Photo: IRIN FOLLOWING the killings of albinos in Uganda and Tanzania, The Telegraph newspaper reported that over 57 murders and around 14 attempted murders have so far been recorded in Tanzania. Their body parts, which have been the major cause of their death, are being cut off and sold at about $2,000 a piece for purposes of witchcraft.
Watching this great tragedy unfold, Marie-Clementine Dusabejambo, an engineer by training and filmmaker, vowed not to let this murderous phenomenon cross into her own country. In January last year, she started to research the lives of albinos and the way they related to the rest of society.
"Luckily in Rwanda the major problem albinos face isn't murder but segregation from 'normal' children, both in school and home." Dusabejambo said. "People think being an albino restrains you from doing a lot of things. They think you can't be bright in class, you can't be good at sports and many more negative things".
"Yet we are just the same; we have the same capabilities but just in a different colour," Theodore Teo Iraduha, head of the Albino Association, retorts.
Dusabejambo then thought of an initiative that would sensitise the Rwandan public that albinos are normal people and have the same capabilities as others. She launched the Black in White Initiative for Peace, with the moto 'All flowers of all colours together make the beauty of nature.'
On April 4, Dusabejambo, in collaboration with Peace and Love Proclaimers, Basic Briliant Africa, Peace for Life and Almond Tree Films came together to organise and launch a campaign to shed light on the challenges and struggles faced by the albinos in Rwanda, putting together a platform for albinos to share in public their opinion about their life and how it can be improved.
The lives of albinos were showcased even more with a four minute documentary that was put together by Dusabejambo. The short film showed how albinos are segregated against in Rwanda.
The launch took place at the Kigali Serena Hotel and was attended by the Minister of Youth and ICT, Philbert Nsengimana, among other officials and dignitaries.
"This initiative was a wake up call to all Rwandans to foster peace and development and learn from mistakes of other countries in order to prevent them from occurring in our country," Minister Nsegimana said. The Minister pledged Rwf 2 million to the Albino Association.
Albinos said they felt very supported and relieved in their country following the unfortunate tragedies that had occurred to their counterparts in neighbouring countries.
"It was a pleasure to launch the Black in White Initiative. We had for so long wished to have it in place. I am very glad people came to support us, we now believe that we are valued in our country," Theodore Teo Iraduha said.
The initiative has been a great benefit to the lives of albinos.
"People now know that albinos are normal just like others and contribute towards development of our country. I am completing an accounting and finance course and I am good at karate. I am among the best in my class," Valentine Irakoze, an albino that studies at the Kigali-based School of Finance and Banking said.
There are no differences between albinos and everyone else - they have the same beginnings, thoughts and feelings as anyone else. There are just a few differences, which aren't worth separating, stigmatising or segregating people for.
Dusabejambo who has had a lot of experience with short film making was also the second editor in "I want to see the movie," a documentary based on the making of a feature film "Kinyarwanda" by Alrick Brown.
Based on these experiences, she created her first short-film called "Lyiza" in 2012. Lyiza is a short film about a young school child dealing with fears and memories from the 1994 Genocide against the Tusti. Her hard work paid off when LYIZA premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival 2011 in New York and in Yaoundé during the International Festival of Women's Films. In 2012, the jury unanimously awarded the prize of the cineforum at the African, Asian and Latin American Film Festival to the film "Lyiza"
Dusabejambo has used a lot of what she has learnt in making films that have had an impact on the lives of many Rwandans today.
What is albinism?
Albinism (from Latin albus, "white") is a congenital disorder characterised 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 recessive gene alleles and is known to affect all vertebrates.
In humans, there are two principal types of albinism, oculocutaneous, affecting the eyes, skin and hair, and ocular affecting the eyes only.
Most oculocutaenous albinistic humans appear white or very pale as the melanin pigments responsible for brown, black, and some yellow colorations are not present. Ocular albinism results in pale blue eyes, and may require genetic testing to diagnose.
