By Kimani Kim
While Hashimu Hassani, 12, has not faced the violent attacks on albinos seen in other parts of the country, he has not been able to escape the psychological trauma.
Unlike several other albino students especially in rural areas who have stopped attending school fearing attacks, Hassani still goes to school. In the city it is a lot better, the attacks are not as rampant as in the remote rural areas where more than 40 albinos have been murdered since 2007. But Hassani who is in Grade Four at a primary school in Mwenge, Dar es Salaam, is faced with two other perilous problems- fear and social rejection.
"Other pupils ridicule me. They have given me a derogatory name 'Mzungu' and some don't even want anything to do with me," says Hassani who lives with his grandmother, Asha Mabruki at Mwenge Mlalakuwa. Life has become a nightmare for hundreds of students with albinism since the country was hit by the ritual killings of albinos in the past two years.
The recent murders of albinos in the Lake Zone regions have battered Tanzania's image and attracted worldwide condemnation. At least 40 albinos have been murdered in the past year alone, apparently targeted because of the belief peddled by some witch doctors that albinos� body parts have magical qualities that can bring riches.
Albinism is a hereditary condition that causes little or no pigmentation in people's eyes, skin or hair. In Tanzania, there are over 200,000 albinos while in some parts of Africa the condition is estimated to affect as many as one in every 1,000 people.
Albinos struggle with poor eyesight, and are prone to skin cancer and have shorter life expectancy. Students with albinism say they now have to contend with fear and sometimes ridicule. After learning of the murder of nine-year-old Esther Charles recently, in Shinyanga Region, Hassani's fear has heightened. "We used to avoid the sun due to our skin problems, now we are avoiding people.
I shudder at the thought of going to school every morning because of these reports," he says. The murder of Esther, whose legs were cut off on a Sunday night at her home in Kahama District, has raised new fears about the Government's ability to stop the attacks.
Despite involving the International Police (Interpol) and launching a poll to identify the murderers in the country, the well-orchestrated murders are proving too complicated for the authorities. With this trend, there is rising concern that a majority of people with albinism are not accessing education and other social services because of fear.
'Too terrified' Hassani who wants to be a judge when he grows up now only goes to school after his grandmother persuades him, and because he is guaranteed to be back home by 2pm everyday. So traumatised by the killings and ridicule that he feels he does not belong to the communities around him anymore.
"What gives me little courage is a few empathetic friends who come to pick me for school, otherwise I wouldn’t be going there anymore. I am too terrified to walk alone even here in the city," he says. His granny also gives him Sh500 as an incentive to attend school everyday but he says the money cannot stop some hoodlums in the streets from calling him ‘zeru’ (ghost). Psychological trauma Salama Peter is a final year law student at the University of Dar es Salaam who has albinism. It is difficult to learn peacefully these days.
There is a price to pay for this skin. It’s so unthinkable how evil human beings can be, he said. Despite the rampant attacks recently, Tanzania has no special law protecting albinos whose lives have been endangered and Peter says something must done to address the problem.
"Foreigners in public colleges and universities are given special treatment like secure residence, I believe the same should apply to us because we face more threats than them (foreigners),"he says. He adds: "The fear that I have everyday is not mine alone.
My parents living in remote parts of Mbeya are worried day and night. They keep calling me, and I also have sleepless nights worrying about them. It is a disturbing situation." Peter says though he appears to be safer than other albinos in rural areas he has been left with a deep psychological trauma because of the killings and abductions of people with albinism.
"Learning becomes difficult when you are not in the right state of mind, and you would need to have an environment that can at least assure you of safety. Sadly, the school or college is not a comfort zone either," says the law student. Last year, President Jakaya Kikwete appointed Tanzania’s first albino MP Al-Shymaa Kway-Geer to fight the discrimination that she and other people with albinism suffer in the country.
Fighting discrimination Ms Kway-Geer was herself victimised when young. While at primary primary school, she says people used to laugh at her and recalls that some didn't even like to touch her fearing to be infected with her skin colour. In a bid to fight discrimination against people with albinism, the Albino Association of Tanzania (AAT) says it is planning to embark on a countrywide educational programme to sensitise communities.
"People, even some parents, still need to know and understand that albinos are human beings just like you. It is a medical condition," Ms Ziada Ally, the association’s secretary-general, says. Priscilla Samuel, a 16-year-old student who features in an advertisement aimed at sensitising people not to discriminate against albinos notes that her family is still suffering life-threatening social rejection.
A Form Two student at Jangwani Secondary School in Dar es Salaam, Priscilla also says she and her albino twin sister are still living in fear despite assurances by the authorities that they are safe at school. "I am too terrified to go to school or to get into bed at night despite calls by Government urging our communities to help us and escort albino children to school," she says. Though Priscilla aspires to be an accountant she is afraid her dream may be shattered because even at school she cannot concentrate on studying. 'Easy targets'
According to the AAT, the majority of albinos who have been attacked and killed recently are children of school going age. Ms Ally said the contract killers target children most, because of the superstitious belief that children are "pure" and hence their body parts are more likely to be effective. "Amongst the over 46 albinos who were attacked, abducted or murdered countrywide, school children have been the main target of these killers. Most of them were abducted or killed on their way to or from school," she said.
But Ms Ally explained that the other reason could be that school children are easy targets because they are less likely to resist attacks by their assailants. "It is also very important for parents in especially rural areas not send to send their children on errands that are likely to expose them to the murderers," Ms Ally who is also a teacher said. The Government banned witchdoctors from practising in a raft of measures announced early this year to stop the widespread killings of albinos in the country.
But some traditional healers in Mwanza are reportedly defying the Government ban announced in January and working secretly. It also launched a ballot in the regions hardest hit by the murders where members of the public would name suspected people behind the vice.
But critics say some people could abuse the secret ballot to settle their personal scores with their enemies and spark conflict. Although more than 90 people were reportedly arrested in connection with the murders since last year, some of the suspects are allegedly colluding with the police to escape prosecution.
For instance, there are reports that among those arrested between January, and a few months towards the end of last year, were four police officers. The policemen were nabbed on suspicion of assisting the killers who trade albino body parts to witchdoctors and superstitious fortune seekers.
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