Albinos in Tanzania murdered or raped as AIDS "cure"
Thu May 5, 2011 8:53am GMT
* Albino body parts thought to bring luck in love, business
* Shame deters rape victims from reporting abuse
By Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala
DAR ES SALAAM, May 5 (Reuters) - Hundreds of albinos are thought to have been killed for black magic purposes in Tanzania and albino girls are being raped because of a belief they offer a cure for AIDS, a Canadian rights group said on Thursday.
At least 63 albinos, including children, are known to have been killed, mostly in the remote northwest of the country.
"We believe there are hundreds and hundreds of killings in Tanzania, but only a small number are being reported to the police," Peter Ash, founder and director of Under The Same Sun (UTSS), told Reuters.
"There is belief that if you have relations with a girl with albinism, you will cure AIDS. So there are many girls with albinism who are being raped in this country because of this belief, which is a false belief."
Around 1.4 million Tanzanians among a population of 40.7 million have the HIV virus that leads to AIDS.
Albino hunters kill their victims and harvest their blood, hair, genitals and other body parts for potions that witchdoctors say bring luck in love, life and business.
"(It is believed) a person with albinism is a curse. They are from the devil, they are not human, they do not die, they simply disappear," said Ash.
Ernest Kimaya, head of the Tanzania Albino society and a sufferer of the pigment disorder, said social stigma prevented many girls from reporting rape, making it difficult to say how many albinos had been sexually abused.
"These things are taking place underground. Even the albino killings started quietly, before the atrocities were finally exposed in public," Kimaya told Reuters.
Activists last week reported three murders of teenage albino boys from the same family in northern Tanzania, who were poisoned and their bones later robbed from their graves.
The Tanzanian government says it is determined to halt the macabre killings, but has been widely criticised for inaction. (Editing by Richard Lough and Andrew Roche) (Email:nairobi.newsroom@reuters.com; +254 20 2224 717))(For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit:af.reuters.com/
Albinos in Tanzania murdered or raped as AIDS cure | News by Country | Reuters
Yote Haya ni Matokeo ya Kuwa na Serikali ya Ufisadi Isiyo na Dira Yoyote na Kung'ang'ania Kuongoza kwa Nguvu Wakati Solutions Hawana. Matokeo ni Umaskini. Analysis yangu ni hii,
1. Viongozi wa serikali wenyewe ni wakwanza kwenda kufuata waganga wa kienyeji ili wachaguliwe, tunashangaa vipi haya wakati wenyewe wanaamini ushirikina?
2. Serikali ya Tanzania mpaka leo ni lip serving lakini hawataki kuwafungia waganga wa kienyeji kwa sababu wanaamini watapoteza uongozi. Hapa ndio tatizo kubwa Tanzania. Taifa linaendeshwa na waganga wa kienyeji (wachawi)
3. Raisi wa Taifa ndio kwanza hana vision wala mwelekeo, kikwete siku zote anasubiri mpaka tatizo litokee ndipo anakurupuka kama Mbagala na Gongo la Mboto hapo hapo hana majibu
- Maanguko na curses za Taifa letu yanafanana kabisa na uongozi wa King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, alietegemea wachawi badala ya kumwangalia Mungu. Mungu ndio alimwaibisha Nebuchadnezzar na kumfundisha adabu. Tanzania tunakwenda huko huko. Daniel 2: 1 - 47
Thu May 5, 2011 8:53am GMT
* Albino body parts thought to bring luck in love, business
* Shame deters rape victims from reporting abuse
By Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala
DAR ES SALAAM, May 5 (Reuters) - Hundreds of albinos are thought to have been killed for black magic purposes in Tanzania and albino girls are being raped because of a belief they offer a cure for AIDS, a Canadian rights group said on Thursday.
At least 63 albinos, including children, are known to have been killed, mostly in the remote northwest of the country.
"We believe there are hundreds and hundreds of killings in Tanzania, but only a small number are being reported to the police," Peter Ash, founder and director of Under The Same Sun (UTSS), told Reuters.
"There is belief that if you have relations with a girl with albinism, you will cure AIDS. So there are many girls with albinism who are being raped in this country because of this belief, which is a false belief."
Around 1.4 million Tanzanians among a population of 40.7 million have the HIV virus that leads to AIDS.
Albino hunters kill their victims and harvest their blood, hair, genitals and other body parts for potions that witchdoctors say bring luck in love, life and business.
"(It is believed) a person with albinism is a curse. They are from the devil, they are not human, they do not die, they simply disappear," said Ash.
Ernest Kimaya, head of the Tanzania Albino society and a sufferer of the pigment disorder, said social stigma prevented many girls from reporting rape, making it difficult to say how many albinos had been sexually abused.
"These things are taking place underground. Even the albino killings started quietly, before the atrocities were finally exposed in public," Kimaya told Reuters.
Activists last week reported three murders of teenage albino boys from the same family in northern Tanzania, who were poisoned and their bones later robbed from their graves.
The Tanzanian government says it is determined to halt the macabre killings, but has been widely criticised for inaction. (Editing by Richard Lough and Andrew Roche) (Email:nairobi.newsroom@reuters.com; +254 20 2224 717))(For more Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit:af.reuters.com/
Albinos in Tanzania murdered or raped as AIDS cure | News by Country | Reuters
Yote Haya ni Matokeo ya Kuwa na Serikali ya Ufisadi Isiyo na Dira Yoyote na Kung'ang'ania Kuongoza kwa Nguvu Wakati Solutions Hawana. Matokeo ni Umaskini. Analysis yangu ni hii,
1. Viongozi wa serikali wenyewe ni wakwanza kwenda kufuata waganga wa kienyeji ili wachaguliwe, tunashangaa vipi haya wakati wenyewe wanaamini ushirikina?
2. Serikali ya Tanzania mpaka leo ni lip serving lakini hawataki kuwafungia waganga wa kienyeji kwa sababu wanaamini watapoteza uongozi. Hapa ndio tatizo kubwa Tanzania. Taifa linaendeshwa na waganga wa kienyeji (wachawi)
3. Raisi wa Taifa ndio kwanza hana vision wala mwelekeo, kikwete siku zote anasubiri mpaka tatizo litokee ndipo anakurupuka kama Mbagala na Gongo la Mboto hapo hapo hana majibu
- Maanguko na curses za Taifa letu yanafanana kabisa na uongozi wa King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, alietegemea wachawi badala ya kumwangalia Mungu. Mungu ndio alimwaibisha Nebuchadnezzar na kumfundisha adabu. Tanzania tunakwenda huko huko. Daniel 2: 1 - 47
