Occasionally I do an item here having nothing remotely to do with humor, if it fits into a theme I call “Remind me what year this is, please?”
Right now, several people are on trial in the African country of Burundi, charged with murdering albinos to sell their body parts for use in witchcraft.
I’m going to mention what they are accused of again, in case you missed that. They are charged with killing albino human beings to sell their body parts.
It turns out more than 50 albinos have been murdered in Burundi and neighboring Tanzania in recent months. Witch doctors tell clients that albino body parts bring luck in love, life and business.
I don’t know too much about selling body parts, but if that many albinos have been killed, it’s pretty certain there is a viable market there.
Which leads me to wonder how much luck in love, life and business does a person have to want before shelling out money for the body parts of a fellow human being?
And by the way, I checked out the answer to my question: It seems this is 2009. Seriously.
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Above: A woman walks with her albino son to a courtroom in Ruyigi, Burundi, May 28, 2009. Prosecutors asked for life sentences for three people on trial for allegedly murdering albinos to sell their body parts for use in witchcraft.
Left: Kazungu Kassim (R), head of a Burundi albino association, listens to proceedings in the courtroom, May 28, 2009.
REUTERS photos by Jean Pierre Aime Harerimana
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4 comments so far
This is as barbaric as the human race can get. Only education can ever resolve this situation.
- Posted by R. ZulianiConsidering what happened to the original owners of those body parts (the albinos), they don’t seem very lucky to me.
- Posted by RickSeems pretty serious to the Albinos involved. It may be laughable to some people - but people are getting killed here for ridiculous reasons. Considering the number of people involved this should get more news coverage and international outrage.
- Posted by Yauming[...] back to our occasional feature called What Year is this Again? in which we offer up stories that may lack humor, but which cause us to question whether we have [...]
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