Mutilated arms, gouged out eyes, sold in spare parts, this is the horror that people with albinism can experience in certain African countries because of their difference. On social networks, a video is circulating claiming to show albinos forced to live secluded to avoid being killed. In the latter, we see a room full of albino children of all ages eating in a friendly manner around several dishes.
This video, shared on numerous far-right networks, is used to discredit the African continent: “Africa is always presented to us as an example of tolerance and living together even though it is the last continent that practices inter-ethnic/tribal massacres”write, for example some Facebook users.
Facebook screenshot of the video circulating on social networks
In the description of the posts in which this video is shared, many Internet users also specify: “Malawi albinos in danger of death, albinos live in seclusion so as not to be killed. They are the target of frequent attacks in this East African country. »
If the persecution that people with albinism face are numerous and very real, due to their differences and archaic beliefs, this video does not show a scene filmed in Malawi.
Inexact destination, real suffering
Thanks to a reverse image search, we were able to find the original. Filmed in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the video comes from a charity meal organized on December 3, 2024 by the altruist group Aimons-nous Vivants with children taken in by the Pauline Albino Foundation.
“It was a busy day, but thank God everything went well”wrote the humanitarian group on its website. “The meal was prepared in Congo precisely in the provincial city of Kinshasa in the commune of Limete”confirms to Highlighters the organization Aimons-nous Vivants.
The Pauline Albino Foundation, for its part, is an accommodation structure reserved exclusively for albino children. It aims to “protect the discriminated and abandoned albino child to give him a better life like all other children”we learn from the introduction to his Facebook page.
If the use of this video and its sharing are misleading, they do not take anything away from the sad reality in which people with albinism live in the world, and more particularly on the African continent.
Being born an albino in Africa, a tragedy
Albinism is a rare, hereditary, non-contagious disease that affects skin pigmentation and exists worldwide, regardless of ethnicity or gender. According to the United Nations, the prevalence of albinism varies around the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, where the condition is most prevalent, estimates range from 1 in 5,000 cases to 1 in 15,000 cases.
Salif Keita, a Malian musician himself suffering from albinism, testifies to the difficulties encountered. “Being born an albino in Africa is a real tragedy”he reports. He explains that due to occult beliefs about the origin of their white skin color, people with albinism are isolated, persecuted and sometimes murdered. “Albinos die there by the dozens and are sold in spare parts, their limbs are cut off”explains the Malian star and founder of the Salif Keita Global Foundation.
Since 2006, more than 620 attacks on people with albinism have been recorded in 31 countries, reports the charity Under the Same Sun.
“It’s a problem common to all of Africa”confirms Bonface Massah, executive director of the Africa Albinism Network, an organization dedicated to promoting the rights, well-being and inclusion of people with albinism in Africa.
“There are attacks all over the continent, many of them go unreported. People run towards you, grab you and cut off your arm. This is due to ignorance, especially in rural areas”he explains to Highlighters.
In Malawi specifically, more than 170 crimes against people with albinism have been reported, including 20 murders that have been committed since November 2014, according to Amnesty International.
According to testimonies collected by The Worldin this country, people with albinism can be hunted down for their bones and white skin, rumored to carry supernatural powers. In addition to this manhunt instigated by certain traditional healers, a black market has been organized for the body parts of albinos which would be used “to concoct magic potions supposed to bring wealth, happiness and luck”.
-According to Amnesty International, because the profile of attackers of people with albinism is extremely broad, there are very few places where they can seek refuge in Malawi, as even their loved ones can pose a threat.
A corpse worth $75,000
This disastrous situation is unfortunately not unique to Malawi. People with albinism are persecuted in many other African countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique and Tanzania, where the number of attacks is highest. In this country where people with albinism are called “sky sky” which means “ghosts”, more than 200 attacks have been recorded, reports Under the Same Sun.
According to the UN, an arm or leg of a person with albinism can sell for $2,000 while an entire body can even fetch $75,000. In a report, Franceinfo reports that after being mutilated and killed, people with albinism can see their graves desecrated, their bodies dug up and their blood collected.
“One of the victims was a child whose eyes and organs were allegedly removed, probably as part of a ritual, before throwing her body into a river”alarmed in 2022 Mukuka-Anne Miti-Drummond, independent expert on the exercise of human rights by people with albinism.
This unprecedented violence led the United Nations to judge that people with albinism would be “threatened with methodical disappearance”if nothing is done to protect them from attacks and the latter “constitute hate crimes”according to the expert.
No confinement, but specialized establishments
In 2024, Mukuka-Anne Miti-Drummond published a report for the United Nations, entitled, Children with albinism and the right to family life, highlighting that in countries like Malawi and Tanzania, parents and social workers are faced with a terrible choice between “risk the lives of children in the community or protect their lives by placing them in facilities that represent the least bad option”.
These comments are confirmed by the group Aimons-nous Vivants: « These children are not kept for any reason other than their well-being and survival, as most albino children are rejected from other orphanages because of their skin difference.”.
However, children with albinism are not forced to live secluded lives in these establishments. If government isolation provisions had indeed been put in place, these no longer apply today.
“When the massacres in Tanzania began in the late 2000s, people with albinism had to be put under government protection. It was a difficult context, a desperate attempt to save lives. From now on, there is no longer any need for these camps, the vast majority of them have been closed”specifies Bonface Massah at Highlighters.
“Today, across Africa, we have boarding schools, similar to those for blind children, where children with albinism continue their education. I can confirm that these children are not locked up, they can leave at any time to return home or go on vacation. »
For the director of the Africa Albinism Network, it is precisely necessary to avoid the reclusion of people with albinism in order to eliminate rumors attributing supernatural powers to the latter.
“In order to raise awareness, people with albinism need to live in their community, we need to live alongside people so they understand that we are not different. Over time, they accept us and recognize us as human beings. I can confidently say that these beliefs are fading and the attacks have decreased due to this awareness. »
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