Mali Singer Salif Keita HIghlights Plight Of Albinos

Malian musician Salif Keita first became aware he was different when he started school. His skin was white; all the other kids were black. He told reuters in an interview: “I was the sole albino. I knew immediately that I was different from the other children.” Across Africa, the skin condition - where people are born with no pigment in their skin, eyes and hair - is often seen as an omen of misfortune. Albinos have been shunned, ostracized, beaten, killed, and in some places dismembered so their body parts can be used for magic potions. Keita's new album attempts to underscore the message that Albinos are proud of what they are.