By Nneka Jen Olise
Hello…
My name is Nneka Jen Olise and I’m an ALBINO.
What this means is that I possess the features of a black person but have the appearance of a white person…
Well, I feel God was ridiculing racism when he created us.
Now there’s a lot of myth that surrounds albinism (my condition), some of them totally ridiculous…but let me break it down for you.
Firstly, what I have is genetic, that is to say, it is in the family.
Secondly, albinism is caused by a total or partial lack of genes that produce and distribute MELANIN. So basically, the only thing that differentiates us from you guys is that while you have excess of this melanin thing, we got very little of it…or probably none at all (personally I think it’s the latter for me, I’m so white sometimes it scares me…lol).
Now this melanin thing, it really messes up a lot for us, take our sight for instance. Don’t get me wrong, we are not blind, far from it…but if you see someone like me behind the wheels, you should have cause to worry. That is not to say Albinos aren’t capable of driving, I know a couple of them that do so very well. We are basically short-sighted, a lot of you are too, it’s not a big deal.
I can’t stay out in the sun for too long…and if I must, I have to wear sun protection or else, you know, sun burn, very terrible and then, skin cancer, we are prone to those. That pretty much explains the dark shades and face caps, which is pretty cool if you ask me.
I’m not going to lie, for people like us, it’s not easy to grow up in a society like this, most people just don’t get it.
I’ve had to fight a lot of battles, some of which almost drove me into depression but thanks to my amazing mum who taught me what self love was at an early age.
On some levels, I’m still fighting but things like acceptance and fitting in and low self esteem and finding someone who would love and accept me for who I am, those I’ve conquered.
However, Its not the same for others. For some, it gets really tough and not everyone is fortunate to have the type of support system (family and friends) that I have.
So I urge you, when next you encounter someone like me, please do not make fun of them, especially the young ones, those derogatory names like Oyinbo Pepper and Afin, it sticks and the damage it does is beyond your comprehension, trust me. You don’t even have to talk to us, we’ve never asked for preferential treatment, there’s really nothing special about us. Live and let’s live.
June 13th is the IAAD, International Albinism Awareness Day.
#StrengthBeyondAllOdds#