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This programme contains some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting | 0:00:02 | 0:00:09 | |
How was the body when you found it? | 0:00:13 | 0:00:15 | |
My name is Oscar Duke and I'm albino. | 0:00:20 | 0:00:25 | |
In parts of East Africa, | 0:00:25 | 0:00:26 | |
being born with my condition can be a death sentence. | 0:00:26 | 0:00:30 | |
People with albinism are regularly attacked, abducted and murdered. | 0:00:30 | 0:00:35 | |
Their body parts are used in potions, sold by witch doctors. | 0:00:40 | 0:00:45 | |
They just weakened the mouth | 0:00:45 | 0:00:47 | |
by hitting him hard and all the teeths were out. | 0:00:47 | 0:00:51 | |
Did they specifically want the teeth? | 0:00:51 | 0:00:53 | |
Yeah! | 0:00:53 | 0:00:55 | |
It is something that is valuable, according to them. | 0:00:55 | 0:00:58 | |
In Britain, I work as a doctor and lead a normal life. | 0:00:58 | 0:01:02 | |
I can't imagine what it's like to live in such fear. | 0:01:02 | 0:01:04 | |
I wanted to find out why this is happening. | 0:01:06 | 0:01:08 | |
What do you think it says about the society in Tanzania that children | 0:01:12 | 0:01:16 | |
like this are forced into isolation? | 0:01:16 | 0:01:18 | |
The society has to understand that this is not a good thing. | 0:01:18 | 0:01:22 | |
So, this is the prison. | 0:01:22 | 0:01:23 | |
'And what kind of person would murder someone like me?' | 0:01:23 | 0:01:27 | |
Do you think it's OK to kill somebody for money? | 0:01:27 | 0:01:30 | |
So, why did you do it? | 0:01:34 | 0:01:37 | |
Although they're pretty wonky, | 0:01:45 | 0:01:47 | |
these are the same ones I've had since I was 13 and I've never once | 0:01:47 | 0:01:51 | |
broken my glasses, which I think is amazing. | 0:01:51 | 0:01:54 | |
Although, actually, glasses have kind of come back round, | 0:01:54 | 0:01:56 | |
they're a bit more cool these days. | 0:01:56 | 0:01:58 | |
Not these ones, though. | 0:01:58 | 0:02:00 | |
I was first diagnosed with albinism when I was six weeks old. | 0:02:01 | 0:02:05 | |
My parents aren't albino, | 0:02:05 | 0:02:07 | |
but each carries the same faulty gene which they passed onto me. | 0:02:07 | 0:02:11 | |
It means I can't create a pigment called melanin. | 0:02:11 | 0:02:14 | |
As well as giving skin and hair its colour, | 0:02:16 | 0:02:19 | |
melanin plays a vital role in the retina, so my eyes don't work normally. | 0:02:19 | 0:02:23 | |
Rather than just being still, if you focus on something, | 0:02:24 | 0:02:29 | |
they kind of wobble. Can you see that? | 0:02:29 | 0:02:33 | |
I've always considered albinism a disability and spent most of my life | 0:02:33 | 0:02:37 | |
trying to ignore it. | 0:02:37 | 0:02:39 | |
'I even kept it a secret from my wife, Ray, | 0:02:39 | 0:02:42 | |
'when we first started dating.' | 0:02:42 | 0:02:44 | |
Right, packing time. | 0:02:44 | 0:02:45 | |
If I just put everything out, kind of, as I've got it? | 0:02:45 | 0:02:49 | |
Cos otherwise I'm going to have no idea what I've got. | 0:02:49 | 0:02:52 | |
I definitely had an issue about | 0:02:52 | 0:02:56 | |
having albinism and I didn't want it to get in the way of our relationship, | 0:02:56 | 0:03:01 | |
I think that was the real truth. | 0:03:01 | 0:03:03 | |
And I guess, for you, | 0:03:03 | 0:03:04 | |
albinism had never got in the way of anything in your life before, | 0:03:04 | 0:03:07 | |
so you did whatever you wanted at school, | 0:03:07 | 0:03:09 | |
you went to university to be a doctor, | 0:03:09 | 0:03:11 | |
you'd become a doctor at that point. | 0:03:11 | 0:03:13 | |
I do remember telling you... | 0:03:13 | 0:03:15 | |
-I remember exactly. -There were definitely tears from me. | 0:03:15 | 0:03:17 | |
-Yeah, you cried! -Yeah, I did cry. | 0:03:17 | 0:03:19 | |
And, actually, then you telling me was a huge relief, | 0:03:19 | 0:03:22 | |
cos I thought it was going to be something far worse. | 0:03:22 | 0:03:25 | |
-Yeah. -I don't know, you had some horrible past or, I don't know, | 0:03:25 | 0:03:29 | |
you'd been married to some other, or like, I don't know. | 0:03:29 | 0:03:32 | |
And didn't it work out well? | 0:03:34 | 0:03:36 | |
-For now. -Yes. | 0:03:37 | 0:03:39 | |
Two years in. | 0:03:39 | 0:03:41 | |
'Now Ray and I are thinking about having children, | 0:03:41 | 0:03:43 | |
'I've spent a lot of time looking into my condition.' | 0:03:43 | 0:03:46 | |
For me, I've accepted that I have albinism and I've learned to live my | 0:03:47 | 0:03:52 | |
life with it and been able to do the things that I wanted to do. And then | 0:03:52 | 0:03:56 | |
I've heard that there are people in other parts of the world, | 0:03:56 | 0:04:00 | |
particularly East Africa, where that is just not an option for them. | 0:04:00 | 0:04:06 | |
-Waterproof? -And the rain coat, | 0:04:06 | 0:04:07 | |
because we are approaching the rainy season. | 0:04:07 | 0:04:09 | |
'I'm heading to Tanzania which has among the highest rate of albinism | 0:04:09 | 0:04:12 | |
'in the world. Albinos who live there have been stigmatised, | 0:04:12 | 0:04:16 | |
'persecuted and even killed.' | 0:04:16 | 0:04:18 | |
People are being murdered because of something that's wrong with them in | 0:04:18 | 0:04:22 | |
their genes. It just doesn't seem right to me. | 0:04:22 | 0:04:25 | |
'I want to find out why people like me are being targeted and what can | 0:04:26 | 0:04:30 | |
'be done to help one of the most marginalised communities in Africa.' | 0:04:30 | 0:04:34 | |
Tanzania is home to around 16,000 people with albinism. | 0:04:42 | 0:04:47 | |
Almost half are children. | 0:04:47 | 0:04:49 | |
When the violence against them first hit the headlines ten years ago, | 0:04:51 | 0:04:54 | |
it prompted the Tanzanian government to offer help. | 0:04:54 | 0:04:57 | |
My journey starts in Arusha, in the north of the country, | 0:04:59 | 0:05:02 | |
at a school where the state sponsors kids with albinism. | 0:05:02 | 0:05:06 | |
I was the only albino at my school, but here, there are 16, | 0:05:07 | 0:05:11 | |
including 12-year-old Dixon. | 0:05:11 | 0:05:14 | |
-Hi, Dixon. -Hi, Oscar. | 0:05:14 | 0:05:16 | |
-How are you? -Fine. | 0:05:16 | 0:05:17 | |
So good to meet you. | 0:05:17 | 0:05:18 | |
So, are you guys in the same class? | 0:05:18 | 0:05:20 | |
Yeah... | 0:05:20 | 0:05:23 | |
It's really white, isn't it? | 0:05:23 | 0:05:25 | |
Why do you think that? | 0:05:25 | 0:05:26 | |
