Hunted in Tanzania, saved in Philadephia: Young albino amputees whose limbs were cut and sold to African witchdoctors receive prosthetics and transplants in the US
- Kabula, Baraka, Sengerema, and Nkalango arrived at Shriner's Hospital in Philadelphia from Tanzania on Wednesday
- Brought over by Staten Island children's charity Global Medical Relief Fund
- Doctors hope to give them prosthetics or create them new hands using the children's toes
- Across Africa, albinos are killed for their body parts to be used in rituals
- Many believe the potions bring good luck, as part of ancient superstition
They
are five young, innocent children from a country where their conditions
puts them in constant fear of being abducted, hacked up or even killed.
But
now a group of albino amputees from Tanzania - whose limbs were
forcibly cut off and sold to local witch doctors to be boiled into
'potions' they believe bring people good luck - have been brought to
America by a children's charity in an attempt to replace the hands and
arms that were stolen from them.
The children arrived at Shriner's Hospital in North Philadelphia on Wednesday and have already started undergoing treatment.
'These
children, unfortunately, had their arms amputated for the sale of their
arms as, essentially, good luck charms,' Dr. Dan Zlotolow, who is
working with the kids, told CBS.
Undergoing treatment: Six-year-old
Baraka, whose right arm was hacked off and sold, is one of five children
who arrived at Shriner's Hospital in Philadelphia on Wednesday
Horrific: Doctors were visibly shocked when first assessing the injuries of Baraka and the other kids
Across Africa, albinos are hunted and
often killed for their body parts to be used in rituals. The parts are
boiled into a potion that many believe will bring good luck, as part of
an ancient superstition
In safe hands: Baraka is seen here
with Elissa Montanti, founder of the charity that brought the children
to the US, and Dr. Dan Zlotolow, one of the doctors that will treat him
'Most of what we'll be doing for them is fitting them with protheses,' he said.
'A couple of them we may be doing a toe-to-hand transfer.
'We will be taking one of their toes and giving them something to pinch against in their hands (like a thumb)'.
The five were brought to America this week by Global Medical Relief Fund (GMRF), a small Staten Island-based charity.
Founder Elissa Montanti saw a story about a six-year-old boy, Baraka Cosmas Rusambo, online and took it from there.
'It was like, ''Oh my God, how do I reach this kid?'' Montanti told 6 ABC.
After tracking down Baraka, Montanti was asked if her charity could help four other children in a similar situation.
This began a process of collecting donations in order to get all four to America and the doctors they need. One of the children, Kabula, 17, told the network how, at the age of 12, she was mutilated by intruders. 'One
day, I was sleeping with my mother, and there were people came in our
house and told my mother to give my...' she said, unable to continue.Kabula had her arm cut off and spent two months hospital. She is joined by Baraka, Sengerema, and Nkalango.
Relief: The group of five children -
with Kabula, 17, front left - arrive at Shriner's Hospital in North
Philadelphia on Wednesday
Caring: The five were brought to
America this week by Global Medical Relief Fund (GMRF), a small Staten
Island-based charity founded by Elissa Montanti (pictured)
Doctors hope that Baraka, 6, will be eligible for a new hand using his toes.
Tragically the horrific acts done to albinos in Tanzana - who make up 10 percent of the population, is incredibly common.
Just this week an
albino
girl whose own uncle tried to sell her to a witch doctor for thousands
of dollars so she could be hacked to death and her body parts used to
make a potion to bring the rich and powerful luck.
Margareth
Khamis was snatched from the home she shares with her mother and three
siblings in northern Tanzania by a masked gang in the middle of the
night last week.
The
kidnapping sparked a frantic search by the villagers, who tried to
follow the gang through the bush without luck, all the while holding
onto the grim knowledge the little girl faced almost certain death at
the hands of her captors.
Relief: Margareth Khamis, pictured
centre after she was rescued, was taken from her home in the middle of
the night by a gang of masked raiders intent on selling her to
witchdoctors for her body parts
Trade: It is believed albino people's
skin can bring luck and wealth to a person - and some are willing to pay
thousands for a limb, let along a whole body, in order to give
themselves an advantage
Albino
kidnappings and murders are common-place in the country because of a
sick trade in body parts to be used in potions is fueled by greed.
An entire albino body has been known to fetch £50,000 ($75,000) on the black market.
But
unlike many other children with ablinism, luck was on the
six-year-old's side: local police heard a man was looking to sell a
little girl for an undisclosed sum which could have run into the tens of
thousands. Had he been successful, it is likely Margareth would not have been seen again.
Instead, the police set up a sting, and pretended to be a potential customer. Jume
Bwire, the acting Tabora regional police commander, said: 'After we had
received the information our officers immediately put our trap and were
able to arrest the man red-handed.'
Shockingly, the man they arrested was Margareth's 44-year-old uncle. Thankfully, she was unharmed and was quickly reunited with her family. Margareth's mother Joyce Mwandu, who also has albinism, was relieved to have her young daughter back.
Survivor:
Margareth was lucky. Kulwa was 15 when five men broke into her home in
north-west Tanzania and attacked her, chopping off her arm - but at
least she survived the devastating attack
Savage attack: A group of men hacked off six-year-old Baraka Cosmas' right hand
According to local residents, witch
doctors use albino organs and bones in concoctions to divine for
diamonds in the soil, while fishermen have been known to weave albino
hair into their nets hoping for a big catch
Widespread: The belief is particularly
strong in Tanzania, but there have been killings and attacks in
countries like Burundi and Malawi (where the child in the picture
lives). But there has been a crackdown - and Maragreth was saved after
an undercover sting caught her uncle trying to sell her to a witch
doctor
Surge: In the last seven months, 15 people have been kidnapped, maimed or killed for their body parts
The
arrest, and the promised investigation and up-coming court case, are
part of an on-going crackdown on the trade in albino body parts in
Tanzania. There
have been at least 75 murders in the country in the last 15 years, with
far more attacks in which limbs have been hacked off, but the victim
survived.
There
are fears the up-coming elections may lead to an increase in the number
of attacks, with the U.N. warning of increases in Tanzania, as well as
Malawi and Burundi. The
two countries, which border Tanzania, are also taking decisive actions,
with police across Malawi being ordered to shoot anyone caught
attacking albinos, while children in Burundi are being housed in special
accommodation under army protection.
It is thought some politicians use the witch doctors potions - known as 'muti' - to help their election chances.
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