Because individuals with albinism have skin that entirely lacks the dark pigment melanin, which helps protect the skin from the sun's ultraviolet radiation, their skin can burn more easily from overexposure.
Comments Post a comment
AS WE SEE ALBINOSIM IN AFRICA IT IS NOTHING NEW NOR IS IT APHENOMENAM WHAT WE MUST REMIND OURSELVES OF IS MOSES!! YES, MOSES DO WE REMEMBER WHEN HE STUCK HIS HAND IN HIS CLTHES AND IT CAME OUT WHITE AS AS WITH LEPROSY THIS IS THE SAME THING WAS HILIGHTED IN THE HOLY BIBLE. WE MUST REMEBERTHAT WE ARE ALL HUMAMNITY THESE WERE THEY WHO SETTLED IN EUROPE AND BECAME THE CAUCASIONS WE KNOW TODAY. THEY COULD NT TAKETHE BLINDING SUN THE HEAT THEY MIGRATED IN THERE MILLIONS. LET US NOT GET THISFACT CONFUSED, WHAT I AM GLAD OF IS THE WAY IT IS IN ALL AFRICA SO EVERYSINGLE AFRICAN CAN RECI#OGNISE THE TRUTH. WHITES FROM EUORPE DO NOT POSSES MELANIN THEY WANT TO CLAIM IT BUT THEY DEFINITTIVELY DO NOT""". WEW MUST SIGHT THAT WE ARE THE FOREFATHERS OF HUMANITY AND FROM US CAME ALL LIVING PEOPLE WQE ARE THE BENAFACTORS OF EVERY ETHNICITY ON THE PLANET. SOMETIMES WHEN I SPEAK IT SEEMS THAT I MIGHT BE BIASED TOWARDS BLACK PEOPLE HOWEVER I HAVE BEEN STSATING THIS FOREVER. IT PLEASES ME THAT MORE INTELLECTUAL AFRICANS ARE SIGHTING TRUTH. THE BLACK MAN IS THE ONE AND ONLY PERSON ABLE TO ON THIS PLANET TO MAKE WHITE. THE THE ALBINO THE WHITE EUROPEANM CAN NOT MAKE BLACK THERE IS NO COMMON DENOMINATOR TO BLACK EVERY OTHER COLOUR OF HUMANIY,THE BLACK MAN CAN REPRODUCE EVRY COLOUR OF HUMANITY ; HOWEVER THE OTHER COLOURS CANNOT REPRODUCE BLACK. BECAUSE OF RACISM THEY WANT US TO BELIEVE ALL THE RUBBISH THEY WANT US BE INDOCTRINATED BY. THEY HAVE TAKEN HISTORY OF ALL AFRICAN REWROTE IT TO SUIT THEMSELVE SAS WE SEE THEY EVEOLVED INTO WHOM THEY ARE DUE TO SOEM MIXING WITH? HOW EVER THERE IS NO EYES DERIVATION THAT IS NOT BLACK THEY USE TO SAY THAT BLACK MAN DO NOT MAKE BLUE EYES WE KNOW THAT TO BE FALACYAND LIEW WE KNOW FOR A FACT THATBLONDE HAIR IS AN ALBINO TRAIT SO IS BLUE EYES, WE ALOS SEE THE AFRICAN AUSTROLOID DEFINITELY HAVING BLUE EYES. WE KNOW ALSO THAT HY HAD MANY ALBINOS AS WELL. WE CAN SEE THE LINK WITHTHE ASTROLOID ALBINO WITH THE AFRICOID ALBINO MATING GETTING THE STRAIGHT HAIR LONG HAIR AS WE KNOW THEAUSTROLOID HAS MORE HAIR THAN THE AFRICAN. WE MUST KNOW HWO WE ARE WE MUST STOP BELIEVING IN ALL THIS FOOLSHNESS AND SIGHT THE ALL MIGHTY GOD AS THE TRUE CREATOR AND MUST SEE ORUSEL;VES AS HIS PERFECT CREATION. WE WERE THE MASTERS OF THE PYRAMID SCIENCVE EVERY CRAFT ON THIS PALNET SO DO NOT GET IT WRONG. EVERY SO OFTEN W WOULD TRAVLETHE PLANET BRINGIONG GLAD TIDINGS GIVING CIVILIZATION TO ALL THE LOST PEOPLE. THIS IS WHY WE SEE IN EVERY PART OF THE EARTH THER IS A STORY A MONUMENT TO THE BLACK