Albino people are being hunted for their body parts

[jpak]

Source: CBS News

LILONGWE, Malawi -- She is haunted daily by the image of the decapitated head of her 9-year-old son. Police asked Edna Cedrick to identify it after the boy, who had albinism, was snatched from her arms in a violent struggle.

The death in February was one in a recent surge in killings and abductions of people with albinism in this southern African country. They are targeted for their body parts, which are sold to be used in potions made by witch doctors who claim they bring wealth and good luck.

At least 18 albino people have been killed in Malawi in a "steep upsurge in killings" since November 2014, and five others have been abducted and remain missing, according to a new Amnesty International report released Tuesday. The toll is likely much higher because many killings in rural areas are never reported, according to the report. Malawi police also have recorded cases where the bodies of people with albinism have been illegally exhumed.

Malawian police say the growing violence comes after neighboring Tanzania imposed tough measures against such trade in January 2015.

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Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/malawi-albinos-hunted-and-murdered-for-their-limbs/

[geek tragedy]

1. good god. are there any left?

sometimes the indigenous culture doesn't need to survive intact

[angstlessk]

2. There was an albino in the black neighborhood near us...he was a friend

for a very short time...I think he died very shortly after we befriended him...

[WhiteTara]

3. That sounded ominous!

I'm sure you didn't mean that he died because you befriended him, but that image struck my mind!

[angstlessk]

7. He was a very good friend...we were white and our friends were black in the 50's

my father owned a cleaners that hired the black folk from the neighborhood...my father's best friend was a black man from the neighborhood...my dad made him a manager cause he was so smart...

My dad died before him...and he went to my father's funeral...when he died, my grandmother was the only white at his funeral....respect!

[elljay]

4. WTF is it with people's obsession with skin color? nt

[jamzrockz]

9. I don't think its really about skin colour

If what is happening in Malawi is anything like something that sometimes happens in Nigeria, then they are just looking at oddities in the society. There was a time in the 1990s where we had some ritual killing and the target were little people. Supposedly the shamans called for body parts from short people and that is what the killers were looking for.

Luckily for everyone, the killings were short lived and everything was back to normal. Sadly, many people are still very greedy, superstitious and still believe in magic to the point that they will sacrifice human life if they believed that it would help them make money.

One last thing that you might find interesting is this. In Nigeria for whatever reason, many children with autism just happened to be children of wealthy people. Anyway, some people believe this is the case because the parents sacrificed the souls of their kids to attain their riches.

[elljay]

10. Interesting, and very sad

I know that some of my elders were a bit superstitious, but any notion of harming people or animals for that purpose was abandoned thousands of years ago. We just had the occasional mumbled words to soothe the evil eye or perhaps a red cord tied on a baby carriage. I just don't know the answer. It is not education because educated Chinese people are exterminating the world's rhinos, Tigers and sea horses for unscientific folk remedies. How do we stop this madness? Sigh.

[WhiteTara]

5. That is horrifiying.

Those poor families must live with daily anguish, especially the mother whose child was snatched from her arms!

[ailsagirl]

6. Has the whole world gone stark, raving mad????????? nt

[Ilsa]

8. I suspect it's always been this way. It's just that

the internet gives us way more information than we ever used to have in close to real time.

[ailsagirl]

13. That is true

Which makes me think I immerse myself in much too much info on a daily basis-- overload!!

[olddad56]

11. sounds like something Trump could endorse

[eppur_se_muova]

12. This has been going on for a very long time ....

DUgle "albino" and you'll find every third post is about this ... BBC has covered it regularly.

Some albinos are trying to fight back ... see for example this documentary: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/videos/albinos-united/