Theme 2021 – Strength beyond all odds What is albinism? Albinism is a rare, non-contagious genetic difference that is inherited from birth. In almost all types of albinism, both parents must carry the gene for the inheritance, even if they do not themselves have albinism. The condition is found in both sexes regardless of ethnicity and in all countries of the world. Albinism results in a lack of pigment (melanin) in the hair, skin, and eyes, leaving the skin vulnerable to sunlight and light. As a result, most people with albinism are visually impaired and prone to skin cancer. There is currently no cure for the absence of melanin pigment. Singer and model Connie Chiu was born in Hong Kong. As the fourth child in a Chinese family, she is the only one born with albinism. Connie and her family moved to Sweden, where she grew up studying art and journalism. (Photo: OHCHR) It is estimated that in North America and Europe 1 in 17,000 to 20,000 people have some form of albinism. The condition is much more common in sub-Saharan Africa, with an estimated 1 in 1,400 people affected in Tanzania and a high prevalence of 1/1000 for certain populations in Zimbabwe and other specific ethnic groups in South Africa. Health challenges of people living with albinism The lack of the pigment melanin makes people with albinism very susceptible to skin cancer. In some countries, the majority of people with albinism die of skin cancer between the ages of 30 and 40. Skin cancer is preventable when people with albinism enjoy the right to health care, including the right to regular checkups, the use of sunscreen, sunglasses, and sun-protective clothing. In some countries, these ‘lifesaving’ means are not readily available or very difficult to reach for those with the disease. Thus, in a developing world, people with albinism have been and are among the “farthest left behind”. The United Nations emphasizes the need to target human rights interventions in the manner envisioned by the Sustainable Development Goals. Due to a lack of melanin pigment in the skin and eyes, people with albinism often experience permanent vision loss. (Photo: Eyes on Europe) People with albinism and human rights People with albinism face many forms of discrimination. Albinism is still deeply misunderstood, both socially and medically. The physical appearance of people with albinism often makes them objects of alienation due to false beliefs and superstitions that have existed for centuries. Such misconceptions are still present in attitudes and practices around the world. This makes people with albinism even more marginalized and excluded. Independent UN expert on the rights of people with albinism The United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution in 2013 calling for the prevention of attacks and discrimination against people with albinism. Furthermore, in response to calls from civil society organizations to support the designation of people with albinism as a specific group with special needs requiring special attention, the Council adopted the mandate Independent Expert on Human Rights of People with Albinism. In June 2015, the Human Rights Council appointed Ms. Ikponwosa Ero as the first Independent Expert on the human rights of people with albinism. An albino child parades through the streets of Harare during World Albinism Awareness Day 2016. (Image: AP) Violence and discrimination against people with albinism Although it is reported that people with albinism globally face stigma and discrimination, information about cases of physical attacks targeting people with albinism mainly comes from present in African countries. People with albinism face more severe forms of discrimination and violence in those areas, where most of the general population is relatively dark-skinned. In other words, a greater degree of contrast in pigments generally leads to a higher degree of discrimination. Albinism is a rare, non-communicable condition that is inherited at birth. The disease is found in both sexes, regardless of ethnicity, in all countries of the world. (Photo: UN) There have been hundreds of assaults and murders with albinism reported in 28 countries in sub-Saharan Africa over the past decade. The attacks have several root causes including longstanding stigma, poverty and harmful practices stemming from beliefs in the wizarding world. The alarming fact is that these horrible practices continue to this day. The way in which people with albinism face discrimination, and how severe it is, varies from region to region. In the Western world, including North America, Europe and Australia, discrimination often includes name-calling, persistent teasing and bullying of children with albinism. There is little information from other regions such as Asia, South America and the Pacific. However, some reports indicate that in China and other Asian countries, children with albinism face abandonment by their families. Quynh Hoa According to United Nations

