New Albinos Association to fight discrimination...
New Albinos Association to fight discrimination
Date: January 1, 1970
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Maputo, 24 April. In 1997 when Ricardina Tivane gave birth to her baby at Maputo’s Jose Macamo General hospital, she was elated and thought the arrival of the baby would create a lasting bond with her husband. She was wrong. When her husband noted that her wife had given birth to an albino child, he fled their family home in Benfica suburb, Maputo and jumped the border into South Africa.
“He has not bothered to phone or return to see how were are living, but his friends says he has got a good job in South Africa,” says Tivane. She is not alone in her isolation, in a country where superstition and witchcraft beliefs still abound.
Fathers and families of mothers who bear albino children often blame and abandon the woman. Some men cite the fact that the child is not the same colour as them for the reason they leave. Communities may mock both such mothers and their children.
With lack of understanding about albinos, most people in this – and other African countries – associate the birth of an albino child with evil spells. Albinos are born with a lack of melanin, the pigment that protects the skin against the ultra-violet rays of the sun. Albinos are highly susceptible to skin cancers and problems with their eyesight.
They also suffer social discrimination and in some countries, notably Tanzania, they face murder for their body parts, which are used in gruesome witchcraft rituals. In Mozambique, discrimination against albinos is diverse. For example, they have been unable to get government support in acquiring medication for their skin or corrective eye lenses.
It was against this background that a group of albinos in the Mozambican capital Maputo formally launched an organisation to defend their rights and promote awareness in April this year, called the Association in Defence of Our Rights (ADODS). The formation of the Association came with the blessings of Mozambican Health Minister, Ivo Garrido, who encouraged the albinos to form an association after it was noted they were being discriminated against.
“We aim to create a civil society where when the sun rises to illuminate and warm everybody equally,” said Garrido at the launch of the organisation, attended by parents and albinos themselves.
“The government will keep fighting against any form of discrimination against albinos.” he said. “Discriminating against an albino offends the provisions of the Mozambican constitution,” added Garrido, promising that his institution is prepared to give all the necessary help to the organisation and its members.
The impact of the organisation will be even more powerful for the community, since albinos themselves formed the organisation. Association’s chairperson, Ana Gabriela Lopes, said that the the increased dialogue and founding of the collective was like a dream coming true to her.
“It felt like a dream when, in an informal conversation with Minister Garrido, I told him about the concerns of the albinos and the racial and social discrimination they face because of their skin problems and lack of self-esteem,” she explained.
Lopes said the main aim of the new association was to share information about the problems among this group, to ensure medical assistance for them, and to fight against their social exclusion. Considering that a senior government official has taken the lead to support the group, what now remains is to see the real advancement of the rights of the albinos in society.
Fred Katerere is a freelance journalist based in Maputo. This article is part of the Gender Links Opinion and Commentary Service.
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I am an albino which has made my life misreable I even wanted to commit suicide when i was in my teens people treated me different like i had a horrible diease well i use to watch harrys law on nbc on monday nights Maded by David @ Kelley but a few weeks ago i was getting ready to watch it but i heard one of the lawyers say they hate Albinos especially blacl albinos. My heart sank and thought to myself when is this going to end i feel like i have been discimiated against and i’m sure there is more out there that feels the same do i have a case to sue david E kelley?