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The head of the Somali Albino Association, Mohamed Abukar Abdiqadir, with his children
Item information
- Author: Naciima Saed Salah
- Roll, for BBC News from Mogadishu
September 5, 2023
25yearold Elmi Bile Mohamed speaks about the suffering of being an albino in Somalia and tells of a terrible stigma. “People tell me I’m a cannibal and will eat their children.”
Since Mohamed left his home in the Hiraan region, he has had difficulty finding an apartment in the state capital Mogadishu. His siblings also suffer from this disease.
“We were constantly insulted and tortured by our community. We were beaten and ridiculed because of the light color of our skin, hair and eyes,” he says.
“I thought I would find a better life in Mogadishu, but I was wrong.”
Mohamed searched a lot for a room in a shared apartment, but was always rejected.
He ended up paying US$30 (R149) a month to live in a warehouse in the Hamar Weyne district, in the oldest part of the city.
“People think I’m cursed,” he says. “They often throw a mixture of salt water and raw eggs at my door because they think it will protect them from me.”
Mohamed eventually found a job as a cleaner in a restaurant, earning between $1.40 and $4 a day.
He was fired after customers stopped eating there because they feared he would infect them with albinism, even though it is not a contagious disease but a genetic condition.
“I went from restaurant to restaurant looking for another job, but no one wanted to hire me,” he says. “I ended up begging on the street and holding up a sign with my phone number so people could donate via mobile payments.”
The money he earns from begging is rarely enough to cover his meals and rent, not to mention the sunscreen and glasses he needs to protect his sensitive skin and eyes.
People with albinism have little or no melanin, the pigment that gives color to eyes, hair and skin and protects from the sun.
“I don’t have money to buy sunglasses,” says Mohamed. “The market where I am asking for money has a lot of dust and very polluting traffic. My eyes hurt constantly and my vision is rapidly failing.”
“Sometimes people give me leftover food. Sometimes I have nothing.”
Mohamed’s dreams of escaping to Mogadishu to earn money to send to his family, especially his albino brothers, were dashed.
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Elmi Bile Mohamed says he was constantly bullied in the community where he grew up
“The reason for hate is ignorance”
It is unknown how many people with albinism live in Somalia as no data is available.
The country has been mired in conflict and instability for more than three decades, making it impossible to obtain reliable information.
Earlier this year, around 80 families living with albinism in Mogadishu came together to form the Somali Albinos Association to raise awareness of their situation and help reduce stigma.
So far they have received 86 bottles of sunscreen from Somali women living in other countries.
People with albinism are recommended to use high SPF sunscreen, protective clothing, and sunglasses to reduce sun exposure.
A lack of melanin means an increased risk of sunburn and skin cancer.
It also causes eye problems because melanin is involved in the development of the retina, the thin layer of cells at the back of the eye.
“Other Somalis with disabilities have formed organizations to lobby the government and international organizations for help,” said the group’s president, 40yearold Mohamed Abukar Abdiqadir. “You have rights now. We are not.”
“I was elected to head our club because I am a hero and never give up,” says Abdiqadir, who has six children. Like him, everyone lives with albinism.
He makes a living by selling dry and canned food from a shopping cart at the Hamar Weyne market. He always wears a hat to protect himself from the strong sun.
“The reason people hate and fear us is ignorance,” he says.
“The harm and discrimination we face should not stop us from fighting for our rights and supporting our families. When Somalis learn about albinism, they will realize that we are people like them.”
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Somalia has experienced great political instability and armed violence for decades.
Currently, prejudice against people with albinism is so great that children with this condition rarely go to school.
“I took my children out of school because they were being stoned every day,” said Asha Gele, who has two children with albinism.
“Her delicate skin has been badly damaged by the stones people have thrown at her, so now I keep her indoors all day every day,” she says. “They won’t get an education, they won’t learn to play with other kids, but at least they’ll be safe.”
The family pays $40 a month to live in a makeshift tworoom apartment in Huriwa district, north of Mogadishu.
The walls and roof are made of old fabrics and broken, rusty iron sheets, which are insufficient to prevent sunlight from penetrating and burning children’s skin.
“I used to make a decent amount of money selling vegetables at the market,” says Gele. “I had to give up my business to stay home with my children. Now we are struggling to survive on the $4 to $6 my husband earns daily as a rickshaw driver.”
Ms Gele says her marriage is falling apart because her husband accuses her of giving birth to children with albinism. He accuses her of bringing bad luck to the family.
“The people I love most my husband and my relatives avoid my children. My own brother keeps his distance because he thinks they will infect him with albinism,” she says.
“But I will always be by her side and defend her no matter what. I will be patient and never neglect her. They didn’t choose to live like this.”