights chief has condemned a recent spate of "horrific attacks" on people with albinism in Tanzania, including the murder of a young boy.

The government should act to stop the "vicious killings" and discrimination they faced, said Navi Pillay. The mutilation and murder of people with albinism is often linked to witchcraft, the UN says. Only five people have been convicted in Tanzania since 2000 for killing people with albinism, it adds. Some 72 people have been killed in that time. In 2009, President Jakaya Kiwete said the murders had brought shame to Tanzania and launched a national campaign to end the persecution of people with albinism.

'Arm hacked off'

In 2010, Salum Khalfani became the first person with albinism to be elected as an MP in Tanzania. In a statement, Ms Pillay said four attacks on Tanzanians with albinism had been documented in just 16 days between the end of January and mid-February. They included:

the murder of a seven-year-old boy, Lugolola Bunzari, on 31 January at Kanunge village in the Tabora region. His attackers slashed his forehead, right arm and left shoulder, and chopped off his left arm just above the elbow. The boy's grandfather, aged 95, was also killed in the attack as he tried to protect his grandson;

a seven-month-old baby, Makunga Baraka, narrowly escaped death on 5 February after armed men attacked his home in the Simiyu region. Villagers chased the attackers away and surrounded the house to protect him. The baby and his mother were taken to the police station the following morning and given temporary sanctuary;

More BBC News - UN's Navi Pillay condemns Tanzania attacks on albinos

 

[waltky]

Albino Children Victims of Witchcraft get new limbs...

Children Victims of Witchcraft get new limbs
Four Tanzanian children with albinism who lost limbs, fingers, and teeth in superstition-driven attacks made their way home this week after receiving prosthetics - and a dose of confidence - in the United States.

The children, ages 7, 14, 15 and 16, were treated free of charge at Shriners Hospital for Children in Philadelphia. Their travel and housing expenses were covered by the Global Medical Relief Fund, a New York-based charity that helps children who have been injured in conflicts or disasters. "When they come here, they have lost so much. They have lost part of their youth and part of their dignity," said Elissa Montanti, founder of the fund, who housed them in the New York City borough of Staten Island. "We put them back together," she said. "When they go back, they have a stronger sense of empowerment." To stay in the United States, the children would have to file for asylum, and the fund can only afford to pay for the them while they receive medical care, Montanti said. A congenital disorder affecting about one in 20,000 people worldwide, albinism causes lack of pigment in skin, hair and eyes, and is more common in sub-Saharan Africa than other parts of the world. In Tanzania, it affects about one in 1,400.

Albinos are attacked for their body parts, which are highly prized in witchcraft and can fetch a high price. Superstition leads many people in Tanzania to believe that albinos are ghosts who bring bad luck. The United Nations estimates that at least 75 albinos were killed in Tanzania between 2000 and 2015 but says that could represent a fraction of the attacks as most occur in secretive rituals in rural areas. As they moved through the stages of treatment and recovery, drawing, talking among themselves in Swahili, searching for YouTube videos on Google and watching cartoons helped the children heal. They typically visited the hospital five times during their two to three month stay. Mwigulu Magesa, 14, said he wants to be president of Tanzania one day. Emmanuel Rutema, 15, wants to be a doctor.

Though they have a good grasp of English, which they study at home, the children were accompanied by Ester Rwela, a translator and social worker with the charity Under the Same Sun, which advocates for people with albinism. "The first time the Tanzanian kids came in, there was not a lot of conversation. They were extremely shy. They kind of huddled together in a pack," said Dr. Scott Kozin, chief of staff at Shriners Hospital. "They weren't used to us and we weren't used to them, and there were a lot of awkward moments. And then as they got to know us, they started to open up to me and to the staff and to the therapists," he said. The children are able to attach and adjust prosthetic arms to their bodies, wash their laundry by hand and hang it to dry and make dinner. Near the end of their stay, they would walk into the hospital with confidence, sporting sunglasses and button-down shirts and looking "like they were home," Kozin said.

Tanzanian child victims of witchcraft attacks get new limbs

 

[skye]

savages

 

[skye]

The ignorance and cruelty of humanity is just too much

If they knew better, all of them would go into modeling ...they are beautiful!!!