Police in Tanzania have handed out 350 free mobile phones to the albino population - to help them call for help if attacked. There has been a spate of killings of albinos over the past year following a fashion for using the body-parts in local witchcraft. There has also been long running discrimination as some people consider albinos to be cursed.
The phones had been donated by two local businessmen.
The police said that 300 phones would be handed to the relevent families, while the rest would be reserved for spot useage.
The local arm of Vodacom offered 300 free top-up vouchers, while both Vodacom and Zain offered equipment to the police to record incoming SMS messages.
Albinism is a rare genetic condition occurring in both genders regardless of ethnicity. In North America and Europe it is estimated that 1 in 20,000 people have some form of albinism. In Tanzania however, it is 5 times as common with 1 in 4,000 people being affected.
On the web: Under the Same Sun - The Guardian
Posted to the site on 11th January 2009
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/35446.php