In Tanzania, the body parts of albinos are believed to possess magical properties. BBC journalist, Vicky Ntetema, has filmed (see video here) a witchdoctor in Tanzania discussing anatomy for potions. There are anywhere between 4000 to 173,000 albinos living in Tanzania.
So far this year, a known 25 have been killed for witchcraft, most in and around the Lake Victoria area. Fishermen weave hair from albinos into their nets. Albino blood poured into a mine shaft will increase the spoils.
Albinos already suffer from discrimination and are treated as outcasts. Most die of skin cancer before the age of 30. In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's capital, police are escorting albino children to schools.
Last month, the New York Times ran a profile of Samuel Mluge, an albino living Dar es Salaam. "I feel like I am being hunted," he said.
People are turning to the Tanzanian Albino Society for help. But with only $15,000 budget, the aid organization is unable to tackle the problem. The government appointed an albino to parliament to help change perceptions.
"This is serious because it continues some of the perceptions of Africa we're trying to run away from," Salvator Rweyemamu, a Tanzanian government spokesman, told the New York Times in April.
