Std 7 leavers with albinism fear going home

Hai. Standard Seven finalists who live with albinism have said they are wary of going back home because they cannot be sure they would be safe.

The children, who have just finished Standard Seven at St Francis of Assis Primary School here, said they fear leaving the safety of the boarding school and going back home because of persistent attacks on people living with albinism.

At least eight incidents of attempted attacks on them have been reported since January 2015.

Speaking on behalf of fellow learners during the 8th graduation ceremony at the school, Standard Seven pupil Merisa Barnabar urged the government to ensure the safety of people living with albinism in Tanzania so that they could live without fear.

St Francis school accommodates special needs students and normal pupils.

“I am thankful I completed my studies safely. However, I am wary of going back home because I do not know if I will survive for long. I am pleading with the government to ensure that we, people living with albinism, live safely wherever we are,” Barnabar said without revealing where in Tanzania he hails from.

Recently, two teenage sisters living with albinism were granted asylum in the US because their lives were in danger in Tanzania.

Tindi and Bibiana Mashamba had been in the US since 2015 but were staying using tourist visas, which were about to expire. The duo was flown to the US to enable Bibiana to be fitted with a prosthetic limb and fingers.

Bibiana has had her right leg and two fingers of the right arm chopped off in an attack in Mwanza Region in 2009 when she was 10-years-old. Her sister Tindi escaped the attack by hiding in a room.

Pupils remaining at St Francis requested well-wishers to provide them with sunscreens to protect their skins from sunrays.

The headmistress, Ms Maria Benadicta, said the school is in need of a dormitory for girl students with special needs. The school also needs at least three special education teachers.