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The children hunted
because of their skin: Malawi's albino youths who are under protection from the
police and army to stop hunters slaughtering them to use body parts in magic
rituals.
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Police across Malawi
have been ordered to shoot anyone caught attacking albinos, while Tanzania's
prime minister has urged citizens to kill anyone found with albino body parts. And in nearby Burundi,
albino youngsters from across East Africa are being housed in special
accommodation under army protection in a bid to deter attackers.
The drastic
developments come as the United Nations reports at least 15 people with
albinism, mostly children, have been killed, wounded, abducted or kidnapped in
East Africa in the past six months.
Body parts of those with
albinism are prized in black magic and witchcraft, as it is believed spells
based on their body parts will bring luck, love and wealth.
Nearby Burundi has
also taken steps to safeguard albinos by accommodating them in housing under
protection.
Daily Mail UK report continues:
Daily Mail UK report continues:
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An albino boy sits between his two parents
at their home in Malawi
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The latest order came
from Malawi's Inspector General of Police Lexen Kachama who instructed police
to shoot any 'dangerous criminals' caught abducting albinos, according to local
media reports.
'Shoot every criminal
who is violent when caught red-handed abducting people with albinism,' said
Kachama, adding that he was ordering police to use weapons in proportion to the
crime.
'We cannot just watch
while our friends with albinism are being killed like animals every day.
'We do realize that
these people are ruthless, have no mercy and therefore they need to be treated
just like that.'
His comments came just
a month after a Malawian man was arrested for trying to strangle to death a
16-year-old albino boy.
A similar remark was
made by Tanzania's Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda in 2009 when he urged citizens
to kill anyone on the spot if they were found with the limbs or organs of
albinos.
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Femia Tchulani, 42, lives in constant fear
of attackers who target and kill albinos in order to sell their body parts on
the black market
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Albino rights group
have called for greater protection of albinos but said killing suspects was not
going to deter criminals offered large sums of money for securing body parts as
they were likely to still take the risk for the promised reward.
Witchdoctors will pay
as much as US$75,000 for a full set of albino body parts, according to a Red
Cross report.
Vicky Ntetema,
executive director of Under The Same Sun, a Canadian non-profit organization
defending albino rights, said campaigners wanted justice for those people
kidnapped, mutilated and murdered.
'But we have to
remember that all those goons caught red-handed ... are small fish - agents and
executors of the big sharks out there,' she said.
'Killing them on the
spot is not going to help us catch the inducers, those with money to hire these
gangs who continue to terrorize innocent people with albinism and their
families.'
Ntetema urged police
in Tanzania, Malawi and Burundi to quiz suspects to get information about the
witchdoctors who use albino body parts and their clients.
'We all need to unite
and find the culprits who are hiding behind the killers ... Why would people
kill albinos if they were not asked to get their organs by someone?' she said.
The plight of people
with albinism has worsened in East Africa in recent years, according to U.N.
and police figures, with concerns that an election in Tanzania this year will
prompt more attacks as politicians seek luck at the ballot box.
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Mainasi Issa carries her two-year-old
daughter along the path outside the hut in which she lives
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The U.N. High
Commissioner for Human Rights Said Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein last month urged
African governments to combat impunity for crimes against people with albinism.
Albinism is a
congenital disorder which affects about one in 20,000 people worldwide,
according to medical authorities. It is more common in sub-Saharan Africa and
affects about one Tanzanian in 1,400.
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