Albino Children Who Were Attacked For Body Parts Set To Return Home From US.

"Emmanuel can recount his ordeal in hesitant English but
has a severe speech impediment. His attackers chopped off
one arm and the fingers of the other and tried to pull out his
tongue and teeth."

Shy, soft-spoken Mwigulu Magesa, missing an arm from a
brutal attack in Tanzania where albinos are targeted for their
body parts, wants to be president some day and knows
exactly what he will do when he takes office.

If someone does such a thing like chopping a body part
of a person with albinism or killing a person with albinism,
he is sentenced to death the same day, the 12-year-old boy
said in Swahili through an interpreter.
"By hanging them," he added in a stronger voice.
For now, Mwigulu’s days are filled with more cheery
thoughts as he and three other Tanzanian children wrap up
a summer in New York being fitted with prosthetic limbs and
learning the simple childhood joys of splashing in a pool
and playing backyard soccer.

But in the next few days Mwigulu, along with Pendo Noni,
15, Emmanuel Rutema, 13, and 5-year-old Baraka Lusambo
will return to Tanzania, where people with albinism live in
danger.
Albino body parts are highly valued in witchcraft and can
fetch a high price. Superstition leads many to believe albino
children are ghosts who bring bad luck.

Some believe the limbs are more potent if the victims
scream during amputation, according to a 2013 United
Nations report.
Albinism is a congenital disorder affecting about one in
20,000 people worldwide who lack pigment in their skin, hair
and eyes. It is more common in sub-Saharan Africa and
affects about one Tanzanian in 1,400.

United Nations officials estimate about 75 albinos have been
killed in the east African nation since 2000 and have voiced
fears of rising attacks ahead of this year’s election, as
politicians seek good luck charms from witch doctors.
The government has banned witch doctors to stop the body
parts trade but when these children go home, they face a
future that can be bleak.

They may attend schools deemed “safe” but may live in one
of a handful of government centers plagued by
overcrowding, food shortages and little opportunity to work,
said Ester Rwela, a social
worker with Under the Same Sun, a charity that advocates
for people with albinism.
The Canada-based charity works to provide protection,
support and education for people with albinism.
Rwela accompanied the children to New York, where they
have been cared for by Elissa Montanti, founder of the
Global Medical Relief Fund which aids children injured in
disaster or conflict.

The Fund has helped nearly 200 severely injured children
and, while she has bid sad farewells to them all, the little
ones from Tanzania have really touched her, she said.

"War is one thing, stepping on a land mine is one thing,”
Montanti said. “But this is so deliberate. It is one human to
another, causing such incredible pain that I can’t
comprehend it."

The children have been shielded as much as possible from
harsh truths, spared news of other attacks and the
disadvantages and discrimination that lie ahead, Montanti
said.
Baraka, for one, does not know his father is accused of
involvement in his attack six months ago and is under arrest
in Tanzania.
Many attacks on albino children involve parents or close
relatives, Rwela said.

Emmanuel can recount his ordeal in hesitant English but has
a severe speech impediment. His attackers chopped off one
arm and the fingers of the other and tried to pull out his
tongue and teeth.

He stutters as he describes the attack by strangers wielding
machetes and a hammer as he played outside. He spent five
months recovering in a local hospital.
Courtesy of the Philadelphia Shriners Hospital for Children,
he has been fitted with a hook for one arm and a toe was
grafted on his other arm to help form a grip.
Like many with albinism, Emmanuel has poor vision. He
holds books and papers inches from his face as he reads
and helps Baraka practice writing his name in block letters.
Montanti said she made sure their time in America was filled
with good memories as the children, sensitive to light,
donned sunglasses, hats and plenty of sunscreen to play in
the sun.

Mwigulu piped up that his favorite pastime was swimming,
and Baraka lost his first baby tooth.
Emmanuel, blushing as the others giggled, said he liked
seeing the topless women in Times Square who pose for
pictures and solicit tips.

"They’ve had a wonderful summer," Montanti said. "It’s
safe, with a lot of love, activities and a lot of laughing."

Source: Reuters

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