Albinism is Not A Curse
Advancing the existential imperatives for living life as an albino in our society has been a cause that I have developed a soft spot for lately. The drive for this is not entirely rooted in my being an albino but to let the world know that there is more to what is widely attached to the identity of albinos. A motive which has driven this cause is the unjust killing of albinos in many parts of the world with a large number of these killings being in Africa.
After my article on "The Existentialism of Albinos and Albinoids", I received an avalanche of positive feedback from friends, colleagues, and those older than me, many of whom aren’t albinos. This implied that the average person may now see albinos as normal people too. I was even more surprised when I received a text message from another albino who claimed he was also an advocate for albinos to live better lives. He stressed that one of his major goals was to ensure that albinos who lacked the opportunity of being students would soon be seen in schools. I acknowledged him and appreciated his effort.
Not quite long ago, to my uttermost shock and disbelief, I was told that some communities in my state are infamous for murdering albinos like me. My family had received some visitors, and as we exchanged pleasantries, one of them, in a failed attempt at humor, advised me not to travel to a particular area in Ondo State. I doubted what my ears had heard. I also doubted whether such an uncultured tradition still existed. I however came to the conclusion that if we really want the unjust killings of albinos to stop, then we should put away fear and let people who do not know be aware that albinos are not elements of mischief and evil. They are also human beings who in a no way deserve to be humiliated.
Also, there’s a need for our society to be an arbiter between different mental health challenges common to albinos and it is quite important. The point need be made at this point that the ability to deal with these challenges, in a single swoop, is what so many albinos do not have. Amid prevalent abuses and myths, many of us get plunged into deep thoughts which, oftentimes, go as far as looking into why we were created albinos in the first place. The irony of all ironies is that many people try to make albinos 'feel special' by giving us preferential treatments which instantly sets us apart from others and make us feel embarrassed.
I still remember what happened many years ago when I and my classmates were instructed to clear the grassy overgrowth in primary school. I was exempted from joining my classmates by one of the teachers. His reason was that as an albino, I could not see well and that I might harm my mates with the cutlass. That struck a painful chord in me in that instance! But as I grew up, I learned to tolerate the misconceptions around my skin colour, while maintaining positive mental health.
Although many other people have myths about albinism in their heads, albinos have the responsibility to corrects those myths and replace them with new impressions and truths. I recall how a man shouted àfín òj’ẹyọ̀ (“the albino who doesn’t eat salt”) as soon as I joined a gathering long ago. Rather than become bitter at his ignorance as some albinos would have, I smiled, shook hands with him, and had a mildly substantive talk with him on what had nothing to do with albinism. He later acknowledged that I had created an impression and that he would approach albinos just like human beings that they are.
So, everyone has a duty. Even as albinos love and enjoy the pride they have taken in the colour they wear, everyone else who isn’t albino should give them the normal treatment and ensure that they are not intimidated. By and large, this plays out positively on the mental health of many albinos like me.
Written by Ayomide Bariwhite, student of Political Science, the University of Ibadan. He is proudly albino and an advocate of mental health. He is committed to the stability of people’s mental health.
