Nyasa. — School pupils with albinism in Malawi have reportedly ditched classes for fear of being attacked, a report has said. According to Nyasa Times, St Mary’s Primary School had 12 pupils drop out after the southern African nation registered 66 cases of attacks against people with albinism.
The Roman Catholic School, which is known to accommodate many children with albinism, has suffered a drop in the numbers of albino children. The number of enrolled students gone down from 14 to two. Despite assurance of safety from the school, parents were reluctant to expose their children to the imminent danger.
This came a few days after the Association of People living with Albinism in Malawi expressed concern that, besides living in constant fear of being abducted or killed, they (albinos) also endured painful ridicule as some citizens poured scorn on them. “When we are moving in the streets, some Malawians are calling us ‘moving cash’ or ‘mobile money’, insinuating that if they could abduct us, they could sell us very quickly,” the association was quoted as saying.
President Peter Mutharika recently admitted that the issue of the attack on albinos had become a challenge facing the nation.
“It is disheartening to learn of the rising incidences of abductions, killings and exhumations of the remains of people with albinism,” said Mutharika. — News24