Albino Children : Innocence Versus Ignorance

At the age of about 8 or 9 years old, I saw a young boy who was “white everywhere”! His skin, his hair, his eyebrows! Asked my mother about him and she casually remarked: “He’s an albino”. That was the entire discussion. I accepted her answer and moved on.

Fast forward. I am an adult who has lived for several decades. You think you’ve seen so much that nothing will shock you. Then you learn of an atrocity. What people do to albinos. Many of the victims, innocent children.

There are people who believe body parts of albinos have magical powers. As a result, __________. No doubt you can fill in the blank. But if you can’t, here are two words that might conjure up some images in your mind. Mutilation. Murder.

The article reference below supplies additional information.

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Reference:

hhteam. “The Plight of Albinos.” Humanity Healing. Humanity Healing International, Inc., Albino Rescue Project, 8 Mar. 2015, humanityhealing.org/2015/03/plight-of-albinos/

♥ Take heart. This post ends on a happy note! ♥


Image Credit: Kuna boys, including an Albino boy. Photo on Flickr by user Ben Kucinski (CC BY 2.0).

There is a community in Panama that adores their albino children. They are considered blessed and people call them “children of the moon”.

According to Kuna mythology, the sipus or the albinos are the only ones who can slay the dragon during lunar eclipses. Even though we know through the study of astronomy that there is no dragon which causes a lunar eclipse, it’s still nice that the customs and traditions linked to this myth resulted in protecting those sweet children, instead of harming them. Doesn’t that just relieve and warm your heart?


References:

“Panama’s Kuna Community Has a Special Place for Its Albinos, the ‘Children of the Moon’ · Global Voices.” Global Voices, 19 June 2015, globalvoicesonline.org/2015/06/19/panamas-kuna-community-has-a-special-place-for-its-albinos-the-children-of-the-moon/

Artist, Karl Tate SPACE.com Infographics. “’Blood Moons’ Explained: What Causes a Lunar Eclipse Tetrad? (Infographic).” Space.com, Purch, 18 Sept. 2015, www.space.com/25427-blood-moons-lunar-eclipse-tetrad-infographic.html.





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My original content published elsewhere around the web.