|
|
ALBINOS
IN BURUNDI APPEAL FOR PROTECTION FOLLOWING DEATH OF GIRL, BY CAROLINE PATTON:
18/11/2008
(MaximsNews Network)
|
UNITED
NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / 18
November 2008 -- The
murder of a six year old albino girl over the weekend has led the United
Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to participate in creating new strategies to
keep other Albinos, particularly other children, safe.
The
girl had been decapitated and dismembered and
the killing has been blamed on a local
superstition that the body parts of albinos
have special powers. Witch doctors claim that
the blood of albinos helps find gold and their
flesh attracts a greater catch of fish. While
it remains unknown who perpetrated the murder,
two men were arrested in connection to a
previous such death.
Olalekan
Ajia of UNICEF explained to the international
community today that the claims about the
magic properties of albinos’ bodies emanated
from Tanzania. But he added that, “the Government of
Tanzania quickly took action and made it a
capital crime for anybody to kill albinos,”
and as a result, “the witch doctors and so
on moved on to Burundi, where there’s a lot
of poverty, and got some people who are
completely dislocated mentally and
psychologically to begin to hunt for
albinos.”
Burundi
has acted in the wake of the killings to put
into effect laws like those applied across the
border and set up havens for albinos in part
of the country. UNICEF has also been
cooperating with the governors of various
regions to keep albinos safe, supply them with
need provisions, and create educational
opportunities for the children. They continue,
however, to be very scared for their lives and
are seeking more help from the authorities.
Mr.
Ajia went on to say the UNICEF is “working
with [the] Government to raise awareness
around the country to explode the myth that
using body parts or blood can make anybody
rich.”
The
shooting this weekend took place near Ruyigi,
in eastern Burundi. The area is near the boundary with
Tanzania, where similar cases of deaths of albinos
have been seen over the last year.
This
weekend’s murder was not the first such
killing in
Burundi
either. A 14 year old girl was slain in
September, part of a string of attacks on
albinos. It is the latest in a series of
killings of albinos in the region and follows
the murder of a 14-year-girl in early
September. This trend has risen in step with
the rumors of the magic supposedly produced by
their body parts.
But
it also comes in the context of long term
prejudice against Albinos and attempts to
exclude them from society, which have been
present throughout the Great
Lakes region of the continent. Back in August
the UN Development Programme (UNDP) together
with the Association for the Protection and
Development of Albino People also set up
seminars in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC) to address the mistreatment of
albinos there and reduce bias.
UNDP
has said that albinos, “have trouble getting
work, in accessing adequate health care, in
finding marriage partners and in entering
education” and furthermore, “Albino
children do not feel loved by their parents,
brothers and sisters. Albino women are subject
to discrimination from other women. Women who
give birth to albino babies are often mocked
or rejected.”
A
study last year revealed that almost half of
parents felt ashamed when they found out they
had an albino child, while approximately
two-thirds of parents admitted that the
medical interventions required for albino
children were costly. But 83 per cent agreed
that their children were equally competent in
their studies in school, compared to
non-Albinos.
--- Caroline
Patton
Labels:
United
Nations, U.N.,
MaximsNews
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 |
MaximsNews®
LLC
NEWS NETWORK FOR THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY |
MaximsNews Network® LLC is a Global News Network
that is read worldwide, in 201 countries and territories. MaximsNewsNetwork is associated with MediaChannel.org and Globalvision News Network, global news and media information services with more than 350 news affiliates in 135 countries.
Established in 1999, MaximsNews now publishes in
the six UN working languages: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and
Spanish.
SEE:
About
MaximsNews
The views expressed are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of MaximsNews®
LLC.
REACH
THE WORLD'S MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE
SEE:
Advertise
with MaximsNews | MaximsNews
MEDIA PARTNERSHIPS
|
Labels: MaximsNews,
MaximsNewsNetwork,
MaximsNewsPEOPLE,
United
Nations, U.N., UN,
World Politics,
International
News, Opinion,
Diplomacy, NGO,
Think-TankNews,
People
in World News,
|
|
MaximsNews
UN
United Nations World
Politics International News
Opinion
Commentary Diplomacy
Turbo Tagger
|
MaximsNews.com
U.N. ® LLC www.MaximsNews.com
| MaximsNews@MaximsNews.com
| CONTACT
MaximsNews | Please
contact us about Republishing:
Syndication@MaximsNews.com ©Copyrights 1999 -
2008, MaximsNews® LLC. All rights
reserved.
|