I think because the skin is. | 0:05:26 | 0:05:28 | |
-Because my skin is white, too? -Yes. | 0:05:28 | 0:05:30 | |
Yeah. | 0:05:30 | 0:05:31 | |
-Melanin. -Melanin? | 0:05:32 | 0:05:34 | |
Yeah. Amazing. | 0:05:34 | 0:05:35 | |
You guys know it all, don't you? | 0:05:35 | 0:05:37 | |
-Yes. -We don't have melanin, do we? | 0:05:37 | 0:05:39 | |
No. Does it matter? | 0:05:39 | 0:05:41 | |
No. | 0:05:41 | 0:05:43 | |
No. Do you think I'm the same as these guys? | 0:05:43 | 0:05:46 | |
-No? -Why do you think I'm different? | 0:05:46 | 0:05:48 | |
Because the melanin, the colour, is not the same with this one. | 0:05:48 | 0:05:51 | |
It looks the same to me. | 0:05:51 | 0:05:53 | |
-It's not the same. -But in the body they are not the same. | 0:05:53 | 0:05:57 | |
-Why are they different? -Because when you pass the sun... | 0:05:57 | 0:06:00 | |
-It's the same? -Yes. | 0:06:00 | 0:06:02 | |
If I go in the sun I get really, really burnt. | 0:06:02 | 0:06:04 | |
The sun is really bad for my skin. | 0:06:04 | 0:06:07 | |
Just like these guys. Exactly the same. | 0:06:07 | 0:06:10 | |
Yes, because of the eyes... | 0:06:10 | 0:06:14 | |
You see my eyes? Yeah. | 0:06:14 | 0:06:15 | |
Tell me about my eyes. | 0:06:15 | 0:06:17 | |
-It's different. -It's different? | 0:06:17 | 0:06:19 | |
Yes. | 0:06:19 | 0:06:22 | |
-No, not different. -Yes, it's different. Don't you see it is different? | 0:06:22 | 0:06:25 | |
Bye-bye! Bye-bye. | 0:06:30 | 0:06:33 | |
Come on, let's go. | 0:06:33 | 0:06:35 | |
'Having no melanin means that the back of our eyes cannot focus on | 0:06:35 | 0:06:39 | |
'long distances, so it's difficult to see things like the blackboard. | 0:06:39 | 0:06:43 | |
'Today, I'm going with Dixon and the other children with albinism at his | 0:06:45 | 0:06:49 | |
'school to an eye clinic to see whether they can get any help.' | 0:06:49 | 0:06:52 | |
Let's see. | 0:06:55 | 0:06:57 | |
Let's go over this way. | 0:07:15 | 0:07:16 | |
Are we good? | 0:07:18 | 0:07:19 | |
'Tanzania has no NHS, | 0:07:22 | 0:07:24 | |
'so these children must rely on NGOs for their eye care.' | 0:07:24 | 0:07:27 | |
So, here we are. | 0:07:27 | 0:07:29 | |
'Although the government has provided the venue.' | 0:07:30 | 0:07:33 | |
What's your name? | 0:07:35 | 0:07:36 | |
-Dixon. -Dixon? | 0:07:36 | 0:07:37 | |
-Dixon. -Dixon. -Dixon. | 0:07:37 | 0:07:39 | |
You've got to be loud, strong. | 0:07:39 | 0:07:41 | |
Have your card and then join the queue. | 0:07:43 | 0:07:45 | |
Shall we get in the queue? | 0:07:45 | 0:07:49 | |
Thanks. | 0:07:49 | 0:07:50 | |
Sorry. | 0:07:53 | 0:07:54 | |
Are you all right? | 0:07:54 | 0:07:55 | |
You OK? | 0:07:55 | 0:07:58 | |
Cos it's hard to see, isn't it? | 0:07:58 | 0:08:00 | |
I hate it because it's embarrassing when I do things like that. | 0:08:00 | 0:08:03 | |
-Do you feel embarrassed? -Yes. | 0:08:03 | 0:08:05 | |
My heart just completely went out to him, | 0:08:13 | 0:08:15 | |
because I can completely relate to that feeling of embarrassment when | 0:08:15 | 0:08:20 | |
you are trying to just be normal and then you do something | 0:08:20 | 0:08:24 | |
and you fall over and you trip up. | 0:08:24 | 0:08:27 | |
You just feel really stupid, | 0:08:31 | 0:08:32 | |
you just want the world to swallow you up and take you away. | 0:08:32 | 0:08:35 | |
And he did that, but we had a chat about it, which was really nice. | 0:08:35 | 0:08:39 | |
How are you doing? All right? | 0:08:39 | 0:08:42 | |
'Everyone here will have their eyes tested.' | 0:08:44 | 0:08:46 | |
Can you try this one? | 0:08:46 | 0:08:47 | |
'But only some will qualify for the prescription glasses.' | 0:08:47 | 0:08:50 | |
This one? Very good. | 0:08:50 | 0:08:52 | |
Where did you get to? Here goes, Dixon. | 0:08:52 | 0:08:56 | |
'This vision programme will only reach about 1,000, | 0:08:56 | 0:08:59 | |
'or 12% of albino children.' | 0:08:59 | 0:09:02 | |
Can you see me any better? | 0:09:02 | 0:09:04 | |
'So, Dixon is one of the lucky ones.' | 0:09:04 | 0:09:06 | |
Saw yourself. | 0:09:06 | 0:09:07 | |
Awesome! | 0:09:07 | 0:09:09 | |
THEY SING | 0:09:09 | 0:09:12 | |
I've never seen so many albino people in one place. | 0:09:15 | 0:09:20 | |
There is such a sense of happiness, as well. | 0:09:20 | 0:09:23 | |
Nobody here is feeling sorry for themselves. | 0:09:23 | 0:09:27 | |
I can completely relate to that and I think, you know, good for them. | 0:09:27 | 0:09:32 | |
'But even in the upbeat atmosphere of this clinic, | 0:09:32 | 0:09:35 | |
'some of the conversations hint at the darker side of albinism in Tanzania.' | 0:09:35 | 0:09:39 | |
No. No. None. | 0:09:45 | 0:09:47 | |
I would say, yeah, equal. | 0:09:52 | 0:09:53 | |
In England there are much less people with albinism | 0:09:53 | 0:09:57 | |
than there are in Tanzania. | 0:09:57 | 0:09:59 | |
It's believed that the smaller gene pool in parts of Tanzania is one | 0:10:02 | 0:10:05 | |
reason for the high rates of albinism. | 0:10:05 | 0:10:08 | |
Being an albino in Britain, where lots of people are fair-skinned, | 0:10:11 | 0:10:15 | |
means my condition mostly goes unnoticed. | 0:10:15 | 0:10:18 | |
But being so pale in a country where almost everyone is black, | 0:10:21 | 0:10:24 | |
means you really stand out. | 0:10:24 | 0:10:26 | |
That difference has led to prejudice against albinos. | 0:10:28 | 0:10:31 | |
And fuelled superstitious beliefs that have existed for generations. | 0:10:31 | 0:10:35 | |
Have you ever heard anything bad about people with albinism? | 0:10:36 | 0:10:39 | |
Why have they been excluded? | 0:10:43 | 0:10:45 | |
Have you ever met anybody who says bad things about people with albinism? | 0:10:52 | 0:10:56 | |
And what sort of things would they say? | 0:10:58 | 0:10:59 | |
Is it something people talk openly about, | 0:11:20 | 0:11:22 | |
or do you think people are scared to say these things even though they | 0:11:22 | 0:11:25 | |
still believe them? | 0:11:25 | 0:11:26 | |
Do people have names for people with albinism? | 0:11:33 | 0:11:36 | |
As outrageous as it seems, | 0:11:48 | 0:11:49 | |
the belief that minerals from an albino's body bring wealth has led | 0:11:49 | 0:11:53 | |
people to kill or mutilate them for their body parts. | 0:11:53 | 0:11:56 | |
Since 2006, local charities have recorded 170 attacks, | 0:11:59 | 0:12:04 | |
70 of which were fatal. | 0:12:04 | 0:12:06 | |
To find out more about these brutal acts I've come to Mwanza city in the | 0:12:08 | 0:12:12 | |
north of Tanzania. | 0:12:12 | 0:12:13 | |
