Beyond the Pale

She was a 33 years of age, near completely blind and had no arms. She was born light skinned to dark skinned parents on the African continent. She was born and continues to live in a country where old time rituals of witch doctors, sorcerers and diviners, known locally as “waganga” still play a strong role in health, fertility, and other vagaries of life to which people seek assistance. When I read about not just this woman, but other persons, including children in Tanzania in the June 2017 issue of “National Geographic” it was to me an eye-opener. Entitled the “Perils of Pale”, the article details the trials of persons with albinism.  Most facts and stories in this blog post are adapted from that article. One comes to easily understand that the whole world is not like the developed west. Most articles I read in this easily spoofed magazine are rather factual, and while some may give pause or thought, I found this article rather unnerving. The personal representations in this article certainly make the situation real and I am sure it had the intended affect. What persons with albinism face in some areas is beyond the pale.

Albino Camp in Tanzania

That 33 year old women was born an albino, and what is even more interesting is that Tanzania has one of the highest rates of albinism in the world. While the US and Europe has a rate of 1 in 20,000 persons, Tanzania has a rate of 1 in 1,400. Yes, one in 1,400.  Only part of Panama has a higher rate.  One in 19 persons in Tanzania are thought to carry the gene that produces albinism.   Persons with this gene may see an affect to skin hue, often have poor eye sight, and have to take extreme care in the sun, if they go into the sun, and in third world countries, many will die before age 40, if not by skin cancer, than by the actions of their own people. It is only recently that sun screen has become more available in this part of Africa, although it is expensive. A group, Under the Same Sun, will provide sunscreen free of charge to albinos in this part of the world. In the 1990’s only 12% of those with albinism in Tanzania lived to age 40. An adherence to witch doctors often complicates matters in the developing world. Persons may have a tendency to first seek assistance from the local waganga, rather than seek assistance of western medicine. That may work in some low level situations, perhaps like a placebo, but the local methods are not successful for skin care and skin cancer. Yet, as bad as life may be for that 33 old who is fully dependent upon another for daily tasks and care (think of going to the bathroom) she is alive. Today it is still not an uncommon practice that an albino infant will be the subject of infanticide, often by drowning. Special camps or schools have been set up to assist mothers and their children affected by albinism, some by western aid associations.

Albino boy with left arm cut off

Local witch doctors, however, have a conflict of interest if they were ever to treat an albino. For, in a poor twist of irony, certain body parts of persons with albinism are thought by the waganga, and others in the society, to provide benefit of cure or bounty, whether it be to help find a lode of gold in the mines, a large catch of fish on the seas, or assistance with a personal relationship. A Tanzanian version of a Talisman. The body parts of albinos are hacked off, dried and ground up to make the talismans or potions that many seem to crave. Demand is high. The 33 year old lacks her upper limbs because they were severed when she was 25 years of age, and sold to a witch doctor. Her uncle and others in her village were involved. In a country where the average annual income is about equal to $3,000, the sale of a limb can generate about $5,000 in total income, with perhaps the person who helped do the dismemberment making $500 to $1,000. This represents a good part of an annual income in the hard scrabble life of east Africa. The butcher of the body, in some cases is a child’s own father. Such was the situation with eight year old Cosmo Baraka who had one arm cut off by his own father, with the assistance of a witch doctor. The market for body parts of albino’s is strong in Tanzania. This is shown in the article when they describe an undercover person asking two witch doctors about an albino and the wganga’s say they are willing to do the "killing themselves."  Local traditions are persistent and hard to discontinue.

Witch Craft items

However, lack of cooperation by relatives makes convictions of those who committed the act difficult. In some situations a husband will accuse his wife of having relations with a white man. Since 2008 only 21 persons have been convicted in six separate incidents. Also hampering convictions is the poor eye sight and ability to convince a judge of an attacker. Such was the case of that 33 year old women. A different lady, Acquilini Sami, is now 28, and is also an albino. She earned her BBA and is now a teacher. Poor eyesight made her rethink being an engineer. She and an older brother, who was also an albino, were disowned by their own father; she recounts him saying of the two: “they are not human beings.” She claims that it is well known that many infants with albinism are thrown in the lake. She considers herself fortunate not because of her education, but because she has life, and was not killed or maimed.

Six year old boy with right hand severed

With all that has occurred in her life, that 33 year old lady still is able, with assistance to run a shop selling water and soda. Here in the comforts of our first world nation, with a plenty unknown in the developing world, there is a strong tendency to want more, and to take our situation in life not only for granted, but also as a right. In Tanzania that is not the case, particularly for those with albinism. What was most striking is the focus on small descriptions used by the author. For example, in describing the room where she met Ms. Sami, she mentions lace curtains and a crucifix on the wall. The mention of this religious artifact may give the reader a connection to this woman, and also show that not all is based on the potions of a waganga. With the 33 year old women the author recounts two striking observations. First, is that 33 year old women reads the bible daily, and with extremely poor eyesight she is bent close to the page; she will turn the pages by use of her tongue or chin. This women with no arms, much less thumbs, it is noted, will also text message.  She clicks the keys of her cellphone by using her teeth. The author witnessed the women text in Swahili: “Bwana Yesu asfiwe”, or, in English “Lord Jesus be praised!” Here in the west where a life of abundance may help lead to a decrease in religiosity and the rise of the “none” in this part of Africa, a women who literally had her arms butchered off her body, and is dependent upon another for many aspects of everyday life, who intimately knows horror and has good reason to question the presence of higher being nonetheless has a strong belief in a Jesus. A cynical westerner may say that is all she has to hold onto, or perhaps it is false belief not unlike that of the waganga.  However, if one or both are thoughts, it is only a further degradation to this woman who has known torment and seeks solace for her life.

June 13, by the way, is Albinism Awareness Day.

 Images from Google