People with albinism have been ‘shunned, ridiculed, tormented, tortured and killed in cold blood’ all over Africa, simply 'on account of the skin colour', Phitalis Were Masakhwe tells Pambazuka News. The biggest threat to persons with albinism, says Masakhwe, is ‘misleading and negative belief systems about the condition’. And when ‘these negative beliefs combine with illiteracy and limited knowledge and facts about the situation, the net result can be calamitous.’