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Stories from Israel, Tanzania and Malaysia
Today, we have three shorter stories, from The Israel-Syria border, Tanzania and Malaysia. Each of these stories caught my eye over the past year, yet I never had enough photographs of each to run them as their own Big Picture entry. Today, I'm happy to share them with you in a single entry in three parts. Below, you will find the story of an Israeli Druze bride who traveled (by foot) north to Syria to wed - and to never return, because Syria and Israel do not have diplomatic ties. You'll also see the faces of a hunted minority in Tanzania, albinos who live in fear of being murdered for their body parts, which will be used for talismans and luck potions. And we end with a visit to a clan of Bajau people, or "sea gypsies", an indigenous group living a seaborne life in boats and huts on stilts, rarely coming ashore, off the coast of Malaysia. (31 photos total)
From left to right: Arin Safadi, a Druze woman from the Golan Heights, sets out on a one-way trip to her wedding in Syria; A teenage albino girl in a government-run school in Tanzania, being sheltered from criminals who have already killed dozens of albinos to sell their body parts for luck potions and talismans; Bajau boys, also known as "sea gypsies", paddle their boat near their homes on stilts in the Sulawesi Sea off of Malaysia.
Crossing the border to marry - and never return
Arin Safadi, a 24 year old Druze woman from the village of Ein Qinya in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, set out to marry her fiance, 35-year-old Rabia Safadi in neighboring Syria last September. However, due to the absence of diplomatic ties between Syria and Israel, she had to sign a document shortly befor leaving, giving up her right of residence - acknowledging that she would not be allowed to return to her family home. Arin and Rabia were married the same day, planning to move to Jaramana, a twon near Damascus, Syria. (10 photos total)
Albinos in danger in Tanzania
While albinos in sub-Saharan Africa have faced discrimination for many years, their situation has become far more dangerous in recent years in Tanzania. Albinos in Tanzania are increasingly targeted by those who would kill them for their body organs, limbs and even hair to be used in luck potions by others seeking wealth and good fortune in business and professional circles. According to local residents, witch doctors use the organs and bones in concoctions to divine for diamonds in the soil, while fishermen have been known to weave albino hair into their nets hoping for a big catch on Lake Victoria. More than 50 albinos have been killed in Tanzania and neighboring Burundi in the past year - prompting a network of protective services and a few arrests and murder trials which have been fast-tracked by the Tanzanian government. (10 photos total)
A teenage Tanzanian albino girl sits in the female dormitory at a government-run school for the disabled in Kabanga, in the west of the country near the town of Kigoma on Lake Tanganyika June 5, 2009. The school began to take in albino children late last year after albinos were being killed in Tanzania and neighbouring Burundi by people who allegedly sell their body parts for use in witchcraft. Picture taken June 5. (REUTERS/Alex Wynter/IFRC/Handout) #
Mabula, 76, crouches beside his bed January 25, 2009 in his mud-thatched bedroom in a village near Mwanza near the grave of his granddaughter, five-year-old Mariam Emmanuel, an Albino who was murdered and mutilated in an adjacent room in February of 2008 and who was buried inside the mud hut to discourage grave robbers who commonly dig up albino bones. (TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images) #
This picture taken on May 28, 2009 shows human body parts including a femur and what appears to be stack of skin tissue (edit: object appears more likely to be an elephant's tooth) exhibited in a courtroom during a trial of 11 Burundians accused of the murder of albinos, whose limbs have been sold to witch doctors in neighbouring Tanzania, in Ruyigi. A Burundi prosecutor, Nicodeme Gahimbare, demanded sentences ranging from one year to life in prison at a trial. Gahimbare requested life sentences for three of the 11 accused, eight of whom were in the dock over the killing of a eight-year-old girl and a man in March this year. (Esdras Ndikumana/AFP/Getty Images) #
Neema Kajanja, 28, molds a pot from clay at her grandmother's home in Ukerewe, Tanzania on January 27, 2009, where she and two siblings, both albinos, curently live. Ukerewe, an island on Lake Victoria near the town of Mwanza, is a safe haven compared to other parts of Tanzania where people with albinism now live in fear for their lives as their body parts limbs, internal organs and even hair grow increasingly sought after to be sold for luck potions. (TONY KARUMBA/AFP/Getty Images) #
Borneo's Sea Gypsies
The Bajau are an ethnic group living in Malaysia - a loose collection of several related indigenous groups and tribes from the surrounding area. Often referred to as "Sea Gypsies", due to a historic existence as a nomadic seafaring people, more and more of the Bajau have been moving onshore over time. However, in some areas, communities of families are still maintaining their nomadic, sea-based lifestyle without a fresh water supply or electricity, only going ashore to bury their dead. (10 photos total)
More links and information
Israeli bride crosses border to marry in Syria - Msnbc.com, 9/25/2008
Albinos, Long Shunned, Face Threat in Tanzania - NYTimes.com, 6/8/2008
Bajau - Wikipedia entry
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
Felt bad, really bad for the Albino population in Tanzania and Burundi.