This region is known as the Lake zone. | 0:12:15 | 0:12:17 | |
There have been more attacks against people with albinism here than | 0:12:17 | 0:12:21 | |
anywhere else in Tanzania. | 0:12:21 | 0:12:22 | |
I mean, of course, people are hurt in wars, and in accidents, | 0:12:35 | 0:12:41 | |
but you don't very often meet people who have been actually attacked just | 0:12:41 | 0:12:46 | |
because of their genetic condition. | 0:12:46 | 0:12:49 | |
Especially not one that you have yourself. | 0:12:51 | 0:12:53 | |
Children are particularly vulnerable, | 0:12:54 | 0:12:57 | |
and I'm on my way to meet 15-year-old Festo, | 0:12:57 | 0:12:59 | |
who was attacked at the age of seven. | 0:12:59 | 0:13:01 | |
Hi. Are you Festo? | 0:13:03 | 0:13:05 | |
When you're in your classes, do you always sit at the front? | 0:13:08 | 0:13:11 | |
-Yes. -This is your desk? | 0:13:11 | 0:13:13 | |
Yes. | 0:13:13 | 0:13:14 | |
So that you can see the board? | 0:13:14 | 0:13:16 | |
Yes. | 0:13:16 | 0:13:18 | |
I used to do exactly the same in my classes. | 0:13:18 | 0:13:20 | |
Madame Molly is Festo's teacher and guardian. | 0:13:23 | 0:13:25 | |
The mother was in the kitchen preparing the evening meal, | 0:13:26 | 0:13:30 | |
it was not late in the night. | 0:13:30 | 0:13:32 | |
It was around 7pm in the evening. | 0:13:32 | 0:13:37 | |
And while the mother was preparing supper for the other children, | 0:13:37 | 0:13:42 | |
a group of men came in. | 0:13:42 | 0:13:44 | |
He didn't tell me the exact number of the attackers, | 0:13:44 | 0:13:47 | |
but there were more than four. | 0:13:47 | 0:13:48 | |
-That is what he's told me. -Lots of people? -Yeah, there were lots of people. | 0:13:48 | 0:13:51 | |
He just saw people coming in with machetes, | 0:13:51 | 0:13:54 | |
and before he could have a second look at them, they had had already | 0:13:54 | 0:13:57 | |
cut one of his arms, the fingers, the teeth. | 0:13:57 | 0:14:00 | |
They must be so sharp and aggressive, | 0:14:00 | 0:14:03 | |
to use a knife to chop off an arm is not... | 0:14:03 | 0:14:06 | |
This is now a panga, not a knife. | 0:14:06 | 0:14:09 | |
So the blunt part, that is not sharpened. | 0:14:09 | 0:14:12 | |
They just weakened the mouth by hitting him hard and all the teeth were out. | 0:14:12 | 0:14:18 | |
In fact he was cut, part of the lower part of the mouth. | 0:14:18 | 0:14:23 | |
And do they specifically want the teeth? | 0:14:23 | 0:14:25 | |
Yeah! | 0:14:25 | 0:14:27 | |
It is something that is valuable, according to them. | 0:14:27 | 0:14:30 | |
'After the attack Festo spent four months in hospital.' | 0:14:30 | 0:14:34 | |
What do people think about people with albinism in Tanzania? | 0:14:34 | 0:14:38 | |
-They think they'll get money? -Yes. | 0:14:44 | 0:14:45 | |
-That's crazy. -Yes. | 0:14:47 | 0:14:50 | |
And why do they think that? | 0:14:50 | 0:14:51 | |
So the witch doctors tell the people | 0:15:01 | 0:15:04 | |
-to go and attack people with albinism? -Yes. | 0:15:04 | 0:15:08 | |
'Madame Molly has made sure that Festo can lead as normal a life as possible. | 0:15:11 | 0:15:16 | |
'Surgeons attached one of his toes to his remaining hand so he could still use it.' | 0:15:18 | 0:15:26 | |
MUSIC: La Difference By Salif Keita | 0:15:26 | 0:15:29 | |
He does it. It's his problem every day, so when he dropped his pencil, | 0:15:57 | 0:16:01 | |
he knows how to get it, of course, | 0:16:01 | 0:16:02 | |
he doesn't sit there and let everything fall apart around him. | 0:16:02 | 0:16:05 | |
He has his mechanism for holding the pencils, and wiping his brow, and... | 0:16:05 | 0:16:09 | |
That is how it is for him, he's just battling on regardless. | 0:16:11 | 0:16:14 | |
It's heartbreaking, really, to see | 0:16:50 | 0:16:53 | |
what's happened. | 0:16:53 | 0:16:55 | |
But heart-warming to see where he's going, and how he is now. | 0:16:55 | 0:17:00 | |
Wow! | 0:17:06 | 0:17:07 | |
Yeah. | 0:17:09 | 0:17:10 | |
That is amazing! | 0:17:10 | 0:17:12 | |
There is clearly evil at work, | 0:17:14 | 0:17:16 | |
which is so entrenched in beliefs that they think it's OK to do that. | 0:17:16 | 0:17:21 | |
But when you see him, you see the future. | 0:17:22 | 0:17:27 | |
Just by being how he is already, | 0:17:27 | 0:17:29 | |
he's such a powerful advocate for coming through horror and getting | 0:17:29 | 0:17:33 | |
out the other side. And it doesn't matter whether that's albinism or anything, | 0:17:33 | 0:17:37 | |
I mean, he's a kid, isn't he? | 0:17:37 | 0:17:40 | |
And he's got, | 0:17:40 | 0:17:42 | |
basically, no hands, no vision, really pale skin, | 0:17:42 | 0:17:47 | |
and he lives in Africa. | 0:17:48 | 0:17:50 | |
And thank God he's at a very nice school, | 0:17:50 | 0:17:51 | |
with very nice teachers and friends around him. | 0:17:51 | 0:17:54 | |
Congratulations. | 0:17:54 | 0:17:56 | |
That is great, Festo. | 0:17:56 | 0:17:57 | |
Tomorrow, you'll drink another soda. | 0:17:57 | 0:17:59 | |
-Yes. -And biscuits. | 0:17:59 | 0:18:00 | |
You always get that from me for good work done. | 0:18:00 | 0:18:03 | |
The other guys were saying that Festo's the best at school art | 0:18:03 | 0:18:06 | |
-in the whole school. -In drawing? | 0:18:06 | 0:18:08 | |
-Yeah. -The best! -Really? | 0:18:08 | 0:18:10 | |
-Thank you. -Thank you. | 0:18:10 | 0:18:11 | |
-Yeah? -Yes. | 0:18:11 | 0:18:13 | |
It's hard to understand how anyone could cut the limbs off children like Festo. | 0:18:17 | 0:18:21 | |
But it seems that witch doctors are behind the attacks. | 0:18:25 | 0:18:28 | |
Paulina Alex runs a charity which supports albino families affected | 0:18:31 | 0:18:36 | |
by violence. | 0:18:36 | 0:18:38 | |
She's taking me on a walk through town to explain how the trade in | 0:18:38 | 0:18:41 | |
body parts works. | 0:18:41 | 0:18:43 | |
Our priority is people with albinism. | 0:18:45 | 0:18:48 | |
Actually, in Tanzania, there are so many things which are taking place, | 0:18:50 | 0:18:54 | |
including the wrong belief that if you have a body part of persons with | 0:18:54 | 0:19:00 | |
albinism, and you mix it with some medicine, you will become rich. | 0:19:00 | 0:19:06 | |
Right. And who spreads those beliefs? | 0:19:06 | 0:19:08 | |
Actually, witchcraft are the ones who are spreading this wrong belief. | 0:19:09 | 0:19:16 | |
-So, they're the witch doctors? -The witch doctors. | 0:19:16 | 0:19:19 | |
So, people are buying these potions then? | 0:19:19 | 0:19:21 | |
