My name is Belina Nyirahabimana. I am 43 years old. I had a lot of love from my parents growing up. Our neighbours were so mean to me. They would laugh at me, call me names but my father was always there to protect me and told off any person who would say unkind words to me. I dropped out of school in Primary five because I had trouble seeing on the blackboard, I was scared to ask for a front seat.
The teacher didn’t really understand that I had a problem. Also, I didn’t want the other kids to look at me. I got married very young, but my husband went to jail for Genocide. When he finished serving his sentence he came back home. However, he would return home drunk every day from his errands and was very abusive. He would beat me and insult me all the time. I left my husband and went to live with my relatives. I have seven kids, so it was hard to live in somebody else’s home and be fed on top of that. At some point, I decided to move into a house that I inherited from my father. It was on almost collapsing but me and my kids moved into one of the rooms. The roof was leaking and it was difficult during rainy seasons. I saved some money and with the help of some neighbours who had seen me struggle, I was able to renovate the house.
It took us years, but it was worth it. I am thankful to the people that supported me. People never call me by my real name, they call me names every day, like an alien. I have learnt to control my emotions and how I react to people’s comments. I stopped taking it personally, I don’t think they hate me, I think they are just ignorant. I even laugh at them all the time. Even the person I consider my best friend never calls me by my name, she calls me “Muzungu” and I don’t see the point in getting angry at her. I am just focused on bringing up my children.
When Non-Governmental Organizations that care for people with disabilities supported me to do vocational trainings, my neighbours wished they had children with albinism to get some financial help. They don’t understand how difficult it is to be an albino. How can I be mad at people who think like that?
