It is a funeral in a poor African rural village.  A variety of people stand around the graveside of a young boy, and his mother determinedly tries to hold back her tears.  They say a prayer and then the cement mixer comes to fill in the grave.  The cement pours into the oblong hole and the mother disappears into her hut.  This is Tanzania and the albino boy’s grave is being protected from the renegade witchdoctors that use albino body parts in the wealth and good luck potions.  Albinism is considered a burden around the world but the truth, is as always, in your humanity, not the colour of your skin.

Scientific Explanations

Albinism, also called achromia, achromasia, or achromatosis, is a congenital disorder characterized by the complete or partial absence of pigment in the skin, hair and eyes due to absence or defect of an enzyme involved in the production of melanin. Albinism results from inheritance of the recessive gene alleles, and is known to affect all vertebrates, including humans. The most common term used for an organism affected by albinism is "albino". Additional clinical adjectives sometimes used to refer to animals who suffer from albinism are "albinoid" and "albinic".  Albinism is associated with a number of vision defects, and the lack of skin pigmentation makes a person or animal more susceptible to sunburn and skin cancers.  NOAH (The National Organisation for Albinism and Hypopigmentation) provides the answers to medical questions as well as aid for albinos across the world.

Albinism Mythology

Even in a world of easy access to scientific information there are still tons of myths out there about albinism.  Some common myths include that any child with albinism will be totally blind.  Albinism causes a lack of visual acuity but not a lack of vision.  And eye colour is not limited to pink, white or blue.  Albinism has absolutely no effect on mental development.

It has been asserted by albinism organizations that albino people in film and fiction have been almost exclusively negatively portrayed.  This trend is sometimes referred to as the "evil albino" plot device or albino bias.  The "evil albino" stereotype is a villain in fiction who has the physical traits if albinism and the therefore is easily distinguishable from the heroes of the story.  This includes pale skin, platinum blonde hair, and blue or pink-to-red eyes although impaired vision is notably absent from most depictions.  This stereotype has become sufficiently well-recognized to attract satire and to be considered a cliché. In response to the "albino gunmen" characters in The Da Vinci Code and The Matrix Reloaded, albino actor Dennis Hurley wrote, produced and starred in a short film parody, The Albino Code.  He played up the stereotypes, illustrating a typical example of real-world prejudice.  He pointed out that the vision problems associated with albinism would make a successful career as a hitman highly improbable. NOAH has stated that there were a total of sixty-eight films from 1960 to 2006 featuring an "evil albino".

African Superstitions

Albinism has a long, dark history on the Dark Continent.  In Zimbabwe there is a belief that that sex with an albino woman will cure a man of HIV/Aids.  This has led to numerous rapes and subsequent HIV infections.  In Tanzania, superstition is rife and many people still think of albinos as ghosts and bad omens: albinos don’t die, they just disappear.  A more recent myth is that their body parts can bring wealth and good luck.

Tanzania’s Tragedy

 Tanzania has made the most headlines with regards to Albinism.  In this country, albinos are a source of fear and violence, on top of ridicule and discrimination.  Witchcraft has led to an increase in specific killings of albinos.  Albino body parts are viewed as a powerful tool for spells and potions or muti.  Since 2007 seventy-three Tanzanian albinos, including children, have been murdered for body parts such as arms, legs and genitals.  These are just the reported cases.  In Tanzania in 2008, President Kikwete publicly condemned witch doctors for opportunistic persecution of albinism but this has not diminished the number attacks.

In August of this year, Mariam Staford, a 28-year-old single mother from rural Tanzania did an in-depth interview with ABC News detailing the brutal attack on her that resulted in the loss of both of her arms and the death of her unborn child:  men attempted to cut off her arms as part of this grisly occult trade in albino human parts.

The Mitindo Primary School in Tanzania has become a haven for albino children, where the government is trying to shield them from possible attacks.  But the school is overflowing and under funded.  The resources of the Tanzanian government are limited, with hardly any police, and judges that travel by motorcycle from village to village.  And unfortunately from Tanzania the attacks are spreading through Africa.  There have been cases in Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Swaziland and the DRC of mutilation, murder and human trafficking.  The UN and the international community have waged a war against this but there is still much to be done.

Famously White

A number of people with albinism have become famous, including historical figures such as Emperor Seinei of Japan, and Oxford don William Archibald Spooner; actor-comedian Victor Varnado; musicians such as Johnny and Edgar Winter, Salif Keita, Winston "King Yellowman" Foster, Brother Ali, Sivuca, Willie "Piano Red" Perryman; and fashion model Connie Chiu.  African-American models Sean Ross and Diandra Forrest were teased in school but now hold lucrative modelling contracts and get rave reviews for their beauty.  There have also been some famed albino animals, including Migaloo, a humpback whale off the coast of Australia; Snowflake, a gorilla from a zoo in Barcelona; Snowdrop, a Bristol Zoo penguin; a pink dolphin in Louisiana and the sperm whale Mocha Dick, the inspiration for Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick.

Vanillablaq

I'm just that ray of sunshine that brightens up life. Involved in various creative facets but also love diving into human intellect if u can keep up! – Refilwe Modiselle, Twitter

Refilwe Modiselle is a South African albino model who has also become a proud activist for the acceptance of albinos in Africa.  She has been featured in magazines such as Marie Claire and Glamour and is proud of her unique heritage.  Born in Soweto, she is the eldest of three girls and until she was thirteen worried that she didn’t get the right kind of attention.  She was approached in a boutique for a ‘Millenium’ shoot and her chance to prove she was pretty dawned.  She made it her mission to try change people’s perceptions of beauty.  Although she no longer models full time, this is one woman working her power for the greater good.

The Whiter Side of White

Albinism is like many things in our divided world: it is an exterior physical quality that incites the fear of the unknown in the ignorant and has led to brutality.  Our humanity will one day be defined by our actions and on that day people with embrace their individuality for what it is: just part of us.