-Yes. -And how much would a potion cost? | 0:19:21 | 0:19:25 | |
-It is a lot of money. -Like...? | 0:19:25 | 0:19:27 | |
Starting from 20 million Tanzanian shillings and above. | 0:19:27 | 0:19:32 | |
How many dollars is that? | 0:19:32 | 0:19:34 | |
Like, US10,000 and above, so it's a lot of money. | 0:19:36 | 0:19:44 | |
So it's like, £6,000 or £7,000. | 0:19:44 | 0:19:48 | |
-Exactly. -For a little bit of potion. | 0:19:48 | 0:19:50 | |
Sure. | 0:19:50 | 0:19:51 | |
'The average wage in Tanzania is only £60 a month.' | 0:19:52 | 0:19:57 | |
And it's a weird question to ask, but, like, a hand or a body part, | 0:19:57 | 0:20:01 | |
how much would somebody get for that? | 0:20:01 | 0:20:03 | |
According to what I have been hearing from other people, | 0:20:06 | 0:20:09 | |
it depends on the body part you have. | 0:20:09 | 0:20:13 | |
If you have a leg, | 0:20:13 | 0:20:15 | |
it means the price is higher. | 0:20:15 | 0:20:17 | |
-Because there's more? -Yeah, it's more. | 0:20:17 | 0:20:20 | |
If you have a hand, the price is a little bit cheap. | 0:20:20 | 0:20:24 | |
-Less? -Yes. -It's crazy, isn't it? | 0:20:24 | 0:20:28 | |
-Mad. Don't you think? -Yeah, sure, sure. | 0:20:28 | 0:20:32 | |
And then who buys the potions? | 0:20:32 | 0:20:34 | |
The businessmen are buying this. | 0:20:35 | 0:20:38 | |
The miners are the ones | 0:20:38 | 0:20:40 | |
who are buying. Fishers. So, there are so many people. | 0:20:40 | 0:20:45 | |
And sometimes, they are mentioning some politicians. | 0:20:45 | 0:20:50 | |
Some politicians buy them as well? | 0:20:50 | 0:20:52 | |
-Yeah. -'NGO research suggests that the rate of attacks against albinos | 0:20:52 | 0:20:57 | |
'increases just before an election. | 0:20:57 | 0:20:59 | |
'It's alleged that even some politicians believe albino potions | 0:20:59 | 0:21:03 | |
'will help them gain power. | 0:21:03 | 0:21:05 | |
'But even though the past decade has seen a sharp spike in the number of attacks | 0:21:05 | 0:21:08 | |
'being reported, Paulina believes the violence may have been going on for much longer.' | 0:21:08 | 0:21:14 | |
And I remember when I was a child, | 0:21:14 | 0:21:17 | |
my grandma used to tell me that people with albinism, they don't die. | 0:21:17 | 0:21:22 | |
They normally disappear. | 0:21:22 | 0:21:24 | |
-Really? -So when I recall back, | 0:21:24 | 0:21:27 | |
it means that the killing of people with albinism started a long time ago. | 0:21:27 | 0:21:33 | |
How can you say that someone is disappearing? | 0:21:33 | 0:21:36 | |
I see what you mean. | 0:21:36 | 0:21:38 | |
Instead of dying. | 0:21:38 | 0:21:39 | |
So, yeah, maybe they were even being killed then. | 0:21:39 | 0:21:43 | |
-Yeah. -So it's a very, kind of, ancient tradition. | 0:21:43 | 0:21:46 | |
Yeah, sure. | 0:21:46 | 0:21:47 | |
It's estimated that 60% of Tanzanians believe in witchcraft. | 0:21:57 | 0:22:01 | |
The use of so-called traditional healers has been part of the culture for generations. | 0:22:02 | 0:22:07 | |
As a doctor, it's hard to understand how these beliefs could still play | 0:22:08 | 0:22:12 | |
such a powerful role in society, especially when they lead to murder. | 0:22:12 | 0:22:16 | |
'But a prominent local healer has agreed to explain more. | 0:22:19 | 0:22:22 | |
'If I can find him.' | 0:22:22 | 0:22:24 | |
It definitely feels like the traditional healer is | 0:22:24 | 0:22:27 | |
kind of hidden away round the back of the village. | 0:22:27 | 0:22:31 | |
It's right, kind of, in the woods, isn't it? | 0:22:41 | 0:22:43 | |
I guess there's lots of herbs around. | 0:22:43 | 0:22:46 | |
We haven't seen anybody with albinism anywhere nearby. | 0:22:52 | 0:22:55 | |
Which is probably for the best, isn't it? | 0:22:55 | 0:22:57 | |
It's me! | 0:22:59 | 0:23:01 | |
HE SPEAKS SWAHILI Hello. | 0:23:06 | 0:23:11 | |
HE SPEAKS SWAHILI | 0:23:11 | 0:23:14 | |
Oscar. | 0:23:14 | 0:23:15 | |
And how do you know all about the different herbs? How do you learn that? | 0:23:16 | 0:23:19 | |
But how did you learn? Did you learn it in school? | 0:23:30 | 0:23:32 | |
How do you know the science? | 0:23:32 | 0:23:35 | |
So if I became a traditional healer I could have saved a lot of time at university. | 0:23:40 | 0:23:45 | |
And so what is this herb? | 0:24:10 | 0:24:12 | |
What does it help with? | 0:24:12 | 0:24:14 | |
What's it for? | 0:24:14 | 0:24:15 | |
Asante. | 0:24:39 | 0:24:40 | |
HEALER LAUGHS | 0:24:40 | 0:24:42 | |
So, you are a traditional healer, is that different to a witch doctor? | 0:24:45 | 0:24:49 | |
After the attacks started coming to light, | 0:25:25 | 0:25:27 | |
the Tanzanian government decided to regulate traditional healers. | 0:25:27 | 0:25:31 | |
In order to practise legally, you now need to be licensed, | 0:25:32 | 0:25:35 | |
and Mr Bujukano is working with the police in an attempt to root out the | 0:25:35 | 0:25:39 | |
violent witchdoctors. | 0:25:39 | 0:25:41 | |
Before I leave, I wonder whether there's anything he can do for me. | 0:25:42 | 0:25:46 | |
Thank you, thank you. | 0:26:23 | 0:26:25 | |
That's lovely. | 0:26:25 | 0:26:26 | |
HEALER LAUGHS | 0:26:26 | 0:26:29 | |
It's, for me, not something I would be paying any money for. | 0:26:32 | 0:26:36 | |
For bringing a gift, as he likes to call it. | 0:26:36 | 0:26:39 | |
But... | 0:26:41 | 0:26:43 | |
it is part of their culture, and he's obviously a prominent, | 0:26:43 | 0:26:47 | |
relatively wealthy member of that village society, | 0:26:47 | 0:26:49 | |
so he is listened to. | 0:26:50 | 0:26:52 | |
And you can see how if somebody like him went off the rails and decided | 0:26:52 | 0:26:57 | |
that they wanted to use people with albinism in their potions, that, probably, | 0:26:57 | 0:27:01 | |
people in the community would go with it. | 0:27:01 | 0:27:03 | |
Especially if there was a big financial reward behind it. | 0:27:03 | 0:27:06 | |
So, they have a lot of power, I would say. | 0:27:06 | 0:27:09 | |
As well as cracking down on witchdoctors, | 0:27:21 | 0:27:24 | |
the Tanzanian government has tried to safeguard children with albinism | 0:27:24 | 0:27:27 | |
by offering those in high-risk areas somewhere else to live. | 0:27:27 | 0:27:31 | |
'Many have been placed by their families in secure residential centres | 0:27:31 | 0:27:35 | |
'called protectorates.' | 0:27:35 | 0:27:38 | |
We are following a member of the Tanzanian Albinism Society, | 0:27:38 | 0:27:41 | |
and as you can see, we can't see really, it's just a dirt track, | 0:27:41 | 0:27:45 | |
