Growing up and living with albinism in rural Nigeria was tough for Ladidi Shaibu. She and her two siblings with the condition were shrouded in stigma and lived in constant fear of being mutilated or killed. Her sister was attacked twice and her brother was kidnapped as a child by people who wanted to sell his body parts.
Three years ago, Shaibu, 35, entered the US via the border with Mexico and registered as an asylum seeker. Her brother had already been granted asylum and her sister’s case was soon to be successful, too.
But in March she was informed that her claim would not be heard and that she would be deported to Uganda instead – a country in east Africa deemed safe by the US Department of Homeland Security. In countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria and Uganda, people with albinism face severe threats, including ritual killings, rape and mutilation. These attacks are driven by harmful superstitions that their body parts bring wealth, political success and good luck.