Tete, Mozambique, October 5, 2016. Eva R., 4 years old, is a child living in the Tete district. Eva, Marco, (her brother) and two children of the neighborhood are leaving to go to school because of the problems that have happened to albinos in this region. Their parents have pride in them but live in constant fear. The government has just begun to take measures to protect them. They hope to have a quiet life so that the children can grow up to lead normal lives. © Daniel Rodrigues, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2017.
Lilongwe, Malawi—October 5, 2016. Licila M., 13 years old, lives in the outskirts of Lilongwe. She and her sister Teresa had to change their habits after last June when they were followed by a man who called one of them "money." Angry, they replied, "She is human." Neither them walk alone anymore, and their mother goes every day with the sister to school because she's afraid she will be abducted. Play? Only in front of the house! And her parents are always present. They hope that she can have a normal life like other children. They hope she will not have to live in constant fear. © Daniel Rodrigues, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2017.
Nkhotakota, Malawi—July 13, 2016. Peter C. is one of the victims of discrimination in Malawi. Three years ago, he was diagnosed with a tumor, but he wasn't treated by the hospital in Nkhotakota because he is albino. He is poor and therefore cannot go to the Lilongwe hospital, where he could be treated. The tumor is getting worse, and his skin itself is beginning to rot due to the fact that there has been no treatment or help. Unfortunately cases of discrimination in Malawi and Mozambique are widespread. Some albinos ask for help by organizing events and trying to show society that they are human beings. © Daniel Rodrigues, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2017.
Nampula, Mozambique—October 5, 2016. Ricardo C., Nampula, 23 years old, is a primary school teacher and father. He says that albinos are being hunted like animals and feels bad about being discriminated against for being an albino. He is proud to be an albino but lives in fear because of the current situation. In addition, Elidia C., Ricardo's sister, was a victim of kidnapping and murder. She was raped, kidnapped and killed by three kidnappers. Ricardo and Mauricio, her brothers, think that Elidia's husband planned the attack. At the time of the abduction, he was not at home. Afterwards, his family bought a new car. © Daniel Rodrigues, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2017.
Tete, Mozambique, July 5, 2016. Flavia P., 31 years old. The grave of his late father (Jose) was vandalized on May 13 in Tete. He died of diabetes in July 2015. Vandalizing albinos' graves has been a recurrent practice in Mozambique and Malawi. The graves are vandalized to extract the remains of the albinos—in the case of Jose Manuel, his legs and arms. Flavia does not know who vandalized the grave of his father but believes that healers spread rumors about using the albinos' remains for their black magic. He speaks about his father with pride. He was a person with a very good heart and with many friends. Although he was always discriminated against, he was privileged to already be an adult when trouble with the albinos started happening in Mozambique. © Daniel Rodrigues, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2017.
Lilongwe, Malawi—July 9, 2016. Chiamwemwe A., 4 years old, lives with his parents in Kawondo neighborhood in Lilongwe District. Since April 20, 2016, she hasn't been in school because her parents are living in fear after a girl from the neighborhood tried to sell Chiamwemwe for about two million Kwacha ($2,700). Days after, she told the parents to sell their own daughter because she is worth a lot of money. Fear is everywhere, and they are considering moving to another area of the city because they cannot return to their home village. The child's uncle poisoned and killed his mother (her grandmother) because she was also an albino. Albinos are frequently attacked by relatives. © Daniel Rodrigues, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2017.
Machinga, Malawi—July 7, 2016. Mina G., 11 years old, is a very brave albino who lives in the village of Ngowe, Machinga District. In December 2014, he was kidnapped at night by his own uncle and two friends. He bravely escaped from his captors and ran to a nearby village. His uncle, who was later arrested, is now serving two years in prison. He confessed that he was trying to sell Mina for 3 million Kwacha ($4,200). After the kidnapping, Mina managed to find a host family that today protects him from all the problems faced by albinos in Malawi. Although his adoptive mother recognizes that it is a difficult job to take care of an albino, she is afraid of what will happen to Mina, and so she does everything she can to protect him. © Daniel Rodrigues, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2017.
Nampula, Mozambique—July 19, 2016. Electerio J., 23 years old, lives in Namina, Nampula, and is one of many cases in which family members themselves abduct and try to sell their relatives to make some money. In October 2015, his brother-in-law called him to help him find "work and earn money" and he eventually was kidnapped. After the kidnapping the brother-in-law and three friends went to the side of the national road and tried to find a buyer for Electerio. Fortunately, the information reached the police, who posed as buyer and ended up arresting three of the four kidnappers. It was the first situation where the police caught people in the act. © Daniel Rodrigues, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2017.
Machinga, Malawi, July 8, 2016. Harrison M., 9 years old, continues to ask for his twin brother who was kidnapped one night in February 2015 when the two were at home sleeping in the village of Mpalcati in Machinga district. Two men entered the house and attacked his mother with a knife. She was only able to protect one of her children. Edna, who now lives in fear, doesn't let Harrison go out or go to school because she thinks that the kidnappers are still in the area. Many cases happen at night, where the kidnappers enter the albinos' houses while they are sleeping. © Daniel Rodrigues, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2017.
Lilongwe, Malawi—July 9, 2016. Yohane K., 24 years old, lives in the area 22 in Lilongwe. On July 27, 2015, a stranger approached him in the street offering employment in a grocery store and he accepted. He didn’t know that it was going to be the worst day of his life. After a lunch that seemed harmless, Yohane entered the man's car, which headed towards the border with Zambia. After crossing the border, the man took him to a house with many dead albinos inside. Startled, not knowing where he was, thinking that his life was almost over, another man appeared and gave him money to escape. Today he is still afraid and he doesn't leave his own neighborhood. Many albinos are lured with job offers because there is a lot of discrimination and many of them cannot get jobs where they live and are thus tempted by the chance of a fresh opportunity. © Daniel Rodrigues, Finalist, LensCulture Portrait Awards 2017.