lots of dust coming off the Jeep in front. | 0:27:45 | 0:27:48 | |
Hello. | 0:27:51 | 0:27:52 | |
Charles and Kulwa had to flee their home four years ago, | 0:27:52 | 0:27:56 | |
and put their two children into one of the centres. | 0:27:56 | 0:27:59 | |
Since then, they've had three more. | 0:28:00 | 0:28:02 | |
Asante... | 0:28:04 | 0:28:05 | |
I was too slow. | 0:28:08 | 0:28:10 | |
And these are your children as well? | 0:28:10 | 0:28:13 | |
-What's your name? -Peter. | 0:28:13 | 0:28:15 | |
Peter. Nice to meet you, Peter. | 0:28:15 | 0:28:17 | |
Can I have a hug? How are you? | 0:28:18 | 0:28:23 | |
You're adorable, aren't you? | 0:28:23 | 0:28:24 | |
Aw. Cool. | 0:28:27 | 0:28:29 | |
-And who's this? -Salma. -Salma? | 0:28:29 | 0:28:31 | |
-Salma. -And how old's Salma? | 0:28:31 | 0:28:33 | |
'As both Charles and his wife are albino, | 0:28:38 | 0:28:40 | |
'any children they have will always have albinism.' | 0:28:40 | 0:28:44 | |
So, two of your children are in the protectorate centre. | 0:28:44 | 0:28:48 | |
How safe is it for you all living in the village here? | 0:28:48 | 0:28:51 | |
So you had to leave the village that you've lived in for how many years? | 0:29:03 | 0:29:07 | |
Wow, so you lived there for your whole life, until four years ago? | 0:29:19 | 0:29:23 | |
And would you ever want to bring your other two children back home? | 0:29:24 | 0:29:28 | |
Has Mummy been to see her other children in Buhangija recently? | 0:29:37 | 0:29:41 | |
If Charles wants to see his children, | 0:29:53 | 0:29:55 | |
it's two hours each way on public transport. | 0:29:55 | 0:29:58 | |
He can only travel when he can afford it. | 0:29:59 | 0:30:02 | |
The tiny wage he earns from fetching water means the £2 bus fair is | 0:30:02 | 0:30:06 | |
usually out of his reach. | 0:30:06 | 0:30:07 | |
'The last time Charles saw his children was four months ago.' | 0:30:10 | 0:30:13 | |
Here we are. | 0:30:15 | 0:30:16 | |
'There are nine protectorate centres like this across Tanzania. | 0:30:21 | 0:30:26 | |
'Since 2006, | 0:30:26 | 0:30:27 | |
'more than 500 children aged from three to 18 have been hidden away | 0:30:27 | 0:30:32 | |
'behind high walls and barbed wire. | 0:30:32 | 0:30:34 | |
'Nobody can go inside without permission from the government | 0:30:36 | 0:30:40 | |
'and it's guarded 24 hours a day.' | 0:30:40 | 0:30:43 | |
Shoma. | 0:30:45 | 0:30:47 | |
Hi, Shoma. | 0:30:47 | 0:30:48 | |
How old are you, Shoma? | 0:30:48 | 0:30:51 | |
-TRANSLATOR: -I'm ten years old. | 0:30:51 | 0:30:54 | |
And who's this, Shoma? | 0:30:54 | 0:30:56 | |
Is this your teacher? | 0:30:56 | 0:30:57 | |
-Yeah. -And how many of the children with albinism who live here are able | 0:30:57 | 0:31:03 | |
-to go home? -Most of them remain here. | 0:31:03 | 0:31:07 | |
-Why is that? -Because they are being afraid. | 0:31:07 | 0:31:10 | |
Very minority parents come to visit their children. | 0:31:10 | 0:31:13 | |
So, Charles is unusual in that respect, then? | 0:31:13 | 0:31:15 | |
Yeah. | 0:31:15 | 0:31:16 | |
-He's good. -That is great. | 0:31:16 | 0:31:18 | |
So, this is your son, Charles? | 0:31:20 | 0:31:22 | |
Yeah. | 0:31:22 | 0:31:23 | |
So, he's been here since the age of four. | 0:31:23 | 0:31:25 | |
Not four, three years. | 0:31:25 | 0:31:27 | |
-Since the age of three? -Yeah. | 0:31:27 | 0:31:29 | |
OK. | 0:31:29 | 0:31:30 | |
And how do Charles' children cope when they see him and then he goes? | 0:31:34 | 0:31:39 | |
They feel it's so unfair. | 0:31:39 | 0:31:41 | |
They don't like it? | 0:31:41 | 0:31:43 | |
Everyone wants to stay with their parents, yeah? | 0:31:43 | 0:31:45 | |
-Yeah, of course. -Yes. | 0:31:45 | 0:31:47 | |
Could you imagine ever leaving your children like these parents have? | 0:31:47 | 0:31:52 | |
I can't leave my children. | 0:31:52 | 0:31:54 | |
To understand what life is like for the children here, | 0:31:59 | 0:32:02 | |
I need to speak to the headmaster. | 0:32:02 | 0:32:04 | |
Hello. My name is Saliman Shabani Kapanya. | 0:32:04 | 0:32:07 | |
Yeah, I'm a school headmaster in the centre as well. | 0:32:07 | 0:32:13 | |
So, you're in charge of the Buhangija protectorate centre? | 0:32:13 | 0:32:15 | |
Yeah, Buhangija as well. | 0:32:15 | 0:32:17 | |
It was special for the blind people. | 0:32:17 | 0:32:20 | |
It was always used for blind people? | 0:32:20 | 0:32:22 | |
Yes, before the killings of the albinos started. | 0:32:22 | 0:32:25 | |
Yeah, there was no fence, it was just open. | 0:32:25 | 0:32:28 | |
So, that's all been added in since the attacks happened? | 0:32:28 | 0:32:31 | |
Yeah. Yeah. | 0:32:31 | 0:32:33 | |
The problem we have is that the space is not enough. | 0:32:33 | 0:32:38 | |
Is the government helping you to increase that space? | 0:32:38 | 0:32:41 | |
Yes, they are trying to do that. | 0:32:41 | 0:32:43 | |
Do you ever do any trips to go out, to take them out of the centre? | 0:32:43 | 0:32:48 | |
Not more than... Sometimes we have people who are helping us, | 0:32:48 | 0:32:52 | |
they take them to several areas, but most of them, most of the time, | 0:32:52 | 0:32:57 | |
-they stay here. -Stay here? | 0:32:57 | 0:32:58 | |
Yeah. | 0:32:58 | 0:32:59 | |
This is the dormitory. | 0:33:01 | 0:33:05 | |
As you see. | 0:33:06 | 0:33:07 | |
What do you think are the psychological problems | 0:33:08 | 0:33:11 | |
-of living here for the children? -You see, living here, | 0:33:11 | 0:33:16 | |
from the morning you are here doing nothing, | 0:33:18 | 0:33:22 | |
especially for those who are not studying, you see. | 0:33:22 | 0:33:25 | |
They wake up in the morning, they stay here, you see, | 0:33:25 | 0:33:28 | |
they are not allowed to go outside, you see. | 0:33:28 | 0:33:32 | |
No places for sports or games. | 0:33:32 | 0:33:35 | |
They are there. So that's not good. | 0:33:36 | 0:33:40 | |
What do you think it says about the society in Tanzania that children | 0:33:40 | 0:33:44 | |
like this are forced into isolation? | 0:33:44 | 0:33:46 | |
I think the society has to understand that this is not a good thing. | 0:33:47 | 0:33:53 | |
That's the first thing. This is not a good thing, to isolate, | 0:33:53 | 0:33:57 | |
to segregate some people because of their skin colour. | 0:33:57 | 0:34:02 | |
You see, that's not good. | 0:34:02 | 0:34:04 | |
Do you think there's any progress towards that? | 0:34:04 | 0:34:06 | |
Yes. For almost a year now we have not received any new entrants. | 0:34:06 | 0:34:11 | |
