Persuasive Essay On Albinos

When it comes to the topic of preventing hunting albinos for their “magical” body parts, most people would agree that albinos have the right to life just as anyone else does and should not go through the inhumane torture and death that their people deal with in Tanzania. Tanzania has the highest number of killings and attacks in Africa, and a majority of those deaths are albinos. “Albinism is a rare inherited condition that leads to a lack of pigment in the whole body” (Van Oot, Guarnieri). An albino must have recessive genes inherited from both parents. Albinism is a stable condition and has no impact on mental capacity, although, albinos are more prone to skin cancer and eyesight difficulty. While albinos are predominantly located in East Africa, “one in every 15,000 people” has the condition due to the fact that …show more content…
It is believed that the bodies of albinos contain magical powers, able to bring success and wealth. Witch doctors located in Tanzania use this superstition to hunt and kill an albino to use their bodies for potions. A witch doctor will hack body parts and organs to sell in the black market and consume. A single body part or organ of an albino would cost about $4,000, while a whole body would cost up to $75,000. Buyers are usually thought to be some of Tanzania’s richest and most powerful people, including politicians. In Tanzania, there have been seventy-four discovered deaths, fifty-nine survivors of attacks, and sixteen graves robbed for their bones. It is difficult for the police to find the dead due to the lack of evidence, since the bodies are melted into a potion. Albinos are not registered at birth and do not have any official civil status in Tanzania; therefore, it is as if albinos do not die, they just vanish. To alleviate the situation, many people consider bringing as many albinos out of Tanzania, or even Africa, since government does not take enough