The caste system, the division of rich and poor, the dowry custom, the cremation custom in India, the horrible unsanitary life on the Ganges River were shared by the female writer in her travel book “Lonely on Everest”. “. On the occasion of the Covid-19 earthquake raging violently in India, writer Di Li shared his experiences about this country on his personal Facebook page. VietNamNet would like to introduce to readers: Writer Di Li visits the Victoria Museum in Kolkata, India (photo: Di Li) Criticizing poor and dirty India: a half perspective The number of deaths from Covid in India has reached 4,529 cases / day (an incomplete number), the highest in the world since the beginning of the epidemic season until now. Indians have the custom of cremation, so if people die too much, they will break branches in the park and burn their bodies on the sidewalk, poor people can’t buy firewood and can’t steal branches from the park. then stealthily carry the body of a relative to the door of the funeral home, throw it, then abandon the body and run for someone else, or more simply, let the body be thrown into the Ganges River to float. The virus in the body just mixes with the river water and then drifts downstream wherever it goes, whoever it sticks to next, while the water of the Ganges River still travels throughout Asia. I have been to India 4 times (March 18 last year was canceled because of India’s blockade due to Covid-19, not 5 times). Trot has already changed money, so there is still a pile of rupees in the drawer. Because India is a passion, a destination that I can fly to several dozen times in my life. In short, every time I make a fuss, I buy a ticket to India. Many people think that India is dirty and poor, Indians are ugly, Indian boys are fierce, India is backward, India is uncivilized… but only half of it has been seen. In New Delhi, there are many greener, cleaner, more beautiful places than Europe, with great buildings dating back many centuries. India is the world’s second silicon valley and is set to overtake the US in computing software capacity. The place that produces the most movies is Bollywood, not Hollywood. The countries that own the most Miss Universe in the world, in addition to a few South American countries, there is also India. India has many beautiful people, because they are multi-racial. The young man covered in a scarf who looks like a football star is a tuk tuk driver in the village in Jaipur – photo taken in 2013 (photo: Di Li) For example, two young men I met and took random pictures in Jaipur. The young man with a scarf who looks like a soccer star is a tuk tuk driver in the village (I only took portraits because if I scrolled down… he was wearing ripped pants). The Indian guy with dark glasses that I (Di Li) took with me was a street vendor, making the whole crew bewildered because he looked like a Hollywood actor” -(photo: Di Li) The guy with the dark glasses I took with him was a street vendor, making our whole group bewildered because he looked like a Hollywood actor. He offered to buy goods, I stood dumbfounded because he asked in turn in English, French, German, Italian to see if I knew what language I could speak, so I would communicate in that language. Indian men are actually the gentlest of the countries I’ve been to, and even the salesmen are often humble and poor. Even scolded did not dare to react. In Vietnam, if you scold, you will be beaten back. I used to travel across North India and a few times to New Delhi, traveling all by myself but still safe, and not being watched by anyone as people say. India is one of the world’s earliest philosophies, the cradle of culture, architecture and art, one of which is Buddha. The world’s richest people and the world’s best playboys are also concentrated in India. In 2018, the daughter of tycoon Mukesh Ambani got married (Ambani is the richest person in Asia and the fourth in the world with a fortune of 40 billion USD, even surpassing Bill Gates in one year), the money for mosaic wedding invitations alone. encrusted, calculated in Vietnamese currency has cost hundreds of billion. The price of extremism But unfortunately, India is an extreme country, in this place it seems that there are only two concepts. Either very nice or very ugly. Either extremely gentle and shy, or extremely aggressive and perverted. Either very clean or extremely dirty. Either extremely intellectual or illiterate. Either so rich or so poor that they can’t afford firewood for cremation. Either extremely civilized or extremely backward (so much so that now many villages still maintain the custom of widows burning themselves with their husbands). Either extreme meditation, peaceful mind and body (the birthplace of Yoga), or extreme lust (also the birthplace of Kama Sutra). The landscape is extremely cold (the Himalayas) and extremely hot (the Great Indian desert). The food is either amazing (just brought to the mouth, must be spit out) or extremely delicious. India has the most luxurious hotels in the world for guests to stay there as ecstatic as the land of ecstasy and there are also slums that are considered as hell on earth. All this polarization is due to the five caste system that has persisted in India from BC until now. If someone is dirty, ugly, poor, illiterate, or ignorant, their descendants will be passed down for hundreds of generations. But it’s very rare like other countries that from a shoe shine boy to become a billionaire, from the son of an illiterate mother who can become a scientist, from a hired dishwasher to become a beauty queen, from unacknowledged adopted son to deputy prime minister. In India, the monks and nuns sweep banyan leaves, and there are rare