Over the last century, great milestones have been met in the field of human rights, turning from nonexistent to somewhat stable and protected. However, Tanzania’s treatment of its albino people is a breach in this progress. People with albinism are killed and mutilated for their limbs, which are said to hold magical properties. They also face prejudice from society, and the government’s menial efforts to correct. Recently, violence against albinos has spiked in the Lake Victoria region, where most of the population falls below the poverty line. Tanzania’s economic system and cultural traditions only aid to the occult industry, only adding to persecution and health issues people with albinism face, despite the government’s actions to combat …show more content…
First and foremost, albinism is “ an autosomal recessive disorder [that] can be inherited only when both parents carry the recessive mutant gene. If two gene carrier parents have children, their children will have 25% probability of being albino and 67% probability of being a heterozygous carrier” (Moe, 2011, para.11). Thus, it is very likely that a large percentage of the country’s population carries the gene. Because of the lack of education about the subject, most people are unaware about what it means to be a carrier. People with albinism lack pigment in their skin, hair, and eyes, face a myriad of health issues. Albinos have extremely sensitive skin and can develop skin cancer without proper sun protection. In fact, 2% of albino infants are estimated to reach forty years of age due to sun damage (Burnett, 2012, para.14). As a result of the stigma against albinos, they are often left to work labor us jobs in the sun that are extremely harmful to their skin. In addition, people with albinism have weak eyesight. this can lead to them dropping out of school at early ages. They cannot further their social status nor improve their quality of
Canaan to explain the African pigmentation (101) was the religious root of discrimination in the
In a society where one can get on a plane and be halfway around the world in a day, it is likely that everyone has encountered someone who looks different from them, whether it is skin color or other physical features. Some people of course look more alike than others and that is where skin color has been used as a tool to differentiate people from different parts of the world. However, this has led to many horrific situations of racism in the past that resulted in slavery and genocides throughout the world. Race as relating to humans can be defined as “a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stock” or “a class or kind of people unified by shared interests, habits, or characteristics” or even “a category of humankind that shares certain distinctive physical traits” (Merriam Webster Online). With all of these varying definitions of race it is easy to see how problems arise because of it. So what is race based medicine? Race based medicine is “the practice of using race or ethnic origin as a distinguishing feature of populations or individuals seeking health” (Cohn 552). This practice can be seen in the clinic, especially with certain diseases like sickle cell anemia which is more prevalent in black populations, cystic fibrosis which is increasingly common in people of north European descent, and finally Tay-Sachs disease which is highly associated with Ashkenazi Jewish populations (Collier 752). As with many topics there are people that have taken a stand on either side of the race based medicine debate. There are those scientists who are on the side that “understanding the unique patterns of genes across patient populations defined by race will help identify population...
Back in the early 1800’s, the color of one’s skin mattered amongst African Americans and Caucasian people. There was infidelity between the Caucasian slave owners and the African American slaves. Of course, the outcome of that produced a fairer toned child. In most cases the child could pass as white. The mixed toned kids got to be inside doing housework, while the dark Negroes worked in the fields, under extraneous work conditions,”their dark-toned peers toiled in the fields”(Maxwell). From the early 1800’s to modern day, there is controversy that light or bi-racial African Americans are better than dark colored African Americans. African Americans had to go through tests to see if they were able to receive priviledges that white people received,”light-skinned African Amerians receive special priviledges based off of their skin shade”(Maxwell). If an African American did not receive the priviledges similar to white people then they would try to change themselves to fit in,”African Americans are using bleaching creams so that they can make their skin lighter , just to achieve the standard beauty”(Brooke). As much as one will not one to discuss this topic, statistics shows how people are more lenient towards light and fair skin tones.Light oor fair coloredAmericans that poseess Caucasian features are prefiebly preffered.
In the early 20st century a horrific genocide occurred between two African groups of people in Rwanda. In the early 1900’s Rwanda was colonized by Belgium and France but by Belgium missionaries. There were two main African clans in Rwanda at the time and that was the Tutsi’s and the Hutu’s. The Belgium missionaries gave power to the church. Many Africans that were practicing African traditional religions soon were converted to catholic Christians. The Belgium missionaries chose the Tutsi clan as being “elite” because of their physical appearance over the Hutus. The Tutsi people had narrower noses, thinner lips, and lighter skin and were labeled as being “white” and the Hutu’s had wider noses, fuller lips, and were considered to be “black” between
Colorism in the United States is a result of the history of people being discriminated based upon one’s skin tone. For many years, the European standard of beauty has been set forth and pushed upon mainly young men and women of many backgrounds
While there are extreme forms of racial discrimination such as the genocides committed by Nazis against Jews and the segregation between Whites and “Negroes” in American History, there are less severe discriminatory acts that regularly occur but are denied and unexposed. Perhaps the perfect illustration for this is the dehumanizing racial discrimination which takes place in Egypt on a daily basis.
