The Coloured Ones: The unheard voices of albino refugees in Nyarugusu Camp, Tanzania

TANZANIA, 28 March 2014 (ICMC) – It was during my time as a resettlement expert that I first heard of the challenges faced by albino refugees in Nyarugusu Camp, Tanzania. Believed to have magic powers, albinos in this region are often attacked and sometimes killed, despite efforts by the Government to end such violent practices.

I work in Nyarugusu camp located in Kasulu district, Kigoma Province in western Tanzania close to the Burundi border. The camp hosts over 68,909 refugees, mostly from Burundi and the Congo. Many refugees in the camp are extremely vulnerable as they have witnessed and experienced horrible forms of violence and torture in their home countries; including seeing family members killed in front of their eyes. After so many years in exile, refugees are often unable to trace loved ones and feel they cannot return home.

Yet it is the Albinos – or “coloured ones” – of the camp who face a particular type of discrimination. Their life stories not only changed how I view my own work, but their experiences gave me a glimpse into how they perceive their day-to-day life as a refugee. Their stories will always remain vividly imprinted in my mind and heart.

An interview with a forty-year old albino man in Nyarugusu camp introduced me to the difficulties faced by albino refugees in the region. Due to his skin condition, his parents abandoned him in a hospital for three years. In those days, many people didn’t understand his condition and instead thought he had been born prematurely. 

His grandparents later rescued him from the hospital and raised him, yet he was subject to constant mistreatment. He was not allowed to attend school, rather his grandparents invited strangers to gawk at his unique skin colour. They frequently threatened to sell his body parts on the black market! This difficult situation, coupled with the political instability and ethnic violence, forced the man to flee his country and seek refuge in Tanzania.

Once in Tanzania, he continued to be viewed with suspicion. He lived with a fellow albino; after poachers attacked their house in Mutabila Camp, both men decided to live in a police compound for several years. It is this consistent and gross discrimination that made resettlement a viable option for this man. Albino refugees, in other words, do not automatically qualify for resettlement - rather they must demonstrate consistent and gross discrimination in their country of refugee.These refugees must demonstrate that as a result of their congenital condition, they have experienced serious protection risks in their country of asylum, and would therefore qualify for resettlement consideration. 

Other families with albino members tell similar stories of such abuse and discrimination. One family with four albino children feared that their loved ones could be kidnapped at any time. The children could not play freely, socialize or attend school without fear. In another instance, a mother spoke of a husband who wished to kill their albino child for ritual purposes. The mother fled to Tanzania to save her baby’s life.Other women speak of being abandoned by their partners after giving birth to an albino baby.

It is listening to stories like these that constitute my work as a resettlement expert. A friend once asked what my job actually entailed – and I gave a very simple answer: My job involves lending an ear to those who have been displaced from their countries who have come to the UN refugee agency and its implementing partners for solutions. ICMC’s expert resettlement caseworkers interview and refer vulnerable refugees for resettlement, such as albinos facing serious protection risks.

Once the interview is over, I then decide which resettlement submission categories the applicants meet, and articulate their claims in the best possible way to enhance their chances of being resettled to a third country. Resettlement can offer persecuted albinos refugees lives free from discrimination and violence, allowing them to live in safety and security, I am proud to have the opportunity to work as an ICMC deployee with refugees. I thank the resettlement countries that open their doors for this vulnerable group.

Timothy Odera has worked with UNHCR operations in Kenya, Indonesia Tanzania, and now Iraq. While in Tanzania, he worked as a resettlement expert in Nyarugusu Camp with the UNHCR-ICMC deployment scheme. He looks forward to re-joining ICMC upon successfully completing his new assignment in Baghdad. Timothy is grateful to have had the opportunity to bring hope and joy to the most vulnerable refugees in Nyarugusu Camp.

Written By Timonthy Odera 

Photo credit for migration matters photo:Cote d'Ivoire / IDPs-West / Twelve-years old Samuel carefully listens to a French class at school in Niambly, near Duekoue. Like most children in his class, he welcomed the new displaced children who have quickly been integrated in the village school. "Being an Albinos, I am different myself, so I am happy to have other different kids in the school" he says. Like most Albinos, his vision is limited and he needs glasses. However, his parents can not afford to pay for the 50,000 CFA ($100) a pair of glasses costs. 366 children attend school in Niambly including 54 IDP children. People started to arrive in safer villages after fleeing attacks and inter-ethnic clashes in their villages and in Duekoue town last December and January. By mid-February, UNHCR had registered 39,000 IDPs in the West. Cote d'Ivoire has been going through a political turmoil and on-going insecurity since the second turn of presidential elections in November when both opposing candidates, Laurent Gbabo and Alassane Ouattara, claimed victory. / UNHCR / H. Caux / February 17, 2011