“In Africa they kill Albinos to make them amulets”

In Africa they are considered to possess supernatural powers and are threatened with mutilation and even death in order to create a special potion from a part of their body.

The horror and racism experienced by albinos is demonstrated by the actor, musician, director and playwright, Arthur Molepo, who is a guest of the Theater Department of the School of Fine Arts of AUTH as part of an exchange with the Department of Education of the University of Pretoria and is these days in Thessaloniki.

“It is a big issue in my country, many people are dying in southern Africa but also in the whole continent and especially in Tanzania. People with albinism are victims of kidnapping because local beliefs want them with magical properties,” says Mr. Molepo to APE-MPE.

As he explains, they kidnap albinos, cut off their limbs and fingers to use as amulets, while some even go so far as to kill them to get their blood or other body parts.

“I don’t know where this superstition comes from, but in the past a family that had a child with albinism had to hide it and let no one know because they risked being kidnapped. But again, if they received visitors who knew of his existence, the child had to be hidden because it is taboo and it was forbidden for anyone to see it.”

The fear of a student with albinism

Mr. Molepos was accompanied to Thessaloniki, also invited by the Theater Department, the 22-year-old student with albinism Success Mdluli in order to talk about his experiences and share his experiences with the students.

“Here, in Greece, I feel safe because no one is staring at me. In my country I am always on the lookout for what might happen and I always take extra precautions,” Mr. Mdluli describes to APE-MPE.

Coming from an albino family – his mother and father are albino –

he always heard them talk about the problems they experienced. That is why they decided to send him to a boarding school for the visually impaired, as albinos have a visual impairment.

“My experiences have not been harsh but I have experienced being called different names, being asked if I am white or something, being threatened and being called ‘mobile money’ because there are people who pay a lot of money to have a member from albino”.

The exchange program between the two universities also includes an exhibition of student works entitled “Us and Others”, supervised by University of Pretoria professor Raita Steyn. The works have themes revolving around the contribution of art to awareness of diversity and disability.

“All the arts can be used as a tool to communicate our diversity,” says Stergios Proios, professor at the Theater Department, to APE-MPE.

RES-EMP

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