-Really? -Yes. For almost a year now. | 0:34:12 | 0:34:15 | |
Yeah, no new entrants. | 0:34:15 | 0:34:17 | |
Do you think there will be a day when protectorate camps like Buhangija are closed down? | 0:34:17 | 0:34:22 | |
Yes. I'm hoping so. | 0:34:22 | 0:34:23 | |
We used to receive them every day, but now... | 0:34:23 | 0:34:28 | |
-It's settling down. -Yes. | 0:34:28 | 0:34:30 | |
That's really good to hear. | 0:34:30 | 0:34:31 | |
Thank you so much for talking to me. | 0:34:31 | 0:34:33 | |
'It makes you think about having albinism and | 0:34:33 | 0:34:36 | |
'bringing that forward and having children, | 0:34:38 | 0:34:40 | |
'and one of the things I've been | 0:34:40 | 0:34:41 | |
'really worried about is having a child with albinism | 0:34:41 | 0:34:44 | |
'and not wanting that.' | 0:34:44 | 0:34:45 | |
I still feel that I wouldn't choose to have a child with albinism, | 0:34:48 | 0:34:52 | |
but when you meet people like this, you can't help but feel, | 0:34:53 | 0:34:57 | |
in terms of what I would be able to offer to a child who had albinism | 0:35:00 | 0:35:05 | |
in my life, | 0:35:05 | 0:35:06 | |
they could have a fantastic life. | 0:35:07 | 0:35:09 | |
And that is so distant to what would happen if you had a child with | 0:35:10 | 0:35:17 | |
albinism in Tanzania. | 0:35:17 | 0:35:18 | |
It's awful to see small children separated from their families and kept | 0:35:27 | 0:35:31 | |
locked behind high walls to stop them from being murdered. | 0:35:31 | 0:35:34 | |
I want to know what the police are doing to catch the killers | 0:35:41 | 0:35:44 | |
and punish those involved in the trade. | 0:35:44 | 0:35:47 | |
I haven't really met anybody who is in charge or responsible for the | 0:35:47 | 0:35:52 | |
crimes that are happening to people with albinism. | 0:35:52 | 0:35:54 | |
It makes me feel really angry. | 0:35:54 | 0:35:58 | |
Everybody should have a right to have a just, fair life, | 0:35:58 | 0:36:04 | |
whether you're black, white or anything in between. | 0:36:05 | 0:36:07 | |
After some last-minute negotiation, | 0:36:10 | 0:36:12 | |
the acting commander of the police service in Mwanza | 0:36:12 | 0:36:15 | |
has agreed to meet me. | 0:36:15 | 0:36:16 | |
I'm hoping he'll be able to give me some answers. | 0:36:18 | 0:36:21 | |
My name is Agusta Sanga. | 0:36:23 | 0:36:25 | |
Very good to meet you, Mr Sanga. | 0:36:25 | 0:36:27 | |
For the time being, I am acting as the regional police commander. | 0:36:27 | 0:36:30 | |
-Excellent. -The commander is on vacation. | 0:36:30 | 0:36:32 | |
So you're in charge? | 0:36:32 | 0:36:34 | |
-Yes. -Excellent. | 0:36:34 | 0:36:35 | |
-You're welcome. -Very good to meet you, thank you. -Thank you very much, welcome. | 0:36:35 | 0:36:39 | |
Please. | 0:36:39 | 0:36:40 | |
Yes. You're welcome. | 0:36:42 | 0:36:44 | |
What are the challenges for you as police commander in fighting these | 0:36:44 | 0:36:47 | |
-sorts of crimes? -These particular crimes are done secretly, | 0:36:47 | 0:36:52 | |
completely secretly. Sometimes we find the members of the family, | 0:36:52 | 0:36:55 | |
so you investigate a case of which the members of the victim are involved, | 0:36:55 | 0:37:01 | |
it becomes very, very difficult. | 0:37:01 | 0:37:03 | |
So, the family members are conspirators in the case? | 0:37:03 | 0:37:06 | |
Yes. Of course, the locations of our area, this region is huge, | 0:37:06 | 0:37:11 | |
sometimes to reach every area where these people are, is a problem. | 0:37:11 | 0:37:17 | |
Sometimes they're hiding them in their areas locally, | 0:37:17 | 0:37:21 | |
so it's difficult for us to identify those areas and find someone that's | 0:37:21 | 0:37:25 | |
been killed. We see this as a crime, serious crime. | 0:37:25 | 0:37:29 | |
I had one case of 2008, a person has been sentenced to death, | 0:37:29 | 0:37:35 | |
he is waiting his punishment. | 0:37:35 | 0:37:37 | |
In Tanzania you still have the death penalty, is that right? | 0:37:37 | 0:37:40 | |
-Yes. That's right. -That would be for murder, would that? | 0:37:40 | 0:37:43 | |
-The person has been sentenced to death? -Yes, murder. | 0:37:43 | 0:37:45 | |
Since 2013 we have never had... | 0:37:47 | 0:37:49 | |
How many witchdoctors have you prosecuted? | 0:37:49 | 0:37:51 | |
Four or five. I can't tell the exact number. | 0:37:51 | 0:37:54 | |
Do you know roughly? | 0:37:54 | 0:37:55 | |
I remember two or three, because I was here for the last year, | 0:37:58 | 0:38:02 | |
two or three in Mwanza. | 0:38:02 | 0:38:04 | |
Has anybody in the whole of Tanzania ever been arrested for buying the potion itself? | 0:38:04 | 0:38:10 | |
I am not very sure, to speak of... | 0:38:11 | 0:38:14 | |
Sure. In Mwanza? | 0:38:14 | 0:38:16 | |
In Mwanza, I have never experienced that since I came here. | 0:38:16 | 0:38:20 | |
There is somebody at the top who's able to afford to buy these potions | 0:38:20 | 0:38:24 | |
for thousands of dollars, people have told me. | 0:38:24 | 0:38:27 | |
What should I say? | 0:38:27 | 0:38:31 | |
It's, in most cases, | 0:38:31 | 0:38:33 | |
in most cases those who are buying those ones... this is very, | 0:38:34 | 0:38:40 | |
very difficult, as I said. | 0:38:40 | 0:38:42 | |
It's something done in a very secret way. | 0:38:42 | 0:38:45 | |
So it sounds like you had a very big problem and the attacks have now | 0:38:46 | 0:38:51 | |
reduced, so things are getting better, | 0:38:51 | 0:38:52 | |
but you still think it's an ongoing problem. | 0:38:52 | 0:38:55 | |
There are still signs of people having this | 0:38:55 | 0:39:00 | |
local belief, but education has helped us much. | 0:39:00 | 0:39:04 | |
So, we are still working on it, to make sure, to eliminate it completely. | 0:39:04 | 0:39:09 | |
Thank you. | 0:39:11 | 0:39:13 | |
It gave me a lot more faith actually that stuff is being done. | 0:39:18 | 0:39:22 | |
It was slightly difficult to push him on the higher parts of society, | 0:39:22 | 0:39:28 | |
and, obviously, there is something high up which is fuelling this trade | 0:39:28 | 0:39:34 | |
in albino body parts, but then he didn't say it didn't happen, | 0:39:34 | 0:39:37 | |
he just said he had no evidence for that. | 0:39:37 | 0:39:39 | |
The Tanzanian government has taken steps to try and tackle the violence | 0:39:52 | 0:39:56 | |
against people with albinism | 0:39:56 | 0:39:57 | |
and although there's more to be done, | 0:39:58 | 0:40:00 | |
there hasn't been a murder reported for over a year. | 0:40:00 | 0:40:02 | |