cases of jumping from one caste to another. Most of the time, trying to come up, they were drowned so they couldn’t open their eyes. So the tourism slogan given by India itself is as true as they claim to be “Incredible India”. Covid-19 when it came to India it was also weird according to this country, it mutated and increased virulence, and of course it excluded the rich. Because the rich, they take a private plane to the Maldives or Dubai to stay in a 6-star resort to avoid illness, when the epidemic is over, they will return. They sunbathe, shop for diamonds, drink cocktails under the stars at night and post pictures on Facebook. If you are poor, you will suffer everywhere, whether East or West, whether Buddhist or Christian, feudal or modern, hierarchical society or democratic equality. When something happens in the country, war, coup, epidemic, economic crisis, natural disaster, climate change, the poor receive enough. They are the most vulnerable in society. And India has many poor people. No matter how high GDP is, it is only in the hands of the billionaire elite. On the 7th of last year, I was still in India. At that time, seeing the news at home, they rushed to buy masks but sold out, so the last day the group went to the market not to buy any gifts but just bought a bunch of masks to bring back. The Indians found that very strange, shrugging their shoulders in surprise because at that time there were no cases in India. But at that time I said: If Covid-19 spread to India, the whole country will be infected, the number of cases will lead the world. The poet Nguyet Vu who accompanied me later kept saying that my words were… prophetic. Poor thing, it’s not a prophecy, India is always full of people every day, it looks like a Zombie movie, it’s strange that it’s not infected. The world keeps scolding India for not locking down. But they couldn’t do that. Thousands of Indians still bathe in the Ganges River in Haridwar during the Kumbh Mela festival despite the Covid-19 epidemic Firstly, India has many of the world’s leading religious festivals. People die right next to them how they do not know, but still several tens of thousands of Indians bathe together during the religious festival of Kumbh Mela. No one wants to wear a mask. They poured water on them from the Ganges River, then buried their faces in the viscous cow dung and told the gods to help them. They would rather die from Covid-19 but definitely refuse to give up their pilgrimage. The Prime Minister also cannot ban the festival because the power of the Brahmin priests here is supreme (Is the first of the 5 castes). Called the king’s magic to lose to the village rules. Our festivals also gather as many people as in India, but the Party and Government ask people to stay at home right away, and the whole country listens. Countries that have prided themselves on long-standing democracies can’t do that. Because the people above told them not to listen, people also scolded for more, not to mention asking people to declare and trace Covid-19. In the epidemic situation, this is called the other side of democracy. Mr. Ram Vriksha Gaur, one of the directors of the popular TV series “8-year-old bride” went bankrupt due to the epidemic, had to sell vegetables and fruits. Second, India’s poverty rate is very high. If the blockade, it is likely that the number of people starving to death is higher than dying from Covid-19. For example, Ram Vriksha Gaur, one of the directors of “8-Year-Old Bride”. The epidemic made him bankrupt, so he had to drive a car to sell vegetables. It is not surprising that the Indian variant of Covid will spread to the whole world, especially Africa. At that time, it was normal for middle-class people to go bankrupt. So if you guys go away for a holiday, don’t wear a mask during the trip, come home and hide from the declaration, then carry your body around and go out in contact with other people, then only the poor will hurt the most. Because if the epidemic breaks out, the poor will not be able to sell baskets of vegetables and fruits. According to media reports, if vaccinated diligently, it will also take India … 10 years to fully vaccinate more than 1 billion of their people. The story of India makes me see nothing too optimistic about the current Covid-19 situation. Because the first logic is that only when the vaccine is given enough around the world, travel between countries will be completely free. As long as there is still a country with Covid-19, it will spread back and forth, even adding new strains for which a vaccine will not solve the problem. The second logic is that the land border between countries (except for the island countries) is often open for hundreds of kilometers, the whole field is not empty, so it is normal to spread each other. Now India, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia are considered defeated. Soon it will be Nepal’s turn to fall, a country with a high population density, poor health care, poor sanitation and unfortunately shares a very long border with India. If anything happens, the outcome could be even worse than India, because they are much poorer than India, traffic is no different from Indiana Jones movies, it is difficult to get aid and supplies. This is really heartbreaking because these are the two countries that I love the most.