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Mother, Albino 5-Year-Old Boy
Killed For Body Parts In Burundi, Activists Say
Source: Huffington Post (USA)
05/ 7/10
NAIROBI, Kenya
— Attackers in Burundi chopped off the limbs of a 5-year-old albino boy and
pulled out his mother's eye, killing them over the belief that their body parts
would bring wealth and success, human rights activists said Friday.
Ten assailants
armed with guns and grenades killed Desire Vyegura, 5, and his mother, Susann
Vyegura, in Burundi on Monday, said Kassim Kazungu, head of the Burundi Albino
Association.
Both victims
had their limbs chopped off. Attackers also pulled out one of Desire's eyes and
chopped off his mother's breasts, Kazungu said. The attack took place in
Cankunko village in the Cendajuru district, about 200 kilometers (125 miles)
east of the capital city, Bujumbura.
Kazungu said
Thoma Vyegura, who was not albino, was also killed while trying to protect his
daughter and grandson.
Those deaths
and other recent attacks in Tanzania are part of long pattern of violence
against African albinos. At least 10,000 have been displaced or gone into hiding
since attacks against them spiked in late 2007, the International Federation of
the Red Cross says.
Since then, 57
albinos have been killed in Tanzania and 14 in Burundi, said Vicky Ntetema with
the rights group Under The Same Sun.
The killings
are fueled by superstitious beliefs that human albino body parts will bring
others wealth and success, Ntetema said.
"Body parts
are sought for their supposed miraculous powers," she said. "Some use them as
human sacrifice as advised by witch doctors."
African
albinos endure insults and segregation throughout their lives, and face greater
discrimination than Western albinos because they live in darker-skinned
communities. They also have a high risk of contracting skin cancer in a region
where many jobs are outdoors.