However, nothing like the unrestrained natural laughter in #24 to cheer one up after that!
Thanks again for a wonderful set..
unfortunately, it is not only about albino people being killed and making headlines. Witchcraft is all over in Tanzania, where I live, and body parts from non albino victims will do the job too. Murders, graves turned upside down, so-called witches...nothing stops those ignorant killers and retarded buyers, as the grand dad in the picture knows. Religions, superstitions, great inventions for the human race.
Reading the atrocities towards the albinos in the description, I DID NOT imagine the author was talking about humans - "kill them for their body organs....seeking wealth and good fortune" !!
This is the height of superstitiona and ignorance. A strong campaign combining education and severe punishment needs to be instituted to curtail this heinous act !
#13 is just hideous to even think about ...
Such a wide range of emotions (in the photos and for myself)!!
okay, I'm going to live with the sea Gypsies. Peace out.
OMG. #20 is so powerful.
Es increible que al vivir en ciudad con todas "las comodidades" que te entrega la urbanización nos cueste ser felices y nos quejemos de todo...
En las condiciones que viven esas familias son tan precarias que uno en vez de ser feliz se amargaría por la falta de todo... pero a ellos no les importa... a pesar de la adversidad sonrien y lo más probable que sean por cosas muy simples.. como poder bañarse en el mar...
Que alegria me ocasiono ver la pureza en las sonrisas de los niños...
como decia alguien en mi pais..."la sonrisa de un niño es un canto a la dicha, un canto al amor..."
Just a note: the large folded-looking object in #13 is most likely the molar from an elephant or hippo, not human flesh. The bag of bones, however, do look human.
Great photos.
I wonder how those gypsies manage to survive typhoons.
If there is trade in human body parts for superstitious reasons, what hope can we possibly have for endangered animals that are killed for Chinese aprphrodesiacs and the like?
I F*ING LOVE YOU BIGPICTURE!
Amazing pictures. # 26 is one of the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen. #20 is very sad but powerful.
Thank you for these three sets of images...they are very powerful and thought provoking. I really felt for the bride and her family in the first set...how tragic.
You still the best. Thank you Big Picture.
ohh Michele.. the secret of being happy is often simple, the hardest part is to figure it out for yourself ;]
...is very simple "everywhere",
forgotted to add
There is a Israeli movie about the Druze-brides on the Golan, called "the Syrian Bride"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0423310/
I'd really prefer it if you censored the pictures of body parts in #13.
Another stunning sets of pictures. I feel so sorry for the albino kids. I hope they are given better protection by their government. This is probably off topic, but I wonder if albino mutation is what caused the early people in Europe to turn white. Look at picture # 19. If you didn't tell me that's an albino, I would never guess he was black.
Keep up the good work . This is one of only a few places where you can really view great pictures.
Heather in comment #20. The picture is from a trial and probably properly captioned. Skin- human or otherwise is an incredible thing. I have seen similar objects in so called scientific collections.
"The United Nations, the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the Arab League, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch consider the Golan Heights to be territory occupied by Israel and not part of Israel proper." /wikipedia
Golan Heights is part of Syria, occupied by Israel. Calling Kuneitra an Israeli border is to break the journalistic neutrality.
How can you call the albino harvesters criminals? All they are doing is practicing their religion. If you called any other religious practice criminal, you would be called to task for it. I demand that you retract your 'criminal' terminology at once and apologize to these people for insulting them. Furthermore, I think that the UN should enact laws at once to protect those who need albino parts for their religious practices.
@ Bill from NYC (comment no 4)
Yes there is evil in the world, but it usually stems from fear, ignorance, and the belief that those strangers over there are slightly less than human. This failing is regrettably as common in America as Africa, so we'd best not be too smug.
Thank you Boston.com - The Big Picture for shaming Tanzania. We need more international organisation and news media to broadcast and spread these saddening and unbelievable stories.
I feel so ashamed to be a part of country that kills its own people or fails to protect them.
Shame on us.
outstanding
The ignorance of comment 34 almost needs to comment. Talk about bigotry.
Please put a graphic image warning on image #13
great pictures as always.
