The trade of albino body parts is so lucrative, and the situation is so bizarre, that Tanzania continues to import body parts secretly, while the country has an incidence of albinism so great that reaches five times the world average. However, this indigenous practice is not exclusive to Tanzania. More than 15 countries across the African continent continue to harbor barbaric practices involving albinos. Moreover, laws that were supposed to be in place to ensure human rights and safety are either non-existent or highly ineffective.
The belief in the superstition that albinos are supernatural beings is so strong in Africa that the fishermen of those countries weave the hairs of albinos into their networks in order to bring luck to the fishery. Miners wear neck amulets made with their crushed bones, and drinking the blood of an albino while it is still hot is supposed to bring twice the luck. If that blood is from a child, it has even more value, because its child-like purity intensifies the power of the spell. The killing of albinos is a very common type of crime in many of these African countries.
The continent of Africa, long regarded as the cradle of humanity, is the poorest continent of our planet. Ignorance, misery and poverty in Africa are responsible for brutal and unthinkable traditions. These are tolerated because most of the governments in Africa do not want to lose their political power.
