International albinism day: why you should stop the discrimination against albinos

By: Charity Nwakaudu

In commemoration of the 2019 national conference on Albinism, Albinos in their numbers took to the streets of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to create awareness against the high level of stigmatisation and maltreatment meted out to them by the society. They declared that they are normal and should be treated equally.

Even in this 21st century,there are still areas in the suburbs of Abuja and some other parts of the country,where albinos are still regarded as taboos and killed after birth. Women driven out of their matrimonial homes for giving birth to albinos, while some other set of people are of the belief that their blood are very good for rituals, which also put their lives at risk.

The two-day programme did not only stop at the awareness walk, but also the display of artwork done by the children,free medical eye and skin test and presentation of sun shades and lenses to the children to aid them in the learning activities since poor sight is one of the major challenges faced by albinism.

Founder/CEO Albino Foundation,Jake Epelle said that the discrimination of people with albinism started even before him,it was because of the level of discrimination and stigmatisation he faced that made him to start up the foundation to make such that generation of albinos to come ,will not suffer what he went through.

Epelle regretted that there are communities where children born with albinism are still regarded as taboos and killed after birth but the foundation is working hard to see how to put an end to .

“We are here to join the world to celebrate albinism day under the theme ” Still Standing Strong; Advancing the Albinism Cause “,I believe God called me to lead the group and anybody that have been following us will agree with that,if not for god I would have founded up long ago because it is a little bit frustrating but I enjoy it.

“We are aware that there are still some parts of FCT where albinos are killed,discrimination starts from me,we are doing our best but most of the reasons for these discriminations should be stigmatization and superstitious belief. The more people come to learn the truth the less superstition.

He, therefore appealed with the fedral government to give albinism budget line or give ministries that are work directly with them their budget line,to enable them meet with some need of these special children.

Country Director Christian Blind Mission (CBM), Bright Egweremadu ,said his organisation work in the area of inclusiveness with any form of disability which albinism is part,when it come to eye health and the skin.He added that part of their work is to make sure that persons with albinism are not discriminated against and are allowed to discover their full potentials.

He said :”Let Nigerians know that albinism is not a defect,it is only a condition and it can affect anybody,based on the theory behind albino,so today is a day set aside to created awareness about albinism and make people know that it is not a condition to run away from. I know there are mythologies in several African cultures,describing albinos in different ways,these are mare misconceptions that need to be corrected through awareness.

“Albinos are normal like everyone of us,should not to rejected, should not be stigmatized”.

Some albinos who spoke with Daily Sun confirmed the high rate of stigmatisation and discrimination they face in the society to the extend that some parents that have children with albinism don’t want to associate with them and also feel that sending to school is a waste of resources.

Cynthia Ukachi from IMO state said she never knew she was an albino when she was a child because of the kind of family she was born into but when moved into the larger world as an adult ,it became a different thing altogther because of the way people treated and looked down on her.

She said :”Albinos are discriminated and looked down upon,you can see that in schools and working places. For instance in schools you are not given a role because they you can’t perform,you have to go extra mile to get whatever you wanted as an albino,in terms of jobs it takes special recommendations for you to be employed as an albino and when you begin to look down on someone,it affects the persons mentality and he will begin to feel inferior.It takes a positive mind to be strong and live in this country with albinism because wherever you go you are treated like nobody.

“We need to change the mentality of people on albinism, even the parents with albinos don’t like to enrol the children in school because they themselves look down on their children.

“The eailer we start sensitising people living with or without albinism that intelligence and capabilities has nothing to do with colour,the better.

“There is need for inclusion in government policy and employment opportunities” she added

Zanab Yusuf from Kogi state also comfirmed that the persons with albinism are highly descriminated ànd stigmatised by the society and that it was not easy growing up with albnism but meeting with people with albinism makes her stronger.

“If the government can pass a law that will penalised those that discriminate people with albinism, I think it will go a long way to reduce the level of stigmatisation.

“Albinism is not a disease,people with albinism are talented and beautiful, so, you should not look down on yourself or allow anybody to intimate you”.

Also,some mothers with children living with albinism confirmed that they are stigmatized, discriminated upon by the society and some family members. They appreciated God for the gift of special children but lamented that it is faced with alot of challenges.

Gloria Onoja mother with four albino children said they are highly discriminated upon but she is not regreting having them as her children because they are blessing to her rather than curses as generally believed.

She said:”l have dack children too but when I gave birth to albinos God blessed me with a lot of favour.There are many challenges connected to albinism,some of the challenges are;they have poor vision,the sun affects them,that is why you always see them with long sleeve and sun shade.

“There is special cream for them,so we are calling on the government to assistin the areas of studies because they are not like other children, they need more attension which has to with money

Juliet Ugochukwu a mother of three beautifuI albino girls agreed that children with albinism are been stigmatised by the society but she took it up herself to build confidence in her childern by making that they are beautiful and equal with any human.

She said:”I appreciate God because the case of my children is different, people admire them,I always encourage them not to allow people to intimate them because they equal and normal like every other person.

“It is not easy to take care of them because I don’t allow them to play under the sun and I try to balance their food though I don’t select foods for them,they eat everythingeverything”.