So horrible the albino killings, i could never comprehend such behavior.
nice tie on the groom :)
Very much Moving!!
These bunch of photos are my favorite among all the other posts.You guys are great.
@38: I'm pretty sure 34's posting was merely a Modest Proposal.
#38 needs his sarcasm detector fixed.
The sea gypsies look really happy. Most of us work at big companies, have fancy cars, dress fashionably but then we work our butts off to go to a vacation where little gypsy kids play every single day. Who is happier in life? Us or them? Isn't technology and capitalism making life more difficult than it really is?
Hi,
Story #2 really is disturbing. There is little interest to protect the albino people -a lot of them are forced to work under the bright sun, which leads to skin cancer pretty quick.
Africa is and will ever be the dark continent.
Post #34 is really strange. Is it a religious right to kill other people ? Don't think so. While it is correct that there are many (if not all) religions and faiths lead to disadvantages and unjustice for many people, this should be prosecuted as well. But demanding a right to harm other people is never to be accepted, in the name of no religion whatsoever.
wondefull picture...and deep meaning
Stunning pictures. Thanks for telling us the stories.
#15 is just superb
Sulawesi sea and located in Malaysia?Very strange title.
Based on Wikipedia, Sulawesi Sea is located in Indonesia. NOT Malaysia.
Great photos, i am with #33 , Golan Heights is part of Syria, occupied by Israel, you supposed to mention that , poor people of an occupied terretories they had to lead a weird unusual life , israel took the land and now telle all the world that they seek peace!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
superb
b'coz you have shown the worst and best part of our world in a one click.
now we have to choose ..........
thank you so much for the information.
can't believe that some people still practice witch craft.
Wow. Brilliant stuff here. I support your work. Well done.
Thank you for highlighting the plights of the albinos. I cringe thinking of the persecution that they undergo, We human must learn to care more about the weak among our ranks lest we become animals. I love #20.
Tanya (#32): Heather (#20) was right. That is definitely a tooth. For comparison check this page http://www.skullsunlimited.com/proboscidea.htm or this Google image search http://images.google.ca/images?q=elephant+tooth
Perhaps the "plastic bag" is actually the stack of skin tissue (if indeed there is a stack of skin tissue)?
And they still preaching that Tanzania is a peaceful loving nation!! What a mockery of justice is it?!!
The Golan Heights is a part of Syria which was taken into Israel during the 1967 war after Syria attacked and tried to obliterate Israel from the map. The Syrian attack went very wrong leaving the Golan as a strategic asset and maybe a bargaining chip in a future peace arrangement to come, in the hands of Israel. It must be pointed out that at the time Syria held the Golan (1967), attacks from the Golan on civilian Israeli population including farmers women and children were very common, and many lives were lost. Needless to say that without real guaranties and giving the fact that Syria and Iran through Syria still support terror and violent actions against Israel there is not much sense in giving the Golan back.
The occupation of the Golan Heights was a direct result of Arab aggression. Don't forget that in 1967, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria amassed 1,000 tanks and over 100,000 soldiers poised to destroy the state of Israel. If it wasn't for better war tactics on Israel part, the state of Israel would have probably been destroyed. You can't blame Israel for creating a buffer zone between them and their hostile neighbors!
Israel has every right to protect its people from hostiles even if the resulting action require the occupation of enemy combatants land.
A lot of people condemns Israel for occupying the Golan Height, Gaza Strip, West Bank and yet no one blames Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria, who started the trouble that resulted in the occupation in the first place.
Respect your neighbors and there will be no trouble. Better yet, love you neighbor and peace will come.
Why is it that Israel cannot be left alone with regard to lands they won when they beat the crap out of the aggressors? Get over it already! Excellent posts by "Jon" and "Ohad H" above me.
And "Sert" makes a very interesting point about the gypsy life.
Shame on the lost souls in Tanzania for treating fellow humans so barbarically.
I love the photos the Sulawesi children, such happy care-free life. Another place added to my wish list. It's nice to have photo sets of joy as well as struggle.
The cultural relativism on display in this thread is appalling. Who are we to discourage others' religious practices?
#62 I propose to chopp you off because your bones will give me luck.
hey, don't take it personal, it's just my religious belief.
Who are we ? merely humans, who should hold life as sacred no matter our beliefs don't you think ?
Stunning photographs... Very sad though.
What a beautiful bride... yet to have to make that choice is so unfair. Political systems of this world must go.
The smiles of the children, their laughter came through loud and clear through these pictures.
But the sadness of the plight of Albinos is overwhelming. Human greed with lack of love, kindness and compassion, has been an earmark of the Satanic influence in this world.