'There's definitely a concerted effort to try and improve things | 0:40:08 | 0:40:11 | |
'for people with albinism.' | 0:40:11 | 0:40:12 | |
They still feel to me like a very repressed part of society. | 0:40:14 | 0:40:19 | |
I don't think you'd get many people with albinism saying they feel | 0:40:23 | 0:40:26 | |
completely safe in Tanzania. | 0:40:26 | 0:40:28 | |
The crackdown in Tanzania seems to have driven the problem over the border to Malawi. | 0:40:35 | 0:40:40 | |
In the past two years, there have been 65 attacks on people with albinism, | 0:40:42 | 0:40:47 | |
47 attempted abductions and a spate of brutal murders which have claimed | 0:40:47 | 0:40:51 | |
13 lives. | 0:40:51 | 0:40:52 | |
I've come to Malawi to try and speak to someone involved in this recent | 0:40:54 | 0:40:58 | |
wave of killings. | 0:40:58 | 0:40:59 | |
My guide here is Overstone, president of the Malawian Albino Association. | 0:41:12 | 0:41:17 | |
-Hello. -Hello, welcome. | 0:41:21 | 0:41:22 | |
I'm Oscar. | 0:41:22 | 0:41:24 | |
-I'm Overstone Kondowe. -Overstone. Very good to meet you. | 0:41:24 | 0:41:27 | |
Do you know why there was suddenly this spate of attacks? | 0:41:28 | 0:41:32 | |
There are some kind of thoughts, maybe from our neighbouring countries, | 0:41:32 | 0:41:37 | |
they have made their laws very strict for the witchdoctors, | 0:41:37 | 0:41:41 | |
then they have escaped from Tanzania, they are | 0:41:41 | 0:41:44 | |
in Malawi, they are doing the trade. | 0:41:44 | 0:41:46 | |
-They've been pushed out of other countries? -Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what we thought. | 0:41:46 | 0:41:49 | |
Then the problem's reared its head here. | 0:41:49 | 0:41:51 | |
Emigrated to our country. | 0:41:51 | 0:41:53 | |
Overstone is taking me to a remote village in a rural region called Ntcheu, | 0:41:54 | 0:41:59 | |
two hours outside the capital. | 0:41:59 | 0:42:01 | |
I've come to meet the family of Fletcher Masina, | 0:42:09 | 0:42:11 | |
an albino man who was murdered six months ago. | 0:42:11 | 0:42:14 | |
But first, Mr Zebra, the local English teacher, | 0:42:19 | 0:42:22 | |
wants to show me evidence that Fletcher's murder was just one in a series | 0:42:22 | 0:42:26 | |
of attacks against albinos in the village. | 0:42:26 | 0:42:28 | |
-This is a graveyard? -Yeah. | 0:42:32 | 0:42:34 | |
Gosh. | 0:42:45 | 0:42:46 | |
This belongs to a person who had albinism? | 0:42:48 | 0:42:50 | |
Yeah, that's it. | 0:42:50 | 0:42:52 | |
Right. | 0:42:59 | 0:43:00 | |
Yeah. Stealing someone who's already gone. | 0:43:08 | 0:43:10 | |
It's exactly true. | 0:43:10 | 0:43:11 | |
The targeting of people with albinism has shocked the whole community. | 0:43:17 | 0:43:20 | |
While I was looking at the open grave, | 0:43:22 | 0:43:24 | |
everybody's come out to see what's going on. | 0:43:24 | 0:43:26 | |
What are they saying to you, Overstone? | 0:43:26 | 0:43:27 | |
They are saying that they aren't happy with the killing of persons with albinism in the area, | 0:43:29 | 0:43:34 | |
especially the killing of Fletcher Masina is a very big concern to them. | 0:43:34 | 0:43:39 | |
Chikumbutso is Fletcher Masina's brother. | 0:43:39 | 0:43:43 | |
You must find it very hard to come here. | 0:44:00 | 0:44:02 | |
I'm sure. | 0:44:17 | 0:44:19 | |
And what would Fletcher have been doing here? | 0:44:19 | 0:44:22 | |
It's certainly a really, really beautiful spot, | 0:44:31 | 0:44:33 | |
but it's a long way from anything, isn't it? | 0:44:33 | 0:44:37 | |
We've walked a long way, it's very isolated. | 0:44:37 | 0:44:40 | |
And how would people have known he was here, | 0:44:53 | 0:44:56 | |
because it seems like an unusual place to find somebody? | 0:44:56 | 0:45:01 | |
And who was it who discovered Fletcher when he was killed here? | 0:45:15 | 0:45:19 | |
150 metres. | 0:45:30 | 0:45:32 | |
You said that there was some blood here and you found the body over there, | 0:45:34 | 0:45:38 | |
how was the body when you found it? | 0:45:38 | 0:45:40 | |
(Gosh.) | 0:46:12 | 0:46:13 | |
It's really...I think it's hard to put into words. | 0:46:24 | 0:46:28 | |
It's kind of like, | 0:46:28 | 0:46:30 | |
you meet the community and the family and they're basically just living a nightmare. | 0:46:30 | 0:46:35 | |
He was just sorting out his tomatoes and was killed in a brutal, brutal way. | 0:46:38 | 0:46:43 | |
Because he had albinism. | 0:46:45 | 0:46:47 | |
You know, if someone tells you don't step on the lines in the pavement | 0:46:51 | 0:46:55 | |
because of bad luck or if you break your mirror it's seven years bad luck, | 0:46:55 | 0:46:59 | |
those sorts of superstitions beliefs, you sort of have a | 0:46:59 | 0:47:04 | |
little bit of your mind which maybe thinks, maybe that is true, | 0:47:04 | 0:47:08 | |
maybe I shouldn't step on the cracks in the pavement. | 0:47:08 | 0:47:12 | |
But you'd never believe in something like that enough to allow it let you | 0:47:12 | 0:47:17 | |
kill somebody. | 0:47:17 | 0:47:19 | |
But obviously I don't have any superstitious beliefs which are as strong as the people here. | 0:47:21 | 0:47:26 | |
While superstition plays a big part in these murders, | 0:47:31 | 0:47:34 | |
there's got to be more to it than just blind faith. | 0:47:34 | 0:47:36 | |
Back in Lilongwe, | 0:47:40 | 0:47:41 | |
the chief advisor to the president has allowed me entry to the notorious | 0:47:41 | 0:47:45 | |
Maula prison. | 0:47:45 | 0:47:46 | |
I'm going to meet one of the people being held on remand for the murder of Fletcher Masina. | 0:47:47 | 0:47:53 | |
I'm finally able to go face-to-face with someone who can tell me why he | 0:47:56 | 0:48:01 | |
murdered an albino. | 0:48:01 | 0:48:02 | |
So, this is the prison? | 0:48:04 | 0:48:05 | |
Yes. | 0:48:05 | 0:48:07 | |
It doesn't look much like a prison, but this is the administrative quarters. | 0:48:15 | 0:48:20 | |
We're meeting in the deputy chief of the prison's office, | 0:48:21 | 0:48:25 | |
because they're not keen for us to see conditions inside the prison, | 0:48:25 | 0:48:29 | |
so we can't go into the cells or anything like that. | 0:48:29 | 0:48:31 | |
Hello. | 0:48:36 | 0:48:37 | |
-My name is Oscar. -Thank you, sir. | 0:48:38 | 0:48:41 | |
My name's Herbert. | 0:48:41 | 0:48:44 | |
I guess the first question has to be, | 0:48:44 | 0:48:48 | |
why did you murder somebody with albinism? | 0:48:48 | 0:48:52 | |
And did they promise you anything? | 0:48:59 | 0:49:03 | |