Albinism is a health disorder where individuals are born lacking the usual pigment in their bodies. It generally affects the color of the skin and the eye. Albinism is an uncommon illness and cannot be stop or cure. Once you have Albinism you will have it all your life. Being a infrequent condition, research still looking on how to possibly cure it. But, being a inherited condition, study does not guarantee there will be a treatment. The only way to prevent it is to check the parents for a recessive gene before having a baby.
...on for the simple fact that really no one knows about. Even though this problem is not publicized on major networks Such as CNN, it still deserves attention and a solution. The only way this could possibly get better for the Albinos in Tanzania is if the people become more educated. Tanzanians like Most around the world misunderstand albinos, and the government should provide Learning centers to help educate the people about their condition, just like they would a HIV/AIDS center. The government also needs to provide a safe haven for these people; they are in desperate for shelter, and safety. The United Nations and Tanzanian officials need to Put more effort into prosecuting those who murder and hunt albinos, and fight stop the Practice so witch doctors, so it would help reinforce to everyone that if they try murdering Albinos they will be prosecuted by the law.
people of different ethnicities. Such harm is observed in the history of North America when the Europeans were establishing settlements on the North American continent. Because of European expansion on the North American continent, the first nations already established on the continent were forced to leave their homes by the Europeans, violating the rights and freedoms of the first nations and targeting them with discrimination; furthermore, in the history of the United States of America, dark skinned individuals were used as slaves for manual labour and were stripped of their rights and freedoms by the Americans because of the racist attitudes that were present in America. Although racist and prejudice attitudes have weakened over the decades, they persist in modern societies. To examine a modern perspective of prejudice and racism, Wayson Choy’s “I’m a Banana and Proud of it” and Drew Hayden Taylor’s “Pretty Like a White Boy: The Adventures of a Blue-Eye Ojibway” both address the issues of prejudice and racism; however, the authors extend each others thoughts about the issues because of their different definitions, perspectives, experiences and realities.
Some people define race as if it is something solid or concrete, but what they don’t see is that it is a “social fabrication”(Mathew Desmond, Mustafa Emibayer,2009;2). Race is based on the difference in physical appearance which is determined, for example, by the most apparent trait; skin color. Inequality emerges when people living, whether on the same sovereign terrain or across continents, are not treated with the same amount of respect and not given the chance to engage their rights in a free and fair manner. Race and inequality are often linked together because of the “issues that began in the 1800s”(NFB;Journey to Justice;2000) such as racial segregation. Over the years issues of race and inequality have decreased dramatically. How did racial inequality decrease and through what? To study this case, two theories need to be put in practice, “resource mobilisation theory and new social movement”(Tremblay;2013).
...be also highly affected in people with albinism. Usually people with albinism wait until the sunsets to go outside to do some of these activities. Some individuals with albinism have problems with emotional regulation skills which is mainly affected by the way society react to their looks.
Witchcraft has been rampant in various parts of Africa. However, the practice of witchcraft has been on the decline in modern society as compared to the period before the rise of colonialism (Toyin 250). In most part of Africa, there is a conglomeration of tribal healers, sorcerers, and wizard considered having different forms of powers in controlling the fate of society (Toyin 209). Consequently, this has led to the emergence of thousands of practitioners in different parts of Africa. The magic practitioners claim to have enormous powers such as the ability to create rains in times of drought, power to expel evil spirits, to recover lost things, and even to make one healthy (Sanders 338). On the other hand, this has led to the believers by millions of Africans on the monotheistic faith. In fact, most of the Africans believe the magicians have power over nature by the use of a spell or hidden incantations (Petraitis 1). Consequently, this has led to some of the communities lag behind in terms of development as the practice continues to be entrenched in the systems (Green and Mesaki 343). Moreover, the practice has been associated with the poor state of the economy in places that it is widely practiced. The practice has remained prevalent in Africa and Tanzania society (Toyin 297). For example, in the last two decades, thousands of Tanzania have been accused on witchcraft and even murdered by citizens due to the archaic practices (Petraitis 1). In the region, the practice is widespread among the female octogenarians. Moreover, those who practice witchcraft are believed to have certain characteristics such as Red eyes (Petraitis 1). The mark has been used notably in Tanzania to lynch octogenarians believed to pract...
Gabriel, Deborah. Layers of Blackness: Colourism in the African Diaspora. London: Imani Media, 2007. Print.
Marks, John. "RacismEugenics, and the Burdens of History." personal.uncc,edu. Ix International Congress of Human Genetics, 20 Aug 1996. Web. 31 Jan 2014.
"In Tanganyika we believe that only evil, Godless men would make the color of a man's skin the criteria for granting him civil rights."