The captions with the Bajau people should really place them in either the Sulu Sea (off the east coast of Sabah) or the South China Sea around Kota Kinabalu; Sabah's capital. In my experience as a frequent visitor to Sabah, the Bajau are genuinely cheerful & happy people who integrate nicely into Malaysian multicultural life.
these set of pictures may have been the most intriguing of ALL your posts..... These pictures brought 3 previously unknown stories to me.... thank you...... very very well done.
This is in no way intended to trivialize the stories presented above, but for clarity and accuracy:
Picture 13's caption reads, in part:
This picture taken on May 28, 2009 shows human body parts including a femur and what appears to be stack of skin tissue...
The image does not show a "stack of skin tissue". That is an elephant tooth.
The bride looks very pretty until you see the makeup in the closeup in number 2. Yikes!
And please fixe the closing tag on the strikeout.
someone forgot the /strike
Great photos as sick as it is. Also, you might want to close your strike tag in HTML
Re: Photo #13 caption updated (and HTML typo introduced), then typo fixed.
Thanks all for your attention and feedback,
-Alan
Indonesians and their crazy need to think that everything Malaysians belong to them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Celebes_See.jpg
Sulawesi or Celebes sea is shared by 3 nations, and it just happen that the people in the photo are off the shore of Sabah, nearer to Celebes than Sulu sea.
astonishing work - breathtakingly revealing
well done - please for heavens sake keep it up
thanks for sharing these amazing pictures and stories...truly heartbreaking
I appreciate everything you share with us, even the painful stuff. Thank you.
Three amazing stories, all absolutly well done, even thought my favorite is the wedding one, for the capture of moments !
Thank you, thank you , thank you !
First story shows that love conquers all, there are no boundries, which can stop love on this earth. Brave girl, gave up her all possessions and carrying only memories and a promise of love.
Second story hits like a fireball of ignorance on your face, may god fill good in hearts of Tanzanian witch docs.
Third one, Wow, homes on water, these guys must be best predictors of high & and low tides:-P.
A masterpiece Alan.... really!! LOVE the Albino story the most.....
As the mother of an Albino child living in New Zealand it breaks my heart to see these helpless children being murdered for their bones and body parts. The chances of having an Albino child are only 1:17,000 and I'm extremely blessed to be able to share my life with my little snowflake.
Seeing those pictures makes me want to go to Tanzania and bring them all home to live with us.
THIS IS AN AWESOME ARTICLE!!!!!!!!!
I don't blame the Israeli woman for leaving to marry the guy. He's pretty handsome.
Sea gypsies is so happy...
Real happy life is simple life :) Life with all my heart.
Can't figure out how this albinos gipsy bride could cross the Malaysia-Syria Border with elephant tooth in her bag ...
Anyway great pics, great stories, best news blog ever!
#77
I'm not sure if you can conclude that love conquers all. It probably is an arranged marriage, the bride and groom never met before.
I don't call that love, more "family-ties conquer all"
What a beautiful article - powerful stories and gorgeous shots.
Thank you for sharing it with us.
I've noticed elsewhere how happy children photograph abroad in "developing" countries (let's hope these countries don't "develop" into exploitative consumer nations like ours ). Their laughter and smiles are undeniably true and genuine, and eclipse most smiles in candid photography taken in the West. This opens many questions about our values when people of such limited means can be so happy. But it also begs us to be circumspect and careful in our conclusions. For me, it offers a lesson in how we can do with much less consumption and much less damage to the world and still easily find fulfillment - and it offers a lesson in how children and animals know nothing about relative poverty as long as they have their basic needs met.
How HARSH, BRUTAL and SIPMLE, this LIFE can be! This is us the humen who decide to make it brutal or simple and joyful.
26 makes me smiling
so awfuuuuuuuuulllllllllllllllllll
Thanks for putting this together. One of the best things on the internet!
Sabah was part of the Sultanate of Sulu which falls under Philippine Territory. In such as case, Malaysia continues to consistently reject Philippine calls to bring the matter of Sabah's jurisdiction to the International Court of Justice. It was the British North Borneo Company who caused these problems.
Life has some complexities, which were often caused by people other than yourself. The first two cases are imposed conditions by people (other than themselves) who think they´re right while the last case are people without any preconditions since they have their inherent right to self determination.
Nice job, Mr. Taylor. Living up to the name.
Ment for comment #33.
Calling Quneitra an Israeli border does not break any neutrality, because that's what it is today. when it belonged to Syria, it was named accordingly. before it belonged to Syria, it was inhabited by Hebrews, and was a part of the Hebrew people's territory.
