Albinism in Africa
Dismembered, attacked, kidnapped, and killed—these are horrific issues the average citizen would not even think of happening to them. However there is a group of people in Africa that live in fear of these violations. People living with albinism, a hereditary disorder where skin, hair, and eyes have no pigment, are having their basic rights being taken away from misconceptions of others. Inhumane attacks on albinos in Africa, caused by cultural myths and superstitions are being combatted by new laws.
A big problem facing people living with albinism are the attacks on them by people. First, albinos are facing the increase of these attacks all over Africa, especially in the Lake Zone which includes parts of Tanzania. Evidence of this idea is the statement people living with albinism are living through terror from the swiftly growing business in selling their body parts in Africa. This example proves that people are
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People living with albinism have been prohibited…. Evidence of this idea is the statement, people living with albinism are not allowed to have an education, a job, or even marriage. They can't touch anything the same as other people can, because of fear that they'll catch the condition. People with albinism have been buried at other places, and have had their graves dug up and desecrated. For example, people with albinism have been murdered, dismembered, and mistreated for multiple years now. Albinos have dealt with mistreatment and discrimination for years. (Need paraphrase) Albino's have dealt with mistreatment and discrimination for years. "We have faced discrimination for years, our situation is now more dangerous. We are being killed for our body parts by witchdoctors who wrongfully believe we can be used to create wealth. We have lodged complaints to police but they ignore us and often release those who wrong us," society leader and nominated MP Isaac Mwaura
According to McIntosh’s suggestion, “we should acknowledge enormous unseen dimensions, talk about the obliviousness advantages, and raise our daily awareness on the perquisites of being light-skinned.” McIntosh’s approaches are characterized as reasonable to resolve the issue. By listing down every advantage she takes for granted, she is raising awareness in the society. By
Furthermore, Christina Judith Hein, in Color-Blindness vs. Race Matters claims that a common goal cannot be that every individual is treated the same, regardless of their race, gender, or age, but rather, these differences require different responses within the social framework with certain norms and values. Reactions to an individual must be specific to that individual’s needs.
“Ibn Battuta’s stories give us a picture of Africa through eyes of a devote Muslim traveling all over the continent of Africa and the world. In his accounts sub-Saharan Africa is described prior to colonialism and racism. Ibn Battuta’s stories as they are transcribed in “Ibn Battuta, In Black Africa” by Said Hamdun and Noel King are representative of the only written account of this period and give us the most realistic and accurate account of this time in history.
When the scientific community begins to spread unfounded hypotheses regarding genetic differences between races, particularly differences that attribute poorer health or increased susceptibility to disease among minority groups, a Pandora’s Box is opened of potential dangers which can aid proponents of racist doctrines. Historically, scientific studies that sought to prove biological differences among races have led to violently racist movements like slavery, colonialism, and the Holocaust. Hence, as other pharmaceutical companies follow NitroMed’s path and begin marketing drugs targeted for specific racial groups, the dangers of such race-based therapeutics must be acknowledged.
Biologically speaking, all people are made up with approximately 99% of the same genes (Robbins et al. 2013:80). It does not matter if a person looks different or has a different skin colour; we are all humans and thus should be treated equally. Unfortunately, this is not the case in most of the world, especially in America. In America¬ (and other parts of the world), several communities and companies believe in white privilege. One of the first reports of white privilege in America was in the 1600s, when white people enslaved black people (Nkomo & Ariss 2013). Back then, having slaves raised a white person’s power and identity, while also making it beneficial from a business standpoint (Nkomo &
The works of Charles Darwin can’t be ignored here. He said, “The survival of the fittest” meaning the strongest of them all will survive and the weaker ones would perish. His works were highly credited in that time. At the time, this became an excuse to justify the discrimination already being
Over the centuries, the African people have endured many trials, obstacles, and tribulations. From the moment that they were kidnapped from their homeland, and had been savagely placed in the cargo holds on ships to be sold into slavery to the American people, the Africans (now known in the United States of America as African Americans or Black people) have journey far to achieve, as well as, accomplished what was thought to be the impossible. These things include but are not limited to, freedom, equality, independence, the right to vote, a fair education, a wider range of occupations to pursue, politics, but most of all, to live a better quality of life.
