Burundi albino boy 'dismembered'

[Haole Girl]

Source: bbcnews.com

Burundi albino boy 'dismembered'

The dismembered body of a young albino boy has been found in a river on the Burundi-Tanzania border, reports say.

The boy, aged nine, was taken from Makamba province in Burundi by a gang that crossed the border, the head of Burundi's albino association said.

Kassim Kazungu told AFP the remains had been recovered from the Malagarazi river and given a formal burial.

Albino body parts are prized in parts of Africa, with witch-doctors claiming they have special powers.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-11614957

[otohara]

1. Whoa - Uck

how sad, one Albino can fetch up to $500,000...

Nairobi — Long used to discrimination, Burundi albinos now want state protection and recognition.

This comes even as there are cases in court over albino killings.

"We want the government to protect us and be considered like other persons. We are excluded in many spheres of life including employment," said the Albino Association of Burundi communications manager Pascal Matabishi Bikaya.

"We need special skin doctors because of our sensitivity to the sun," he added.

They also want to have one of their own to represent them in parliament like the case in Tanzania.

The association wants the government to come up with a law compelling parents to keep their albino children in school.

It also wants government to carry out a census to determine the real numbers of the albinos as a basis of supporting them.

To demonstrate the challenging life of an albino in Burundi, Kassim Kazungu now has to be on the lookout for a marauding merchant of death.

Each new day could as well be Mr Kazungu's last considering the lucrative gruesome business where the body of one albino could fetch as much as $500,000.

Mr Kazungu, the president of the Albino Association of Burundi, has reason to worry: nine albinos were killed in 2008 and three in 2009 with one disappearing without trace.http://allafrica.com/stories/200912270081.html

[shanti]

2. there was a documentary

on teevee recently about the albino children in kenya...very sad :(

[Odin2005]

3. My God!

:cry:

[Canuckistanian]

4. They're worth a half million for their body parts?

My God, this is literally a human hunt. ANY albino now has a price on their head. They're worth more dead than alive.

Thats horrifying.

[naaman fletcher]

10. Worth a lot,

but not a half million. That is press sensationalism. I now east africa quite well. I'd bet that if this kids parts were sold they fetched no more than 5,000. probably less.

[Posteritatis]

11. In several countries in the area people are basically setting up fortified compounds for them

So they can at least get some schooling and the like safely, even if it's behind a palisade manned by armed guards.

[Uncle Joe]

5. What a crying shame.

Thanks for the thread, Haole Girl.

[Haole Girl]

7. It is. It's horrible.

And you're welcome, Uncle Joe.

[sakabatou]

6. WTF?!

[yurbud]

8. they should be given asylum in Scandanavia or someplace they'd blend in.

[JI7]

9. a few months ago "Albino Girl Beheaded in Witchcraft Murder"

http://www.newser.com/story/98673/albino-girl-beheaded-in-witchcraft-murder.html

[Xenotime]

12. First in Iraq, then Mexico and now here. Where does this hate come from?