By asking this journal to continue calling it Syrian, or refuse to call it an Israely border, you are obviously taking a position yourself !
in my computer only the first story pictures came but the first story was very nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Sea Gypsies get their their fresh water supply from wells dug on nearby islets. These seafaring tribe can be found off the coasts Sabah, Malaysia, north Sulawesi, Indonesia and the waters south of Philippines.
You'd get to see them on your way to Sipadan Island. There are no typhoons in this part of world, only strong wind.
Here are 10 interesting facts about the Sea Gypsies:
http://www.borneo-blog.com/2008/05/04/the-sea-gypsies-of-borneo-surviving-through-the-centuries/
Nice Triple..As Always a Great Job Of Bringing To Us All The Photos.
Albinos have been discriminated in one form or another in almost every country around the world for centuries. All kinds of Religious believes in regard to human body. are practices on every Continent.
Also the ¨Sea Gypsies¨ are not as happy, as one can think, seeing all these Photos
The Bride story is touching, but there are always a ways to go around.
Talking about divided Countries and/or Regions..check this link: http://www.reuters.com/article/inDepthNews/idUSN2529874720070430?=undefined&src=043007_1051_TOPSTORY_politics%2C_pressure_and_border_controls&sp=true Which is 2 years old and one of my favored and sad stories.
I kinda wonder about what #31 said too...has any genetic testing been done to prove/disprove this theory? I thought the same thing.
Beautiful pictures again. I think this is the best website on the internet. Thank you so much.
People should understand that its only a very small population of Tanzanians who are extremely ignorant and still practizing witchcraft. These people are the ones who kill these albino kids and adults. Its very shocking to us (tanzanians) as well that this is happening. Our government is doing everything to protect these albino kids and adults. This issue has not been ignored by the government at all...
Great photos, as always. It's curious how the word "Israel" makes readers rush to her defense (see comment #14) before anything else is written!
Yikes! No life jackets on those children! How do they survive? Oh wait ... that's just the overprotective, American coming out. And I'm just kidding. People around me are always commenting on what my children get to do that other children don't ... things so incredibly dangerous as walking on railings and climbing trees. :)
Wedding day should be a happy one, yet for that girl it's was probably one of her saddest. Politics stink worse than a pool filled with vulture intestines.
My religion tells me I should make soup out of people who are the 34th to post a comment. I demand the UN to support my faith.
I feel pity to the young lady getting married to a person that even the member of family knowing that she wont come back. but still wondering what make them accept such a marriage? It is really don't strike in my head what happened, they docorated her and prepare happly for the said particular wedding. after that they cried for, have they forced to do so? if that is the case, then one can feel no need to live in such a world with unpredictable life span.
i m quite surprised as well as shocked to read these stories but i must say great work all together to put these three different, very vivid and interesting stories.
i would love to read more...they really opened my eyes wide.
Escreva seu comentário aqui ...Lindas as fotos e a historia da noiva, comovente e com mta emocao.
really heart touching
After saw your photo, can't used word to describe my felt, very touching and amazing photo, thank for sharing
i am the proud mother of a half albino six year old. yes, she's half albino. if anyone ever thought of hurting my baby, i'd hurt someone. they are different as far as how they have to live. can't be in the sun, must wear sunglasses in the sun, must wear hats to protect their scalps. the difficulty they have w vision is sooooo great, but they are our kids normal w their hearts, hardheaded (smile). yes, they may also have learnig disabilities, but it's mostly due to their sight that limits their ability to keep up w other kids their age. i love my baby w all my heart, and people stare and ask if her father is white, although they see my dark skinned husband w us and hear her call him daddy.
The Government created "religion" to keep us "humans" in order. What would it be like if everyone in the world were Atheists? Hmm..
it's my first time here, I can't describe how beautiful and touching your photos are, but I have a small comment, it's called Palestine, nor Israel, it's a Muslim country, and it is our Holy mosque in Jerusalem.
Regards
i'd like to correct little mistake here. i wanna tell you that Sulawesi sea is located very exactly in Indonesia, not Malaysia. You may check out you map. And bajau peoples are Indonesian ectnic group. not Malaysia. if wont beleive me, i will guide you to their village. Bajau population are spread out in Indonesia's sea area. such as Wakatobi, South Sulawesi, etc.
trust me, it's a fatal mistake to claim Bajau etnicity as Malaysian. that malaysian photographer was an impostor to tell you that way.
the peoples from pictures 21 to 30 is called SUKU BAJU and they are originated from INDONESIA. not malaysia