the disastrous effects that colorism and racism can have on a whole culture and how African-
Prejudices exist in every measure, against every person, and everywhere across the world. People are inclined to judge without reason, and often hold conviction to the initial judgment made. Despite worldwide attempts to decrease these preconceptions, people must suffer through being the target on very frequent occasions. In the U.S., occurred the Civil Rights Movement as well as the movement to end Women’s Suffrage. This did not eliminate all biases against those groups, nor did the Americans with Disabilities Act. People are still isolated because of physical
Many are unaware of the effects that race has played in their lives over the years. Some may not understand its implications, but are very oblivious to it. Race can influence such things like attitude and behavior. Nowadays being white or black means something more than just a Crayola color. No longer are they just colors, they are races with their own rules and regulations. People of color have been inferior to the white race for centuries. In their own way Zora Neale Hurston shows this concept in her story “How it feels to be Colored Me” as does Richard Wright in his autobiographical sketch “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow”.
There are approximately 7 billion people in this world. Each person has a unique combination of traits such as skin tone, face shape, body type, eye color, hair color, and other characteristics. These traits vary due to genetics, environmental factors, and much more. An individual 's race is defined by their physical characteristics and how they differ among others. Race is not defined by the way an individual behaves or portrays themselfes; it is based strictly off of their physical traits. Since America was founded, race has played a significant role in the relations of the citizens in this country. For decades, different races have been stereotyped and been prejudice towards one another, without realizing how invalid their judgements are. Specifically, African Americans have been discriminated by caucasians in America since it’s founding. It began by the enslaving of African Americans, and today, the discrimination and inequality is more hidden in society. Although America has made significant progress in overcoming racial inequality in the country, many African Americans are still being subject to hardships that Caucasian Americans do not face, especially in regards to the justice system.
This chapter focuses on anti-oppression and anti-discrimination practice. We will be looking at what is meant by these terms and the law which underpins them. We will explore the different ways people are affected by oppression and how to combat it. Evaluate society’s stereotypical images of groups of people in society and the principles of positive action and anti-oppression.
As the research continues it becomes ever more important to discuss how exactly the differing pigmentation of one race of people actually occurs, because I feel that it has an effect on the way colorism is handled throughout the African American community. There are two ways in which a person of African descent can be of a lighter complexion; the first being amalgamation, which is the coming together of both the black and white races and reproducing to make a mulatto or mixed race child and the second is the use of cosmetic creams in attempt to bleach one’s skin until they too appear mulatto (Dorman 48). This is relevant because, it shows the extremes that people are willing to go to reach the highest plateau of social acceptance. Many of these creams were painful acidic chemicals slowly burning away the pigmentation as people slept, while others were considered mild abrasive materials used to “gently” scrape away dark pigments (Dorman
There have been many documented tribes and villages who exile, murder, and rape any albinos born. One place in particular, Tanzania, as mentioned above as having one of the highest albinism rates around the world is also well known for their albino killings. Witch-doctors believe that the body parts of those with the mutation will bring good luck, success in love, business, and wealth. In March of 2015, thirty two of these witch-doctors were arrested for the ritual killings of at least seventy five albinos since the year 2000. The witch-doctors believe that having sexual intercourse with an albino will cure AIDS, so many albino women of all ages are raped. They also believe that those who are albino are cursed, and sent from the devil which is another reason for the killing of those with the mutation. Though it is not just in Tanzania that it occurs. In many small villages and tribes in Africa, and other places around the world those with the mutation are mistreated. The only person my family can think of that is also albino is my great great grandmother on my father’s side. She was full blooded Cherokee Indian, but because of the mutation she was exiled from the tribe, because they thought she was a bad omen, and would cause bad luck to the rest of the tribe.
This chapter in Africans and Their History by Joseph Harris presents some of the roots of the stereotypes and myths about Africa in the past and for the most part are still held today. Harris discusses how the “greats” of history, geography, and literature starting a path of devaluation of Africans that writers after their time followed. Harris also denounced the language that these “greats” used to describe and talk about Africans. He asserts that this language inherently painted Africans as inferior and subhuman.