Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 1088, ``Recognizing the plight of people with albinism in East Africa and condemning their murder and mutilation.'' Let me begin by thanking my colleague Representative Gerry Connolly for introducing this resolution, as it is important that we recognize the plight of albinos in East Africa. In recent years, the belief that albino body parts, particularly limbs, have magical powers has driven thousands of Africa's albinos into hiding. According to a report released in November of last year by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the killings of albino people in Burundi and Tanzania, based on occult practices, have triggered a crisis involving almost the entire albino population of the two countries. The stories of these victims are heart wrenching. I recall an article in the New York Times in 2008 that vividly describes the horror and fear that many Albinos live with on a daily basis. ``In May 2008, Vumilia Makoye, 17, was eating dinner with her family in their hut in western Tanzania when two men showed up with long knives, ``Vumilia was like many other Africans with albinism. She had dropped out of school because of severe near-sightedness, a common problem for albinos, whose eyes develop abnormally and who often have to hold things like books or cell phones two inches away to see them. She could not find a job because no one would hire her.…”