And how many people were with you? | 0:49:08 | 0:49:11 | |
And they promised each of you 40 million kwacha? | 0:49:13 | 0:49:16 | |
Do you mind telling me about what happened on the day of the murder? | 0:49:19 | 0:49:23 | |
And then? | 0:49:32 | 0:49:34 | |
I met with Fletcher's brother in the garden | 0:49:43 | 0:49:47 | |
where the murder happened | 0:49:47 | 0:49:50 | |
and he explained to me that Fletcher had had different bits of his body | 0:49:50 | 0:49:53 | |
cut off. Did you see that? | 0:49:53 | 0:49:56 | |
Why? | 0:50:09 | 0:50:11 | |
Do you think it's OK to kill somebody for money? | 0:50:30 | 0:50:33 | |
So why did you do it? | 0:50:38 | 0:50:41 | |
Do you believe in witchcraft? | 0:50:59 | 0:51:01 | |
Can I ask... | 0:51:06 | 0:51:07 | |
40 million kwacha, that's a lot of money. | 0:51:09 | 0:51:13 | |
How much money as a farmer would you have made in one year? | 0:51:13 | 0:51:16 | |
So what sort of person would have 40 million kwacha? | 0:51:31 | 0:51:34 | |
Did you receive any money at all for what you did? | 0:51:40 | 0:51:44 | |
Do you know how long you're likely to be in prison for? | 0:52:38 | 0:52:41 | |
Really... | 0:52:54 | 0:52:55 | |
Really shocking, actually. | 0:52:57 | 0:52:58 | |
And what happened... | 0:53:00 | 0:53:01 | |
It's not just a murder, it's like a mutilation. | 0:53:04 | 0:53:06 | |
There were hammers and sticks. | 0:53:06 | 0:53:09 | |
You can blame Satan all you want, but, yeah, | 0:53:09 | 0:53:12 | |
maybe it is kind of work of the devil, isn't it, | 0:53:12 | 0:53:14 | |
whatever your religious beliefs are, | 0:53:14 | 0:53:17 | |
but... | 0:53:17 | 0:53:19 | |
You know, it's not like they were possessed and made to do it. | 0:53:19 | 0:53:23 | |
They did it because they thought they could get money | 0:53:23 | 0:53:25 | |
and I find that disgusting. | 0:53:25 | 0:53:27 | |
Money seems to be the driving force behind this horrific trade in human | 0:53:41 | 0:53:45 | |
body parts. | 0:53:45 | 0:53:46 | |
I think it shows that life is very cheap. | 0:53:52 | 0:53:55 | |
The value on life is much less and I guess some of that comes from a | 0:53:55 | 0:53:59 | |
culture where people die at home around people, | 0:53:59 | 0:54:04 | |
life expectancy is shorter, | 0:54:04 | 0:54:06 | |
there is less provision to deal with disease and public health is at a | 0:54:06 | 0:54:10 | |
lower level than we'd see in Western Europe. | 0:54:10 | 0:54:15 | |
And it's really sad that people are prepared to kill and it's just a bit | 0:54:15 | 0:54:19 | |
more easy come, easy go, I think. | 0:54:19 | 0:54:21 | |
The attacks on people with albinism have brought international attention | 0:54:24 | 0:54:28 | |
and a proactive government response. | 0:54:28 | 0:54:31 | |
Now the albino population is being helped in other ways. | 0:54:31 | 0:54:34 | |
Standing Voice, a UK charity, | 0:54:34 | 0:54:37 | |
provides skin clinics like this one across Tanzania. | 0:54:37 | 0:54:40 | |
So before I say goodbye to East Africa, | 0:54:42 | 0:54:45 | |
I'm finally able to put my doctor's hat on again. | 0:54:45 | 0:54:48 | |
'People with albinism have no natural protection from the sun, | 0:54:59 | 0:55:02 | |
'so skin cancer is rife and only 2% currently live beyond the age of 40.' | 0:55:02 | 0:55:09 | |
Do you have any pain in your skin? | 0:55:09 | 0:55:11 | |
It's painful? | 0:55:12 | 0:55:13 | |
'Here the dermatologists offer free consultations and use cryotherapy to | 0:55:15 | 0:55:20 | |
'freeze off any suspicious growths.' | 0:55:20 | 0:55:23 | |
He's had some cryotherapy. | 0:55:30 | 0:55:32 | |
It's going to be a little bit... | 0:55:33 | 0:55:35 | |
It was really lovely to see that family with their cute little daughter who has albinism. | 0:55:40 | 0:55:45 | |
Her skin was immaculate. | 0:55:45 | 0:55:48 | |
She's living in Africa the whole time and they've been able to access | 0:55:48 | 0:55:52 | |
the skin clinics and have been given a sunscreen. | 0:55:52 | 0:55:56 | |
She doesn't expose her skin to the sunlight. | 0:55:56 | 0:55:58 | |
So when you examine her feet... | 0:55:58 | 0:56:01 | |
The mum puts it on twice a day, every single day. | 0:56:01 | 0:56:03 | |
That is a big commitment for any parent to have to do. | 0:56:03 | 0:56:07 | |
Great shoes. Ticklish? | 0:56:08 | 0:56:10 | |
Yeah. Well done, Mum. | 0:56:10 | 0:56:11 | |
Asante! | 0:56:11 | 0:56:13 | |
Keep up the good work! | 0:56:13 | 0:56:15 | |
'After some of the horror I've witnessed here, | 0:56:16 | 0:56:19 | |
'places like this give me a tiny glimpse of the change that might be possible. | 0:56:19 | 0:56:23 | |
'It's so lovely to see the little ones because they are so innocent. | 0:56:25 | 0:56:28 | |
'They're not affected by any stigmatisation and if there is stigmatisation,' | 0:56:28 | 0:56:32 | |
they just don't understand it at that stage. | 0:56:32 | 0:56:36 | |
So they, I guess, | 0:56:36 | 0:56:38 | |
represent a massive hope for the future and hopefully by the time | 0:56:38 | 0:56:43 | |
those little children are adults, | 0:56:43 | 0:56:46 | |
East Africa would've adapted to enable them to go hand-in-hand | 0:56:46 | 0:56:52 | |
and be equivalent citizens to anybody else in the country, | 0:56:52 | 0:56:56 | |
whether they have black skin or white skin. | 0:56:56 | 0:56:58 | |
And I'm heading back to England with a different outlook. | 0:57:06 | 0:57:09 | |
I definitely feel very proud of the people with albinism in Africa. | 0:57:12 | 0:57:16 | |
I'm not in their camp, | 0:57:17 | 0:57:19 | |
very, very luckily for me, | 0:57:20 | 0:57:22 | |
but I feel that they are very brave and amazing, really, | 0:57:22 | 0:57:28 | |
how well they survive, given the pressures that are on them. | 0:57:28 | 0:57:34 | |
And I think that probably helps me to feel a little bit prouder about having albinism myself. | 0:57:38 | 0:57:44 | |
I don't have anything to fear on a daily basis, | 0:57:44 | 0:57:46 | |
unless someone doesn't like this film! | 0:57:46 | 0:57:49 | |
And I think just the process | 0:57:51 | 0:57:56 | |
of talking about it so much has been helpful to me, | 0:57:56 | 0:58:00 | |
so maybe that's a bit selfish, but | 0:58:00 | 0:58:02 | |
I think perhaps by trying to help some of the people here in Africa, | 0:58:02 | 0:58:09 | |
I've helped myself a little bit, too. | 0:58:09 | 0:58:11 | |
Just to feel a little bit more | 0:58:13 | 0:58:16 | |
confident to stand up and say, "Yes, and so what?" | 0:58:16 | 0:58:19 |