DOUALA, CAMEROON – Emmanuel Koum Dime is studying at the Higher Teachers Training College in Yaoundé, Cameroon’s capital, to become a teacher. He is specializing in philosophy.
Dime, an albino, says his education signals how things are improving for albinos like him in Cameroon.
“We had so many difficulties: going to school, finding work, even in walking on the streets in society,” he says.
Dime says people tend to treat albinos with curiosity and disdain because of the difference in the color of their white skin. But Dime says that albinos have grown assertive, have improved their self-esteem and have made their voices heard, thanks to the World Association for the Defense of the Interests and Solidarity of Albinos, ASMODISA, a Cameroon-based network of albinos who have banded together to advocate for their rights.
“I can say everything has changed because, nowadays, albinos have their rights, which are recognized,” says Dime, a member of ASMODISA. “Their rights are established and are also respected in our country.”
ASMODISA unites albinos from the 10 regions of Cameroon to address their needs through various initiatives. For example, ASMODISA organizes a one-week sensitization campaign every year in August to promote the main values of albinos, such as their determination to be the best they can be, and to dispel societal misconceptions that their skin color limits their abilities.
“Most people ignore many things about albinos, and we think they have to learn through us: who we are, what we are able to do, where we are coming from and that we are also human beings like them,” Dime says.
Besides creating awareness within the society, Dime says albinos also use the sensitization week to build the esteem of their members psychologically. He says they strive to reinforce that they are not as different as they often hear.
“We have to accept ourselves as we are, accept our nature and our personality as albinos,” Dime says.
Dime says albinos in Cameroon can overcome whatever challenges they face, as their status has already improved since the creation of the association in 1996.
For example, he says that, according to one myth in some areas of Africa, using albinos’ body parts during rituals brings wealth and good luck. He says this practice is not common these days in Cameroon, but that similar myths still exist.
“We’re still fighting against that domain of witchcraft, which is not so easy to overcome,” he says.
For example, he says that people in northern Cameroon used to believe that albinos brought ill omens to their families, so the families killed albino babies in the forest or behind their houses. But he says that, thanks to sensitization campaigns, this practice is now history as many people’s mentalities have changed.
Although albinos say their social status is improving, they still face various health issues because of their condition and look for medical assistance in order to receive the care they need. They say they have also enjoyed enhanced education and employment opportunities, but that more progress is needed. As government officials and certain doctors say they are doing what they can to ensure albinos the rights they deserve, albinos nationwide have joined forces to sensitize fellow residents to albinism and to reduce the stigma attached to it.
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