AFRICAN. THE WHITES LIKE TO SAY THAT THESE WERE BUILT BY ALIENS OR THEY SAY THAT THSE TRADITRIUONS WERE GIVEN TO THE NATIVE PEOPLE BY SOME SUPERIOR RACE THAT CAME FORM SPACE EVERYTHIUNG THEY CREDIT TO THE SPACE MAN. THEY ARE SO RACIST TODAY THAT THEY BUILD SPACE STATIONS THEY BUILD TELESCOPES TO FIND "ALL MIGHTY GOD" IF NOT TO FIND THE LIFE FORMS THE E Ts TO ADMIT THEY WERE FROM THE LOINS OF THE BLACK MAN WOULD BE ACQUIESSING TOO MUCH. THEY WOULD PREFER TO BE KNOWN AS MONKEYS COMMING FROM APES AND CHIMPANZEES. THERE IS NO EVIDENCE TO CREDIT THEM TO THESE ARGUMENST YET THEY PERSIST WITH IT. THEY FIND SKUULS WHICH IS EITHER MONKEY OR MAN THERE IS NO INBETWEEN. WE WOULD NTO STOP EVOLVING LIKE THE SNAIL AND THE BUTTERFLY THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE ETERNITY. WE SE THE TADPOLE BECOMETH FROG OR WHAT SO EVER EVOLUTION IS ALWAYS THEREIS NO HALT IN EVOLUTION . SO THAT RUBBISH IS NOTHING BUT RUBBISH. AS BLACK PEOPLE WE MUST LEARN THE TRUTH THEN RAD SELECTIVELY OR WE WILL BECOME CAUGHT UP IN THIER FAIRY TALES 2. WE ARE THE FOUNDATION OF ALL HISTORY ONTHE PLANET WE HAVE BEEN HERE FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS WE ARE NTO A PHENOMENAM WE WERE HERE DURING THE ICE AGE WE ARE THE MOST SUCCESFUL EVER OF ALL LIFE FORMS THIS IS WHAT WE AS BLACK PEOLE SHOULD KNOW FOR AFACT AND REALITY. AS LONG THEY HAVE YOU BELIVEING THIER STORIES THIER TALES THIER RUBBISH YOU WONT SEEK TO FIND SELF. IN ELIJAH HE SAID "OU ARE GODS" WE WERE MADE BY A "SUPERIOR BEING" WHO TAUGHT US ALL THINGS . "WERENT CERATED BY ALIENS "WERE THE CREATION OF THE ONE GOD" TO WHOM WE OWE OUR ALLIAGANCE AND LOVE TO" "PEACEBE UNTO AFRICA MAY GOD GIVE LOVE TO ALL HUMANITY"
DF THE MOST HIGH"."HE" ALONE HAS BEEN OUR GUIDE IT IS HE WHOM WE OWWE ALL OUR RESPECT HONOUR GLORY"
African government have the responsibility to protect lives and property of its citizen,be albino or not,every citizen should be treated with utmost equal opportunities ,It's the responsibility of the state to educate the locals about been albino,the government should bring to public notice the biological reasons why there are albinos born by a black parent,it's not strange,it's not evil,it's not witchcraft ,it's biological reasons, reproductive organ malfunction ,this is the liability of the government to educate the illiterate interpretation of albinos in society,it's a shame to say most African countries still living in darkness ,in total dark age.
The eastern African need more to learn about civilization from their western African brothers,nobody discriminate against albinos in west Africa ,they all treated equal as every citizen,please stop wasting innocent lives,it's very shameful to know things of these nature is happening anywhere on our planet.