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Living with Albinism in Africa

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Albinism is something which is still abhorred in various sects of the African continent as a result of several superstitious myths that continue to be passed on from generation to generation.

I myself have not been spared from those superstitious myths. Growing up conversations which had to do with Albinism was often associated with curses, witchcraft and immorality. I never got to understand why people would say such things about another human being until I started learning about the notion of cultural beliefs and social norms.

Ever since, I have tried my level best to educate and inform people about Albinism and let them understand the fact that a human being is not defined by gender, sex, race, social status, academia or wealth.

Nevertheless, before I penned this article my editor advised me to elaborate on how someone gets to be born with Albinism.

How is one born with Albinism?

To be honest, there is no answer to that because if I were to delve into this direction I would propagate something which I am constantly fighting, which is stigma. It is the same as asking how one gets to be gay, lesbian, trans or how one gets to be black, brown or white it just happens and it does not make you less of a human.

 

A knee on the people with Albinism

Coming back to the continent, people with Albinism continue to be sidelined, persecuted and killed for ritual purposes. The continent actually has its knee on people with Albinism even though it is not given much traction by media platforms but that is the case and those with Albinism have just learned to be passive about it but not that it is not happening.

According to last July’s report issued by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), people with Albinism continue to be killed for ritual purposes with the numbers increasing drastically last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Well to get some insight pertaining to the report and how it is to live with Albinism in Africa I spoke to Mary Regina Ndlovu-Kabosha, a human rights activist, actress, producer and motivational speaker from South Africa.

“Due to the fact that I have Albinism, I was raped 15 times, I was locked up in a mental institution, and I attempted 11 suicides. I was locked up in the toilet when I was in primary school due to the colour of my skin. I hated myself with passion. I had to teach myself how to read and write through audio. I had to secretly become one of the worst villains in the entire school because I wanted to hurt other people. I became a liar and a thief, my job was to give back what life gave to me which was pain, hatred, revenge, bitterness anything repugnant that was going to hurt you and make you feel pain,” said Regina.

You can just imagine how I was feeling after she poured out all of this daunting and hideous thing that transpired to her even when she was still a child just an innocent child and the world had already rejected her just because she has less skin pigmentation nothing else but just that.

As she continued, my heart and mind were already heavy and full of different emotions, nevertheless, I composed myself and let her carry on.

“Skin cancer is one of the biggest challenges we have and the biggest challenge of being a woman with Albinism is that you are always outside, outside in the sun doing chores, looking for work, taking care of kids and so forth and two seconds in the sun can leave you all burnt out. Moreover, they are very few schools that cater to people with Albinism out of 100 schools you might just find three. There is a lot of education that is needed to raise Albinism awareness. Being born with Albinism is not a curse like what other people alluded to, it just means I was born with pale skin it’s just an issue of skin pigmentation some have the right amount, some less and some more but it does not mean I am less of a human so all of these myths that associate Albinism with debauchery and witchcraft are just utter hogwash that’s why there is need for people to be equipped with the right kind of information,” she added on.

In addition, she further highlighted the unambiguous stigma I cited earlier that people with Albinism continue to incur even in this so-called woke generation we perceive to be in, “Anyone can give birth to a baby with Albinism a lot needs to be done as you look at the media in cartoons, books, the protagonists are black and white people no sign of those with Albinism which just shows you how rampant the issue of stigma on those with Albinism is. Our stories are not validated and colour does not determine humanity. It’s just not right to treat someone like a lesser human being just because of how they look it’s not right to let us all change that narrative.”

Before we parted ways I wondered how she had managed to overcome all of these challenges putting them to bed and carrying on with her life as well as raising awareness in the process but even before I asked her the question she took it upon herself to profess how she did it and how she now lives her life to the fullest.

“When I came across the audio Bible my life changed and then when I started listening to that audio Bible I started to rediscover myself and here I am producer of My Voice Albinism The New Era, talk show host, motivational speaker, evangelist, actress the list goes on,” said Regina.

All I could say was look at you with tears in my eyes. That is just how bizarre it is for those living with Albinism a total fiasco!

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Canada’s Denis Shapovalov wins Belgrade Open for his second ATP Tour title

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BELGRADE, Serbia – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner’s circle.

The 25-year-old Shapovalov beat Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 in the Belgrade Open final on Saturday.

It’s Shapovalov’s second ATP Tour title after winning the Stockholm Open in 2019. He is the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour-level title this season.

His last appearance in a tournament final was in Vienna in 2022.

Shapovalov missed the second half of last season due to injury and spent most of this year regaining his best level of play.

He came through qualifying in Belgrade and dropped just one set on his way to winning the trophy.

Shapovalov’s best results this season were at ATP 500 events in Washington and Basel, where he reached the quarterfinals.

Medjedovic was playing in his first-ever ATP Tour final.

The 21-year-old, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year, ends 2024 holding a 9-8 tour-level record on the season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Talks to resume in B.C. port dispute in bid to end multi-day lockout

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VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.

The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.

The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.

The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.

The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.

MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.

In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.

“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.

“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”

In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.

“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.

The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.

“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”

The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.

The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.

A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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The Royal Canadian Legion turns to Amazon for annual poppy campaign boost

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The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.

Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.

Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.

Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.

“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.

“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”

Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.

“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.

Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.

“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”

But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.

Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.

“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.

Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.

The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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