Don’t call us ‘ofiri djato’ - Albinos

People living with Albinism in Ghana have called on Ghanaians to desist from calling them ‘Ofiri Djato’, a local name for albinos in many Ghanaian societies.

According to the chairman of people living with albinism, Jonathan York, the name is demeaning and makes mockery of their status.

Speaking to Starr News’ Emmanuel Ohene Gyan, York said Ghanaians must learn to treat people of his kind with respect and the dignity deserving of every human being.

“The name ‘Ofiri’ we don’t like it because we don’t know which tribe uses that name in Ghana. We don’t want people to be addressing us by that name. We feel very bad when people call us by that.

“When you see a blind man, you don’t call him blind man so why do you call us ‘Ofiri’?

“Again perceptions that we don’t die and that we are used for rituals is not true and people must stop believing all those fabrications about us,” a worried York told Ohene Gyan.

He also expressed concerns over the fact that some Ghanaians refuse to seat by them in public transports.

Albinism is a defect of melanin production. Melanin is a natural substance in the body that gives colour to the human hair, skin, and iris of the eye.